English Teachers Guide to Technology: Part 1

If your students look like this during your class: Not a good sign!

So you want to teach English? Great! Guess what - you can no longer expect to sit at your desk pontificating on the intricacies of the subtext in The Great Gatsby while your students raptly hang on your every word.

Today's secondary English class is vibrant, dynamic, and challenging. Reading and wrestling with great works of literature teaches our students about themselves and the world they live in. As teachers, we need to find new ways to communicate to our students and help them unleash their voices to the world at large.

This is where technology enters the picture. If you want to be a teacher, of any subject, technology should be your secret-not-so-secret weapon that you carry in to your interviews. What does your twitter feed look like? Who are you following? Who is following you? What about Google+? Do you have a classroom page set up on Google+ or Facebook?

These questions are important to me, because if you are able to articulate your answers on any of these topics, then I know that you are a curious person, committed to lifelong learning. You are invested in connecting with the world and sharing, not hoarding, your skills. This is what today's modern English classroom needs: teachers who are learners themselves, and can model to their students appropriate and revolutionary usage of communication tools. Our students can change the world one tweet at a time. Are you a part of that?

If you are a new English teacher, or a current teacher eager to try new things, consider the following ways to improve your techie skills.

1. Twitter - Follow #engchat and #edchat to find other English teachers who are invested in sharing and learning together. Contribute to the conversation! If you are a new teacher, #ntchat is also a good place for you to start.

2. Google+ - In many ways, I now prefer Google+ to twitter. I follow many of the same people, but we are able to have richer, longer conversations on Google+. I prefer the more visual arrangement of Google+ to the text-based Twitter, but each have their strong points.

3. English Companion Ning - Here, you can connect specifically with other English teachers. The searchable forum is a treasure trove of questions and answers.

4. Webinars & Google Hangouts- be on the lookout on Twitter and Google+ for announcements about free webinars and hangouts. These are usually well worth your time, and hey, if the session turns out to not be useful to you, it's an easy click to leave.

5. Edtech Conferences - State conferences and national conferences are excellent places to connect with educators and learn, learn, learn. Never stop learning - please! Every year, I try to attend PETE&C (Pennsylvania's edtech conference) & ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education).