I was honoured to be invited on the Making Better Teachers podcast with Kevin O’Shea. Kevin is an inspirational educator and a valued member of my PLN. He established his popular Just Japan podcast but recently turned his creative efforts back to education. The first ten episodes include some great guests and cover a range of useful topics for teachers.
Truth be told, I was nervous about doing this. I enjoy the comfort of blogging and the luxury of deleting, editing and revising my ideas. I was worried about being unedited! I’m not a confident speaker but I believe in practising what we preach. I encourage my students to step out of their comfort zones and to take risks, so I try not to shy away from challenges. Besides, the Skype chat with Kevin was like chatting with an old friend. He put me at ease and we enjoyed a professional discussion all about the benefits of being connected. It was a pleasure to join Kevin for Episode 11: Why every teacher should have a PLN.
To provide a flavour of the episode, here are the main discussion prompts:
- Can you tell the listeners a little about yourself? What was your path into education? Where are you based now?
- Tell us a little about your blog
- What is a PLN? Is it something that all educators should have?
- How can teachers build and grow their Twitter PLN?
- Are there any other ways to build a PLN?
- Can you share some great experiences, connections or collaborations you’ve made from your PLN?
- Back to your blog. It is popular and nominated for an award. Tell us more.
- Where can people find you on social media?
I encourage you to catch up on episodes 1-10. There are several ways to connect with Kevin and enjoy his content:
Follow Kevin on Twitter (@MadForMaple)
Follow the Making Better Teachers blog
‘Like’ the Making Better Teachers Facebook page
Listen to the Making Better Teachers podcast on Libsyn, iTunes, SoundCloud or Google Podcasts
My discussion with Kevin was fruitful and included some important points. I look forward to hearing your feedback on this episode.
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Listening in now, sounding great!
Love the George Couros quote you threw in, a real call to arms! There is no longer an excuse!
Great distinction between the negative/ rude followers and those who disagree. I follow a range of people who I agree with (very much confirmation bias!) but have a host of others who have strong beliefs in things that I would disagree with.
Really enjoyed it! Great podcast! I’m off to grow my PLN further!
Hi Lee,
Thanks for the support! I’m pleased that it resonated with you. I learnt a lot from my first podcast experience and I’m keen to join Kevin again sometime. Thank you for your episode last week. I really enjoyed listening to it.
Best,
Adam