Twitter & Anxiety

Networking

As an introvert, the word "networking" used to terrify me. It all seemed so disingenuous. Since I began using Twitter, I have become a lot more confident in my networking abilities. I have been able to find common interests with people, and make genuine connections. I love being part of a community that shares what they are learning. Plus, Twitter connections give you something to laugh about during your first face-to-face meeting, so it has made conferences much easier for me.

Intensity

Through Twitter, I have found resources that have shed light on my own experiences. One such example happened last night, when I found a TED talk through this tweet:

For kids with anxiety, it's NOT going to be fine unless WE AT SCHOOL are going to do something different. @HHG http://t.co/Ioqzrt9jsY
— Iram Khan (@teachermrskhan) March 11, 2015

I was able to connect with the speaker via Twitter, and let her know how her talk had impacted me:

@HHG I just watched your #TedxLangleyED talk, and it shed some light on my experiences. Thank you for sharing!
— Britney Allen (@MlleBallen) March 11, 2015

@MlleBallen I'm glad it resonated! Helps to know it's not just you, doesn't it?
— Heidi Hass Gable (@HHG) March 11, 2015

@HHG Absolutely! This has given me a lot to reflect on as a student-teacher, too: supporting intense learners, self-care, etc.
— Britney Allen (@MlleBallen) March 11, 2015

@MlleBallen Fantastic! Some of our most vulnerable learners are these intense, sensitive kids. Such potential, but need support!
— Heidi Hass Gable (@HHG) March 11, 2015

@MlleBallen Seeing more research confirming similarities/crossover btwn gifted & autism. Sensitivities, behaviour, overwhelm and meltdowns.
— Heidi Hass Gable (@HHG) March 11, 2015

@HHG Glad to hear that this is being researched - hopefully future Ss will benefit from these findings!

— Britney Allen (@MlleBallen) March 11, 2015

Anxiety has been part of my education experience for as long as I can remember. It became particularly challenging when I was in grade 8, and the idea of going to school became too much for me. In grade 9, I began the 4C Challenge Program, and that helped immensely. However, I had very mixed feeling about my designation... @HHG's TED Talk has led me to reflect on why I felt that way, and how to support intense learners. (There are some great ideas in my post about the UDL workshop I attended recently.)

What I have learned through my PLN has been helping me to unpack my own experiences and grow as a person. I look forward to seeing where this connected learning journey takes me!

#EdCampVic

Attending EdCampVic on Saturday, February 28th, was a phenomenal experience. I was able to connect with one of my highschool teachers, an instructor of mine, members of my PLN from Twitter, and some of my classmates.

Note-Taking

I volunteered a note-taker, which works well with my learning style. I loved being able to share my notes with the world using Google docs and Storify! I'm motivated by being able to share what I'm learning. If you were unable to attend the conference in person, you can go to the sessions page and click on any of the headings. Here's the Storify about EdCampVic, too.

Sessions I Attended

• Elementary Science Education (which I happen to have suggested) [notes] [Storify]
• Indigenous Education and Inquiry [notes] [Storify]
• Student-Teachers and Working On-Call [notes] [Storify]

Sign for my suggested topic - look at all those votes!

 Wish List

@SMooreBC showed me her practicum tote. It looks like a great way to keep organized!

@SMooreBC's Practicum Tote

She also showed me her Erin Condren Teacher Planner. I would really like one of those, too!

What a day!

The conversational nature of the day made it feel very natural, and the general consensus was that the day went quite quickly... and that our brains felt quite full! I am looking forward to my next EdCamp experience!

Tech-ing In

PDPPPosseRC

Today I published these posts on the PDPPPosseRC blog:

• Mmm, Cookies! by Robert Munsch,
• Science Verse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, and
• Books by Mo Willems.

 

STEM Puns

Visual Journal comparing my STEM Puns cartoons to mentor artist Natalie Dee

I have been having fun with my STEM Puns passion project. I created a visual journal entry comparing my cartoons to online cartoonist Natalie Dee. Through that process, I realized that I would like to try adding texture to my work. 

