ELTChat is a weekly Twitter-based discussion that takes place on Wednesdays at 7pm U.K. time under the hashtag #ELTChat. You can read more about it here and find a list of summaries of past discussions here.

The topic up for discussion on 18/05/2016 was CPD for teachers, using social media. I nabbed the summary writing duties (for the first time in ages, it seems!) as entering the online community in early 2011 was one of the turning points of my career.

In order to make this summary as user-friendly as possible, I am going to organise it by general comments and then by tool (titles are clickable links that take you to the site) and finish off with some thoughts of my own. So, feel free to read about them all or skip to the ones you are less familiar/more interested in. Order is random rather than some kind of ranking!

General:

• I think any social media is good for CDP depending on who/what you follow (@nahirco)
• It really is about who you follow. Makes such a big difference. (@Hada_ELT)
• Can anybody follow you (like Twitter)? Or do you have to accept them (like Facebook)? (@sandymillin – asking about Google+ but always a relevant consideration when newly using some kind of Social Media!)
• Social Media is a great way to do CPD as most people already use it… just haven’t necessarily thought of using it for that purpose (@thebestticher)
• One of the big questions – what to choose among this cornucopia of info (@Marisa_C)
• It’s the five minutes a day thing for me, much like learning a language. Daily habits easier (@sandymillin)
• I try to make Twitter and Facebook lists of interesting ELT/Phon profiles and keep up with them once a week. Feedly helps me keep track of blogs. (@pronbites)
• Curation principle the same in all these tools – look and feel is different of course – which is great (@Marisa_C)
• The ability to read and type quickly both help too 😉  And now, lots of experience of what is worth sharing/saving/reading (@sandymillin)
• My CPD saw a major shift when I linked it to social media. It got me into the ‘global classroom’ -sorry cliche but true (@Hada_ELT)
• I tend to take what comes in on my timeline – but LOOK for stuff when preparing sessions for Delta or talks (@Marisa_C)
• It’s often easier to be surprised when you don’t mind what you find (@SueAnnan)
• Wanted to share a few links from my blog with guides to online CPD, then realised too many! Mostly here:  (@sandymillin)
• It’s also nice to be able to ‘talk shop’ without driving everyone I know insane 😉 (@thebestticher)
• I presented this topic on the #vrtwebcon and shared the post on the #ltsig blog  (@Marisa_C)
• And we are mostly able to share info now beCAUSE of social media (@Marisa_C)
• Sharing recent @iatefl_ltsig blog post on Social Media Symposium #vrtwebcon   – summaries, slides, recordings (@Marisa_C)
• I switch(ed) all of the automatic things off on my social media accounts. Think I should choose when/where to post (@sandymillin)

1. Twitter (obviously!)

• Twitter is home to #ELTChat (see above for more information).
• I think with Twitter you assume people want professional connections, some people prefer to keep FB personal (@TeresaBerstwick)
• Source of ELT info (blogs, events, books, freebies..) and of course new technology. Endless source of inspiration  (@Hada_ELT)
• The assistance is super fast on twitter whenever you need an ear (@SueAnnan)
• And the learning – there is ALWAYS a great takeaway for me whenever I log in but I DO follow good people (@Marisa_C)
• #ELTChat kick-started my professional development online and changed my life. (@sandymillin)
• I tend to come across things on twitter when I’m being intentional about CPD (@thebestticher)
• I wrote this post about Twitter for CPD  (@LizziePinard)
• The hub is Twitter in general for my CPD (@Marisa_C)
• I find that work on #eltchat has improved my ability to say a lot in just a few words #eltchat have been able to describe lesson pln in 140 (@Marisa_C)
• Twitter is my CPD (@fionaljp)
• I love the random #ELT discussions I sometimes get into on Twitter – they end up being really informative. Great motivation (@Hada_ELT)
• I find Twitter more serious than Facebook and Facebook can be more contentious (@SueAnna)

(Though it wasn’t discussed, don’t forget other hashtag discussions such as #ELTChinwag [alternate Monday evenings at 8.30pm UK time] and #TEChat [Friday lunchtime UK time], as well as hashtags that are always in use like the #IATEFL one and the #mawsig one.)

