Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

I'm wondering how many teachers on Dave's are members of Linkedin or Twitter. They're not so much "social networks" as facebook is (Linkedin, especially,) and they do have job links:

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#search?q=ESL

Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/jsearch/sh?keywords=ESL&jobTitle=teacher&searchLocationType=Y&sortCriteria=R

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestions=&gid=116744&forumID=5&sik=1272986868935

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestions=&gid=150542&forumID=5&sik=1272986868939

Regards,
John

[Justin Trullinger]

Shouldn't "Do I what?!?" be an option in this poll?

Bewilderedly,
Justin

[spiral78]

Ditto Justin's comment. Ok, in theory I know what they are - and I made a bit of effort with Linked In. But what's the point, really? I'm afraid I think whatever the point is is something I haven't got time or energy in my real life for (though I obviously find time for Dave's )

[Chancellor]

What's a link-e-din?

[johnslat]

Dear Chancellor,

That's how I, at first, thought it was pronounced, too. Actually, it's only two syllables: linked-in.
But you know - I think the "link-e-din" sounds better.


Regards,
John

[naturegirl321]

I'm on Linkedin. Don't know why. Seemed like the thing to do. Haven't had any job leads from it though.l

[Teacher in Rome]

I'm on both. Plenty of relevant professional groups on LinkedIn, such as BESIG. (Justin - I'm surprised at you - we have a mutual connection who I only know via LinkedIn and her NING group!)

Twitter is fantastic for making and building contacts. There are a lot of very dedicated teachers, trainers and ELT authors all active on Twitter - and no barrier whatsoever to contacting them or joining in on their conversations. I'd really recommend it for career development, getting to know people, and so on.

[johnslat]

Dear Teacher in Rome,

At last - a fellow Tweeter/Linkedin member. I agree completely with what you wrote. Twitter is a gold mine on information/good contacts, and Linkedin is the same, to, I'd say, a lesser degree, at present.


For example, here's something I just learned on Twiter:

Bringing experts into your classroom via video conferencing can be an excellent enhancement to your students' learning experiences. Video conferencing can also be used to connect classrooms in a 21st century version of penpal exchanges. Skype is the most common tool for making these connections and for good reason Skype is the most popular video conferencing application. It's easy to use and free for most uses. The only drawback to Skype is that you and the person you want to talk with must have Skype installed on the computers you are using. The following are three other ways to video conference without using Skype.
Present.io is one of the many excellent services created by the folks at Drop.io. Present.io allows users to set up a free webinar or video conference with just two clicks. Just like with Drop.io there is no registration required to use the service and there is no software to install. To use Present.io simply create a drop and share the drop's unique url (and optional password) with whomever you would like to participate in the conference. When you're ready to start your conference click "start presentation." If you create the conference you are the administrator and have full access to show the other participants files, links, photos, and any other media you're using on your computer.

Wetoku is a free service for quickly conducting, recording, and sharing video interviews using your webcam. To conduct an interview just log-in to your account, click "start new interview," and send the invitation link to whomever you want to interview. Wetoku records the videos from both participants in the interview. When you embed the recording, the videos of both participants appear side by side (see a sample from RWW here).

Vokle is a free service for hosting and recording live web conferences. Using Vokle you can host a live conference in which participants can chat with text while you broadcast yourself. You can also broadcast a conversation of yourself and another person who has their webcam enabled. The text chat room can be used to organize a line-up of people who would like to broadcast themselves to the other chat participants."

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/01/3-ways-other-than-skype-to-bring.html

Regards,
John

[Teacher in Rome]

I agree - Twitter is excellent for keeping up with new developments, useful sites, informative blogs... But there's a lot more, too.

Recently I discovered that someone had been ripping off content from my website. I posted this on Twitter, and got immediate replies - some from other people who'd also been ripped off, but innumerable messages of support and help from others in my network. Together, we got this person to take off content that wasn't his - a result in less than 24 hours. I think that this was the first time in my entire teaching career that I've seen how teachers together can make a difference.

I don't tweet very often, as I'm super busy with other projects, but if you want to follow me, I'm @englishathome. Feel free to follow my lists ("elt / tech / trainers" might be the most appropriate) and meet a community of fantastically supportive and inspiring colleagues from around the world.

Many of the people I communicate with on Twitter are also contacts on LinkedIn. It's not the holy grail for finding new jobs necessarily, although I know that I'd hire the people I'm connected with in a heartbeat. That can make a difference - by getting to know people virtually, contributing to discussions, helping out where possible, you're storing up good will for a time you might need it - the real power of networking in my opinion.

A final point: I can't afford to go to conferences - either in time or in money. And stuck in a rural backwater, there are few options for teacher training. But being connected to people means I can keep up to date with trends and developments in teaching. Social media offers me a variety of ways to keep from stultifying in the classroom (something I'm conscious of needing to avoid) without having to shell out on air / hotel tickets.

[abulinhthi]

Yeah, I gues they might be useful......if one actually used them. I plunk around, look at stuff......but who's got time for this kind of thing??? I have enough trouble keeping my normal E-mail "down to" <100 un-read.
I never really found anything that immediately useful on either of them. Takes [me, anyway] hours to track things down.

[gaijinalways]

Funny that I am linked in, facebooked, tweeted, and flickred, but I'll be damn if I use any of them much. Facebook is the only one I sometimes use (2-5 times a month), and I am linked to a few fellow teachers on it.

[Mrguay84]

I've been invited to join both several times and several times I have declined.

[naturegirl321]

While the internet can be great, it can also be a curse. There's TOO much info out there and you waste a lot of time sorting through it. Also, it seems to be a fall back for peopel.
You ask them a question, and they say "it's online"

[hollysuel]

Teacher in Rome

I just checked and realized that I am already following you and we are connected with many of the same people *grin*! I agree with many of your thoughts below.

RE linked-in--I have received three clients through this site for my small company, so I wouldn't discount it and like you many of the people I have met through twitter and linked-in, I would hire them in a heartbeat once my company starts to grow. Twitter is just another avenue for professional development.

It can be a time waster, but so can watching TV and anything else a person chooses to do.

For those of you who tweet, I'm 'hollysuel' on twitter if you want to follow me.

[Teacher in Rome]