Twitter Chats 

On February 10th I took part in a #TwitterChatMarathon. I took part in an #EdChat about eliminating "us vs. them" dynamics in education, a #BCStuTeach chat about brain breaks, and a #TeacherFriends chat about diversity. As an added bonus, I won a resource prize from one of the #TeacherFriends moderators, @fuzzlady77.

Last night I participated in a #BCEdChat about social media in schools.

By participating in Twitter chats, I have grown my PLN significantly. I am now connected with experienced and pre-service teachers from a number of countries, including the United States and France.   

Today I found out about Nurph, a Twitter chat platform, which might make this process easier. Currently I used Hootsuite.

Tech Notes

These are some of my musings/notes from today's in-person #edci336 session...

Twitter Chats
I took part in #fslchat and #bcedchat on Sunday night. The #bcedchat was about innovation, and it's on Storify here. Engaging in this process helped me to improve my Twitter chat skills, become more comfortable with Hootsuite, and grow my PLN.

Coding & Programming
I want to continue working on Codecademy as part of my work for this course in order to further my learning about coding. When I asked what his favourite Education Technology resource was via Twitter,  @abnorr shared a kid-friendly site for practicing coding: studio.code.org. I'd like to spend some time exploring that as well. Through @DW_Programs on Twitter, I found out about lightbot.com, a program for engaging kids in programming.

Blogger
My upcoming goals for Blogger are adding social media icons to this blog, and learning how to follow blogs via RSS feeds.

Personal Learning Plan
Here is a sample personal learning plan (PLP). I might work on creating a formal PLP for myself, but in the meantime this blog, Twitter, and a plethora of sticky notes will serve that purpose.

Privacy & Copyright
I plan on learning more about privacy and copyright. Here are a few phrases that will help to guide the beginning of my learning journey:

• BC Privacy Act,
• International Standards for Technology in Education,
• Creative Commons, and
• open educational resources.

Miscellany
Here are a few hashtags that I've heard about through this class that I'd like to explore further:

• #remixthediss,
• #geniushour,
• #tiegrad,
• #commentsforkids, and
• #sd61learn.

Here are some other resources that I'd like to explore:

• etmooc,
• LiveBinders,
• LiveBinder re: Genius Hour, and
• diigo.

-Britney (@MlleBallen)

Get Connected

Video Conference Tutorials
I am putting together a couple of video conference tutorials about Blogger and Twitter for my colleagues in #edci336. If you are interested in attending one (or both) of these sessions, what sort of topics/questions would you like to see covered?

I will be using BlueJeans for these video conferences. Tomorrow afternooon I will start learning how to host a session using BlueJeans. On Thursday morning I will be using it to host a meeting between the PDPPPosseRC and a local teacher. Hopefully by the time I host the aforementioned tutorials, I will be able to use BlueJeans without getting David Bowie's song "Blue Jean" stuck in my head!

Twitter
By all accounts - and certainly by my Twitter account - I have been tweeting up a storm lately. I have expanded my PLN, increased my engagement in some great communities, found some terrific resources, and just generally been quite inspired by what I have found.

Today I started using Hootsuite, and I think that I am starting to get the hang of it. It certainly didn't take long for me to tweet a pun about it.

One particularly fruitful connection was with the Royal BC Museum. Because of this connection, I have been given the opportunity to be part of a creative team for an outreach project that combines science and comics. What an incredible combination of Science Education and Art Education! 

Face-to-Face Learning
I am so excited to be taking part in these fabulous opportunities for networking and professional development in the near future:

• #yyjignite on Wednesday,
• A national science outreach conference in Ottawa in 1.5 weeks, where I will be sharing what I have learned both while working as a STEM outreach instructor/coordinator, and while taking last term's courses in Indigenous Education and Education Psychology,
• A public information session at Pacific Institute of Inquiry and Innovation (PSII) on February 7th, and
• #edcampvic on February 28th.

Will I be seeing you at any of these events? Are there any other great events coming up? Let's get connected!

-Britney (@MlleBallen)