2. Facebook

• Lots on Facebook now I’m friends with @sandymillin (@TeresaBerstwick – and I second it!)
• I use Facebook a lot, am friends with lots of teachers who share interesting things so CPD kind of comes into it! (@Thebestticher)
• FB has changed a lot in the last couple of years or rather WE have changed it (@Marisa_C)
• My FB contains teachers that don’t use Twitter much. It means contact there too (@SueAnnan)
• I only have one account (not separate) because I can’t be bothered with two, so I do try to think about who I add (@sandymillin)
• Facebook is the things I ‘stumble upon’ so to speak (@thebestticher)
• I find that stuff is often duplicated on Facebook and Twitter. Depends which I opened first (@SueAnnan)
• Which is actually good I think as I sometimes miss stuff on one that I catch on the other (@Hada_ELT)
• There’s a way you can link the accounts I think so it posts automatically to Twitter but not sure if it then posts EVERYTHING you put on Facebook (@TeresaBerstwick)
• 5 years of building up a network of people on Facebook means I tend to ask questions there – amazing discussions often result (@sandymillin)
• Definitely more cosy on Facebook. Slower and a bit less ‘open’ (does that make sense?) (@Hada_ELT)
• Some people prefer to keep FB personal (@TeresaBerstwick)
• It’s also possible to have a couple of profiles on Fb – one professional and one personal (@Hada_ELT)

3. LinkedIn

• I have to say that I can’t stand LinkedIn. I find it incredibly unwieldy and not user friendly at all. (@sandymillin)
• I use it to connect my school – I find other kinds of connections- discussion groups mostly unwieldy though agree (@Marisa_C) (More information provided subsequently to this Tweet but extending on it: people looking for me or my school for all services we provide – so yes more as a course provider/consultant)
• I only use LinkedIn now to keep my CV up to date. I used to use the groups but not now (@MarjorieRosenbe)

4. Pinterest

• Tried Pinterest but couldn’t get into it. (@MarjorieRosenbe)
• For me, Pinterest looks pretty, but I don’t find it very useful for CPD. Good for crafts etc (@sandymillin)
• I use pinterest a l ot when I prepare talks or seminars while doing background research/ ideas or reading (@Marisa_C)
• I love Pinterest for new ideas and activities and the constant reminder to try new things (@thebestticher)
• I have a pinterest account, but I get bored with it (@SueAnnan)
• I love pinterest – let’s follow one another – i use it a LOT! (@Marisa_C)

5. Diigo

(Just in case you weren’t aware, Diigo is basically a social bookmarking tool, which enables you to curate bookmarks in way that they are available for anyone to see.)

• I bookmark every useful link I find using diigo. After 5.5 years, I have over 4500 bookmarks, but can find them again quickly 🙂 (@sandymillin)
• All of my bookmarks are publicly available too, and other people can access/search them:  Very easy to use (@sandymillin)
• I add 3-4 links a day.That’s why I like diigo over something like Evernote – free + easy to share with other people 🙂 (@sandymillin)
• You should be able to download a file of all your bookmarks from delicious. I try to backup diigo in case (@sandymillin)
• Here’s my guide to diigo (@sandymillin)

6. GooglePlus

• It’s just another platform which has other possibilities of sharing -since it’s Google, it’s easier wth all shared docs I guess (@Hada_ELT)
• Anyone can follow you and you can create circles or join circles. There’s also a totally private area. (@Hada_ELT)
• So I guess that’s why it’s so good for MOOCs/ITDI – you don’t have to friend people (@sandymillin)
• You get sent a link whihc gives you access to a ‘closed’ area where material is shared and convos take place (@Hada_ELT)
• Google+ just doesn’t do it the same for me for some reason. Whatever I sign up too, Twitter and Fb still have the best connections (@Hada_ELT)
• Have seen it used to great effect during a course – for example – or EVO MOOCs, very versatile (@Marisa_C)
• Joined a MOOC in Google+ community and it worked really well as a platform for a course. (@fionaljp)
• Oh yes, you remind me that I do use it and it’s great for the @iTDipro  courses (@Hada_ELT)

7. Feedly

(From the horse’s mouth (an American horse judging by the spelling of organise!): A single place to organize, read, and share all the content that matters to you — and your team.)

