Picks of the week from across the ‘EduTwitter’-Sphere
For some, Twitter is the home of fake news, Trolls and millennials sharing Louis Theroux memes. But if there is one industry, in one region of the world proving the doubters wrong and a beacon of light for the possibilities that Twitter can offer, it’s educators in the UAE and wider Middle East. The UAE has a thriving community of passionate, enthusiastic educators sharing ideas, resources and all the good work going on in their schools.
With the recent school closures and disruptions to students learning from the outbreak of Covid-19, now more than ever Twitter is showing it’s worth to education. Whether it’s communicating with colleagues or students, discovering and sharing learning resources, staying informed of the latest trends or simply a bit of light relief in these dark times, if you’re a member of the education community, Twitter is a great place to be right now.
I’m sure we can all admit to spending more time than usual scrolling through our timelines recently and noticed how busy they are. So we’ve put our thumbs to good use and put together a list of some of the most popular and useful #tags you should be keeping an eye on as well as some of the best content from each one, just in case you missed it.
#TeachUAEChat
The hashtag for educators across the UAE, #TeachUAEChat and the account @teachuaechat was set up by GESS Awards winner Kate Jones @87History, Head of History at The British School Al Khubairat back in 2017. Over the years it has hosted live weekly Twitter chats and continues to be a superb source of resources and ideas for senior leaders and teachers in the UAE and shared the best of the local education community with the world.
In case you missed it:
We came across these 2 brilliant new guided meditations for children by GESS Dubai speaker Ashley Green, Teacher & Wellbeing Leader at JESS Dubai. Perfect to help students wind down after another day of being cooped up indoors. You can find sessions in both English and Arabic on her website, as well as a blog full of ideas to help you incorporate mindfulness or meditation in your class.
https://twitter.com/mindfulmissg/status/1244624438177533954
#UAEADE
The brain-child of a close and passionate group of Apple Distinguished Educators based in the UAE, #ADEUAE will play host to a weekly Twitter chat tailored to the needs of the local audience. The first ever #ADEUAE chat took place on Monday 6th April, hosted by another of our GESS Awards winner’s Philippa Wraithmell, @MrsWraithmell of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi focussing on creativity in remote learning. Don’t worry if you missed it, #ADEUAE chats will take place every Monday, 18:00-19:00 in Dubai. Each week will have a theme linked to Remote Learning, led by a member of the #AppleTeacher #ADE community.
In case you missed it:
You can follow everything that wen on in the inaugural #UAEADE chat by clicking the link below...
https://twitter.com/MrsWraithmell/status/1247161899399008257
#CollabUAE
Co-Founded by UAE based educators Andi Price @MrAndiPrice and Tom Sale @TomSale, #CollabUAE is a fantastic source of ideas, project launches, examples of the fantastic work going on in UAE schools, digital networking and all round positivity coming out of the education community in the UAE.
In case you missed it:
Check out @MrAndiPrice’s interactive “Educators to follow in the UAE” chart for some great names to follow and grow your network. He is putting together a new and updated version as we speak, so head over to his Twitter with your suggestions.
https://twitter.com/MrAndiPrice/status/1244130251820720128
#EduTwitter
Although not solely UAE focussed, although you can find plenty of local educators posting using the hashtag, #EduTwitter brings together teachers from all over the world to share tips, resources, advice and support as well more than a bit of fun as well.
Want a bit of help to find out who you should be following?
Edutwitter.org was set up by Tristan Kirkpatrick @tristankp a Google Certified Innovator and Associate Director of Computer and Computer Science at the Outwood Grange Academies Trust in the UK. It’s an online database of educational accounts on Twitter that you can filter by specialism or search by name. A great tool for anyone starting out in the #EduTwitter world looking to grow their network.
In case you missed it:
And now for something completely different…
For some light relief at the end of another long day of battling your wifi connection to stay on top of your Remote Learning classes, check out Teacher’s Manual @UnofficialOA account.
Omar Akbar is a Teacher from Birmingham in the UK, the author of a number of brilliant books offering an alternative look at teaching as well as the star of the hilarious TikTok videos he shares with his followers. Check our favourite out below.
