We are on term break and that means that my school work can take a bit of a break. I also run a business with my husband and that does not stop, in fact, with end of financial year jobs, it is quite busy. I have to admit that accounting bookwork does not capture my entire interest (despite the obvious necessity) and I often gaze over my Twitter feed whilst working. You might expect that it would be quiet, but in fact, the past few days have been very busy – full of teachers who keep up their passion for ongoing learning and use their term break to engage, to reflect, to share, to learn and to plan.
I have witnessed an amazing stream from the Slide2Learn (#slide2learn) conference currently taking place in my own town Melbourne. Excitement is palpable as teachers hear about new tools or old tools used in a different way – tweets continue from the homeward bound trains of participants as they experiment and play with renewed vigour. Twitter alerts me to a UStream of some of the live action – how could I not click and take a peak?
Another group are holding their regular online sharing time on the use the Ultranet (#ultranet). Many are returning from ISTE (#ISTE12) – an enormous conference in San Diego and sharing their thoughts and reflections via blog posts.
Some are taking the advantage of a break from school routines to complete an on-line course (#vicpln) that fell by the wayside during the busy term and tweeting their progress. News from a Moodle conference (#mootau12) on the Gold Coast floats by. Others are networking in preparation for the upcoming terms and forging relationships that will develop throughout the upcoming term.
I see people asking questions, sharing and above all being connected through this wonderful medium. This is why I like Twitter and the people I meet there.