So one of the many complaints from colleagues that they "just don't have time" to use Twitter/Blogs/other PD opportunities is they just can't find the time.
And who can blame them? It all looks like WAY too much reading, if you're not used to the idea. Twitter has gotten a bad wrap - "It's about people posting what they ate for breakfast" is the most common comment I get. I also get "I don't care what Beieber thinks" is a close second. Showing teachers without a good explanation, however, also harms them - they see my stream updating every second with something new to read, or look at, or respond to, and get seriously overwhelmed.
I explain to them that I get my PD in 10 minutes with a morning coffee. They act surprised - "10 minutes to read all that?". Nope. Only what I feel like.
It's so important to remember that good resources keep popping up in multiple places, and if you miss something, it's probably going to come back. It's also important to note that if you HADN'T looked, you wouldn't get ANYTHING, so getting one thing is better than the alternative :)
I explain to them that my morning works something like this - I open up my blogs, and skim through the various education/math/science titles - call it 15 posts. I'll probably read one, and save one for a prep or the next morning (remember, 10 minutes or less!).
I'll pop open twitter and read the last 5-6 tweets in case someone has an interesting discussion happening right now, and then scroll looking for links. I might click on 3.
They start to see what I'm talking about - I get one or two things a day, which adds up to a LOT in a week and even more in a month :) The rest? It will either resurface, or I'm not any worse off than not looking.
I'll be making a post about why I think we need to require more continuous PD, but I've converted a couple of people to spend 10 minutes learning something new.
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