Thursday, January 15, 2015

Let's play on the #WalkMyWorld digital playground!

January and February can be the two most difficult months to teach. The holidays are over, winter weather causes indoor recess, and students are bored with daily literacy routines. The best strategy to chase away the instructional winter blues is to join the #WalkMyWorld project.

The #WalkMyWorld Project is a social media group of educators and researcher who share and connect online at Twitter using one hashtag. Groups of learners across the globe are connecting and sharing for 10 weeks using the #WalkMyWorld hashtag. Don't worry, you don't have to commit to 10 weeks. Stop by any time to connect with other educators, create digital texts, and curate, or organize, all your new ideas. Watch this video to learn how to create a Twitter account.

Connect: #WalkMyWorld allows you to connect with passionate and talented educators from across the globe. Their ideas will inspire you to explore different methods for reading and writing in a digital environment. Each week, go to your Twitter account and search the #WalkMyWorld hashtag for new strategies, tips, and lessons. You can scroll through Twitter posts easily while you are standing in line at the grocery store or during television commercials. I prefer to look at Twitter right before I go to bed at night. When you find an idea you like, begin playing around with the tool. If you have questions, reply to the Tweet, just like you would with an email, and get answers to your questions instantly.

Create: #WalkMyWorld also invites you to create with free, user-friendly digital tools. No need to wait for a school organized professional development day to learn the newest tools. Each week a new tool will be introduced through learning events. The learning events provide an explanation, links to video tutorials, and example texts for which to play. I love how the learning events scaffold the process of creating within digital spaces. They also provide excellent instructional frameworks that you can take and implement easily into your classroom. The learning events begin January 18, 2015, click here to get instant access.

Curate: #WalkMyWorld provides an unique opportunity to learn how to curate, or organize your ideas, work, and discussions that you have in an online social environment. It's easy to get overwhelmed and disorganized in a digital space. At the same time, it's important to begin to think about your digital identity. #WalkMyWorld learning events will show you how to ask the right questions and target important resources to improve your instruction and strengthen your online identity. Click here to learn more about curating.

Turn January and February into the best months to teach by connecting, creating, and curating with the #WalkMyWorld project. Get inspired by clicking here.

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