Today I've explored Google+ Communities. I've been hearing about them for a while so I decided today was the day to actually dive into the Google+ world. Needless to say, it was much easier than I thought and extremely helpful.
I joined two Google+ communities: Teachers for Interactive Language Learning and English Language Teaching. As a future ESOL teacher I found these communities extremely helpful. From what I saw it was teachers for future teachers sharing their ideas, literature, questions, and resources with one another. I actually found it very similar to a Facebook group. You join a group, can see who else is a part of the group, post text and photos on the wall, and comment on other peoples posts.
As a teacher you're always looking to better yourself. Joining a Google+ community gives you the opportunity to always keep learning new things about education. You'd also be surprised how many people are willing to help and give ideas. For example, I could post a question "I'm looking to teach my students modals. Does anyone have any suggestions of an interactive website I could use to teach these?" Even if someone may not have a website they can share, they would share ideas or success stories they've had in their classroom. It's always enlightening to get new ideas.
I also like that you can change your settings to be notified when people post on the page or not. If you don't want to be bombarded with notifications, opting out is as easy as clicking a button.
Needless today, joining a Google+ community gives you the opportunity for constant teacher development without having to pay any fees or having to leave your house and change out of your pajamas!
There's nothing better than good, free professional development!
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