Fast Track and Twitter: A Powerful Combination
13 Apr
I am a Fast Track Teacher on my final year in the programme. I am currently Faculty Leader for MFL at Westfield Community College in Watford, and aiming for my first senior leadership post.
For the past year I have been using Twitter to develop my Personal Learning Network. I have found that in combination with my blog, Twitter is a fantastic tool for engaging with other professionals around the world involved in education.
On Sunday 15th March, an article about school reform in the Sunday Times caught my eye. I wrote a response to it on my blog, and shared the post with my followers on Twitter. Since Jim Knight, the Minister for Schools is a Twitter user; I sent him the link to my blog asking for his comments. I didn’t imagine he would respond, but that afternoon we exchanged ideas about what the English education system needed in order to move forwards. To read the article and the post, click here.
Blogging and using Twitter have flattened hierarchies for me in a fantastic way: I network every day with senior leaders, politicians, journalists and international educationalists. As an example, in the past couple of weeks, I have also been discussing digital literacy with the Principal at Berkhamsted School, after reading a really interesting post on his blog. To read the exchange, click here.
The constant drip-feed of new ideas and inspiration that Twitter provides has given me a real edge at school and means I can stay right on the pulse of educational change. I would really recommend it to any aspiring senior leaders to use this tool to access some of the great thinking and innovation that is going on in the world of education, from your doorstep to the other side of the world.
To follow me on Twitter, go to http://www.twitter.com/lauradoggett
*This post was reinstated after it got lost in the ether when my blog was updated.*
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