Monday, June 16, 2014

Learn with Passion

KEY... Keep Educating Yourself


When I was invited by Shelly Sanchez Terrell to participate in the The 30 Goals Challenge for Educators I thought about the tittle "Learn with Passion" but not from the students' point of view but... from the teachers' point of view. Why? Because we always think about students and never about us! We tend to attend courses, seminars, webinars and congresses to learn about stuff for them...


With the availability of new technologies, with thousands of resources inside the Internet, we teachers don't know where to start and how to start to look for material, support and other colleagues with the same problems. So I decided to write about the most 2 influential Personal Learning Networks I belong to and the ones I "refuel" from every day.



The first one and my "guiding star" is the The Webheads in Action. With them, I have learnt most of the stuff I know about blogs, digital storytelling, e-books, wikis, social networks and tons of other things I had never ever imagined they existed. I found them almost 5 years ago and from that moment onward, I have never left them behind. The Webheads are like "ants"... they are everywhere!! And as they are everywhere, I have met wonderful educators from around the world... Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, Croatia, Brazil, Slovenia, Russia just to name a few. It's incredible how people with a different culture and different customs become part of your life. 


The second must-site is Simple K12. This is a "wow" place you should - or better - have to visit!! I had come across it some time ago but I had never paid too much attention until last October 2013 when I became a full member and "OMG..." tons of resources and webinars have been at my complete disposal. Whatever you can imagine is there... forum discussions with almost 450.000 educators, videos, links, ebooks... and the best... the blue bunnies!! Simple K12 is a Teacher Learning Community you will enjoy stop by and I'm sure you won't regret having spent one minute there.


"Lean with Passion" is one of the best activities you can do while you are on holidays, while you are working, while you are in bed... "keep educating yourself" because it's the only way you have to go with the flow, with the new technology and with the "new" students. We teachers know that if we fall asleep, our "kids" get bored, feel frustrated and don't learn!

Take 10 minutes of your time, "Learn with Passion" and ... think that the only thing you can do is to ...



... because the more you know, the happier and the most satisfied you will feel.

I do hope I can see you inside the Webheads and Simple K12 so we can keep on learning! Or... even better... I invite you to visit Argentina... a country you will fall in love not only because of its people but because of its land, its food, its drinks, its geography and its... you name it! 

Smiles, Maria :)

 




6 comments:

  1. A great post, Maria. Really inspiring. I agree that things can sometimes get overwhelming, so it's good to know where to start. That's why we have each other - for sharing tips and experience and for making things look less chaotic and scary. Connecting with other educators simply makes the immense world of knowledge and all the ideas available on the internet more palatable for each of us. Thanks for telling us about the Webheads and Simple K12. I'll definitely check them out!
    Hana

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    1. Thank you a lot dear Hana!! It's an honor to read your words! Tons of smiles, Maria :)

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  2. Proud to be a #webhead :) Thank you for this lovely post dear friend and collegue!

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  3. Thank YOU for having read it, Marijana! It's always a pleasure to read your comments!! Tons of smiles, Maria :)

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  4. Hello Maria - I've never heard of either site, and will check them out. Thanks! Happy summer, Noreen

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    1. Hi Noreen!
      Thanks for having read and left a comment!! Though it's winter here in Argentina, I'm enjoying our "winter break"!! Hope to see you in both... SimpleK12 and in the Webheads!
      Smiles, Maria :)

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