• For me, it’s about using a reader and having a routine. Feedly collects everything for me… (@sandymillin)
• With feedly you cannot share  your feeds the way you could with google reader (@Marisa_C)
• Feedly is a blog reader, whereas delicious is a bookmarker (@sandymillin)
• I use feedly. Migrated to it after GoogleReader closed. 1 slightly annoying thing is you only have 30 days to read (@sandymillin)

8. Blogs/Blogging

• I find blogging helps me reflect on CPD. (@MarjorieRosenbe)
• Agreed – committing to a ‘new things I’ve tried’ post at the end of each month forces me to keep developing! (@thebesttticher)
• (@sandymillin promised us a blog post about blogging, based on a recent talk she made at the Innovate ELT  conference this year – well worth reading! – and has duly delivered. Enjoy!)

Passing mention was also made to Delicious (social bookmarking), Scoop.It (curating) and Pearltrees (From their website: “Pearltrees is a place to organize all your interests. It lets you organize, explore and share everything you like”).

Other online development options

We touched on this very briefly at the end!

• We haven’t said much about webinars and recordings for online CPD. So many available! (@sandymillin)
• Lots of @iatefl talks available to watch too, and you can read @LizziePinard‘s summaries of many of them:  (@sandymillin)
• Macmillan recorded all their sessions too (@LizziePinard)
• Webinars are great, the conversations in the chat box are social interaction and reflection. (@MarjorieRosenbe)
• Are there too many webinars these days? attendances seem to be low and people watch the recordings instead (@SueAnnan)
• Guess they’re like blogs. You’ll find what you’re interested in, and ignore the rest. Depends what you’re looking for (@sandymillin)
• I love webinars! There’s such a luxury. Chilling in my study, in the comfort of my home, I learn, for free! (@Hada_ELT)
• the #Iatefl series us attracting good numbers, not sure about others (@MarjorieRosenbe)

Basically, as far as I can make out from that little lot, it’s mostly a case of personal preference. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” kinda thing. Twitter and Facebook seem to be the main ways of connecting with people, though Google Circles also put forward as useful in a course context. LinkedIn didn’t seem to have many fans, but Kirsten Holt swears by it for networking! There are lots of different content curation tools, some purely for bookmarks (Diigo, Delicious) and other for general content (Feedly, Pinterest, Pearltrees, Scoopit). Online webinars are another means of online development, as is blogging. There isn’t time to use all of it, so find what works for you and do it! Then, if using tools that involve following or friending people, think carefully about who you follow/friend as this impacts the content you are shown in your timelines. One thing I think is interesting, and which has just occurred to me while writing this summary, is that no one mentioned Edmodo! Yet, Edmodo is supposed to be an educational platform where teachers can connect with teachers and share stuff. (That said, I’ve only used it with students, which is its other, and perhaps main, purpose)

For me, my Twitter account is a professional account while my Facebook account is a personal account. That said, Facebook gives me some CPD too, through the people I’m friends with (e.g. Sandy Millin who shares lots of blog posts), the groups I am a member of (such as the IATEFL group) and the pages I “like” (like the TeachingEnglish page). I only “friend” people I actually know so sorry to all the people who have attempted to add me that I haven’t accepted – if it’s any consolation, all you are missing out on is photos of my garden/vegetable patch, my horse and the like! I also have a LinkedIn account but haven’t got to grips with it fully. I recently joined a load of groups but haven’t had time to follow up yet. Pinterest I use for vegan recipes, but when I say “use” – I have an account, it periodically emails me stuff that might be of interest (read: vegan recipes) which I occasionally click on. So, not exactly an active user! I used  to use Diigo but forgot about it, feel like I should resurrect it at some point… Finally, of course, there is my blog. There is always my blog. 🙂