5 Free Ways to Do Professional Development in 1 Hour or Less |
posted by: Guest contributor | May 11, 2015, 05:00 AM |
If your professional development budget was slashed then you’re in good company. Teachers across the country are getting less money (and finding less time) to invest in their own learning. In fact, more than half the schools surveyed for The 2014 Teacher Development Trust report said that they’re finding it hard to provide teachers with necessary professional development because of financial burdens.
Twitter chats are one of the easiest - and most powerful - ways for you to further your professional development and to cultivate the relationships in your personal network. There are multiple chats happening every single day, nationally, internationally, statewide and locally.
YouTube is a treasure trove of professional development resources for teachers. With more than 300 hours of video uploaded every minute, you’re sure to find something valuable.
The key to professional development is taking it one step at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the opportunities—learn a new app, implement blended learning, teach a social media lesson—but it’s best to start with one idea; this will help you stay focused without exhausting yourself.
Professionals in almost every industry use webinars to learn—and you should too. Webinars are often free and guide you through the lesson, which helps you stay focused and ignore distractions. There are a number of websites that offer free webinars for teachers, including:
Learning a new tool and actually implementing it are two different professional development opportunities. The former (see #3, above) gives you experience testing a new tool, discovering features that will be valuable to you, and considering how it fits in your lesson plan.
Bio: Jessica Sanders is the Director of Social Outreach for Learn2Earn, an online fundraising platform that allows students raise money by reading books. She grew up reading books like The Giver and Holes, and is passionate about making reading as exciting for young kids today as it has always been for her. Follow Learn2Earn on Twitter and Facebook, and send content inquiries to social@learn2earn.org.
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