Professional Learning on Clubhouse Changes the Vision of PD for Educators
William Jackson, M.Ed. STEAM Educator on Clubhouse @myquesttoteach
The newest and one of the most engaging social media apps is supercharging
professional development. Teachers are not sitting in mass in classrooms or
conferences rooms they are comfortably at home, on the road with their
families, alone enjoying a coffee and snacks or other relaxing positions.
Clubhouse has opened new opportunties to learn, grow, connect and
collaborate on an audio platform that teachers have access to high caliber
people globally to connect and learn from. Teachers now how a global
reach in professional development and learning.
The face or the sound of professional development is changing with
the use of audio platforms where educators and administrators can
speak real time with educational peers/professionals literally anywhere
in the world. My wife Aida who is an arts educator and STEAM advocate
and I, teaching STEAM learning in public education are speaking with
professionals that we can use to grow or knowledge. We have access
to resources to speak to youth, teens and young adults to inspire
new careers in Space and the growing Space industry. There are growing
opportunties here in Jacksonville with Jax Aviation
Authority and its connection to commercializing Space.
There is an authentic and unique relationship to this opportunity that
has never existed. Other online digital spaces; Flipgrid, Facebook groups,
Twitter chats, and private chats on different platforms have tried to
accomplish this level of engagement but have not come close. Aida
and I because of our direct involvement in several rooms about
STEAM Education and Learning on Clubhouse have spoken at
several online conferences that ranged from 500 to several thousand
globally. We are scheduled to speak at several events and broadens
our ability to collaborate online with organizations that support
STEM and STEAM learning. We are not just local influencers but
global influencers of STEAM education.
Our participation in the WordCamp web development community
enables us to share to a broader audience the relationship between
STEAM and Web Development. Nothing to date has provided the
same level of open authentic communication and collaboration
with others as being active and engaged on Clubhouse.
Clubhouse offers new opportunities to truly share, listen, speak,
discuss, share the voice of a professional educator and to be
heard beyond just their local areas. The opportunity to make
transformative connections and develop real relationships with
people that are respected, that is very exhilarating professionally.
Globally Clubhouse has grown from
600,000 in December 2020 to 10 million in February
2021 and continues to grow in influence. When my wife Aida
introduced it to me in 2020 at first I was skeptical, but after
attending several rooms for educators I was completely hooked.
I was able to speak to professional educators from around the
world in the areas that I am passionate about in helping youth,
teens and young adults to grow in their skills, talents and abilities
outside of the classroom. To guide students of color and culture
to new directions for careers that allow them to dream higher.
Empowering students with information from professionals is
one of the best ways to change the future of our young people
because teachers have access to real people doing real work in
business, technology, science, research and development.
Educators can connect with people that have a vested interest
in making sure all students are successful and even understand
the struggles of urban youth, students that are struggling with
learning challenges and even dealing with social issues
that are both positive to their growth and social challenges
they are dealing with personally.
“Clubhouse allows educators to connect with fellow educators
and share best practices and also to discuss the bigger ideas
around education to allow them to reflect on their practice
to improve students’ outcomes and also challenge their
own views on education. It also allows them to hear voices
that they may not have access to normally.”
Doctor Michael Harvey, @doctor_harves
Professional literature like
Global Trends in Professional Learning and Development
have stated the changes in professional development, that the
trends were changing and adapting with the increased use of
mobile technologies. ‘Open, design led and immersive’ where
ideas and resources are exchanged in unregulated online
environments.
Clubhouse is doing this on a national and international and
multilingual scale. Educational experts that are respected like
David Price, Open: How We’ll Work, Live and Learn In The Future
have stated that the changes of information and the barriers to
teacher learning are falling away. “Because information flows
faster and more freely than ever, and because we are better
connected than ever, the barriers to learning are being
dismantled. We share what we learn instantly and, generally,
without restrictions.
How we learn, and whom we learn from, has been transformed.
Our reliance upon anointed experts and authority figures has
diminished, while our capacity to learn from each other
has spiraled.”
Teaching over 30 years in pubic and higher education, the
access to educational peers and resources helps to keep my
knowledge and skill-sets fresh and relevant. This means that
I can share real-time information with my students that is
relevant and empowering, not shared from a book that may
be years behind educational models that do not address the
needs of my diverse student audiences. Enjoying applying the
learning on this unique professional development platform
that directly connects me to educational peers.
Our educational peers can follow us on
Clubhouse @myquesttoteach and on Twitter @wmjackson those
that are artists/educators can follow Aida @lovebuiltlife and
join the discussions on @Educ8World https://educ8.world