Summary

This week’s material has presented you with a variety of possible paths you could take towards joining, creating or developing networks. The benefits of being connected to other teachers in this way have been highlighted. Hopefully, you now have some ideas about where you want your networking to go next. Rita has certainly got a few ideas:

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RITA

I didn’t think that I was a part of any networks or communities, but I now realise that I am. Most of this isn’t online, but the more I think about it, the boundaries between the online world and the ‘real’ world are quite blurred!

I attend teaching conferences to make sure my skills are up to date, and to find out about the latest innovations in educational technology. I often meet new people at these events, people like me who are doing similar jobs and teaching in a similar way.

I keep in touch with these people and others by email, on mailing lists for teachers with particular interests, and in some cases we have become Facebook friends, too. We often share new ideas, or new technologies or techniques that we have discovered, but doing it by email is always a bit of a hassle, because you’re never quite sure if you’re annoying people by including them when it’s not really their thing.

I am going to ask all my teacher friends if we should set up a list on Twitter, which I admit I have not really used in the past. On Twitter, we could share things quickly and simply, and people could choose whether to engage or not. Plus, it would keep all of our discussions in one place, so we can refer back to things easily. It would be a great way for me to share my plans for moving my course online, and to find out if anyone has done anything similar already and can give me any advice.

Who knew I was part of a ‘community of practice’? But it seems that I am!

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You can now go to Week 5.