Your time is limited, and perhaps so are some of your skills. As a teacher, it\u2019s important that you improve your abilities regularly, whether you\u2019re learning how to better manage your workload or discovering how to use technology in your classroom.<\/p>\n
It may seem impossible to find a time for this professional development, which is a stress in-and-of itself. However, you don\u2019t need much extra time to develop your skills\u2014just one hour a week. Here\u2019s how.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to sit in traffic, listening to music, when you could be doing so many other things. Make this time productive by downloading educational podcasts. You can download them to your phone or music player and plug in instead of tuning out. <\/span><\/p>\n A few <\/span>educational podcast channels<\/span><\/a> to check out are:<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve already built your PLN on Twitter then you know how powerful it can be for learning new things and meeting new people. Turn to this platform for Twitter chats as well, which serve as a more social professional development opportunity. <\/span><\/p>\n Each chat is usually focused on one topic, and sometimes hundreds of educators will be participating by tweeting thoughts or answers to questions using a specific hashtag. <\/span><\/p>\n There are educational chats happening almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Use <\/span>this calendar<\/span><\/a> to find ones that are valuable to you and fit within your schedule. <\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s nearly $18 billion spent on professional development each year, and if you\u2019re spending money on a course to improve your skills, it better be good. Sign up for a program like <\/span>Edconnective<\/span><\/a> to work in a structured program without taking too much time out of your schedule. <\/span><\/p>\n Other fee-based, self-paced programs are offered by:<\/span><\/p>\n Make time one Sunday a month to master a single classroom tool. To make this process even easier, have each month focus on one subject. For example, you can break your months up like this:<\/span><\/p>\n Put in your headphones on a rainy Sunday afternoon and listen to a live or pre-recorded webinar. To find a one worth your time, check out <\/span>EdWeb.net<\/span><\/a>. They offer at least one \u201clesson\u201d Monday through Thursday, sometimes there\u2019s even more than one a day. Add one a week, or one a month, to your calendar so you\u2019ll be sure to make time for it as you would any other event or appointment. <\/span><\/p>\n Professional development doesn\u2019t have to take a lot of time. If you fully dedicate one full hour a week, even a month, to learning something new, you\u2019ll make progress without being stressed or missing a fun event. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bio: Jessica Sanders is the Director of Social Outreach for\u00a0Learn2Earn, an <\/span><\/i>online fundraising platform<\/span><\/i><\/a> that allows students raise money by reading books. She grew up reading books like The Giver and Holes, and is passionate about making reading as exciting for young kids today as it has always been for her. Follow Learn2Earn on <\/span><\/i>Twitter<\/span><\/i><\/a> and <\/span><\/i>Facebook<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and send content inquiries to <\/span><\/i>social@learn2earn.org<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\nPodcasts<\/h3>\n
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Twitter Chat<\/h3>\n
Go-at-Your-Own Pace Course<\/h3>\n
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Learn One Tool a Month<\/h3>\n
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Watch a Webinar<\/h3>\n