Talk given by Independent Languages Consultant, Joe Dale from the UK at the American Association of Teachers of French convention in Montreal on 6th July 2011. See http://aatf.posterous.com for links and http://joedale.typepad.com for more information about the speaker.
9. Coming to terms with Twitter ‘ What started as a few language teachers 'tweeting' about what they were doing has become well over 100 from around the world. It's quite hard to comprehend having a virtual staffroom of that many people with good ideas and opinions. It has led to teachers publicising articles on their blogs which ordinarily I wouldn't have seen, I find out about events for professional development that I wouldn't have known about, and it has, without doubt put me into contact with some very influential educationalists who have taken time to give me guidance and advice. Coming to terms with Twitter - Alex Blagona April 2010
19. Two Stars and a Wish Purpose, audience and content one-click publishing Real communication Assessment for learning Secure environment Promote global citizenship Pupil voice Celebrate your pupils’ work Feedback Comments
36. New Tools, New Opportunities, Personal Learning Network www.joedale.typepad.com [email_address]
Notes de l'éditeur
Vignette of 5 years ago, how has changed, how will change in future. Breaking down the walls of the classroom with Web 2.0 Core ideas publishing work to a real audience to make language learning more purposeful, language teachers leading the way.
The MFL Twitterati, a supportive group of language professionals interested in sharing good practice in language teaching with or without ICT. Now you may ask what is the difference between a language forum and Twitter. Well Twitter allows you to build your own personal learning network. You can follow and block who you like, protect or unprotect your tweets as you wish whereas a forum doesn’t allow the same degree of personalisation. You get what you’re given essentially. Twitter is also real time. You can keep updated about the latest events as they happen. Twitter is not about following the minutiae of your favourite celebrities, it is an awesome tool for improving your own continuing professional development or in the words of Isabelle Jones, a blend of the personal and professional For example through Twitter I know that ... Jose Picardo cooks a mean Sunday roast, Lisa Stevens and Chris Fuller are mad Liverpool fans Annalise Adam has a dog called Merlin And Helena Butterfield loves her caravan. Why is this information important, you ask. Well it means through Twitter, I have got to know my virtual colleagues as real people not just names in a forum. This is why when the MFL Twitterati meet up at conferences like this there is such a buzz around the place because they feel as if they know each other already.
Here is a nice quote from Alex Blagona about the effect twitter has had on him. Carry on tweeting … Marie O’Sullivan post
Here is a Wordle of the tweets sent in response to the question What does the MFL Twitterati mean to you? As you can see what the community values the most is the support and ideas it receives. Now let’s watch a short clip to see exactly what they wrote.
![New Tools, New Opportunities, Personal Learning Networks AATF Convention, Montreal – 6 th July 2011 www.joedale.typepad.com [email_address]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/newtoolsnewopportunitiespersonallearningnetworkaatf-110815142419-phpapp01/85/New-Tools-New-Opportunities-Personal-Learning-Networks-1-320.jpg)
