Thinking+about+Motivation

=Some Resources for Motivating Ourselves and Others= by @ChuckSandy for TEP at IUJ (and everyone)

I am so glad that you've decided to start off or continue on your collaborative journey as an educator reaching out and connecting with fellow teachers around the world. With the power of social networking and web 2.0 tools you'll be able take your professional development into your own hands as you engage in an ongoing discussion on the issues in education which matter to you. You'll also be able to find almost immediate answers to the questions you need answered, find like-minded teachers around the world with whom you can collaborate, and create a network of trusted advisors from the worldwide educational community. You are not alone. Other teachers around the world are eager to connect with you. If you're new to the journey, dive in. If you're already on this journey, dive deeper. The result of this effort will manifest itself in many ways as you grow as an educator.

There is NOTHING that is more motivating.

Below you will find some links, tools, resources and people that we will be working with in this course.

[|Motivating Ourselves & Others FaceBook Group] is a group I have created on Facebook for us to use. We'll share ideas, comments, and resources here.

[|The Happiness Project] There is nothing more motivating than happiness. Asking "What makes you happy" is the same thing as asking "What drives you" or "What are you passionate about?" Your first assignment is to create a poster and upload it to this page. Sound's challenging? Good :-)

[|Chuck's Facebook Page] I use Facebook differently from the way many people do. I use it to build community and share ideas and activities. Every day there is some activity to do. Try some.

[|International Teacher Development Institute (iTDi) Website] I am one of the cofounders of iTDi: an organization that's committed to providing affordable professional development to all teachers around the world. iTDi also has a Facebook page which I curate. You'll find lots of great resources and great teachers there. On Facebook you'll find iTDi at [|ITDi on Facebook]

[|The iTDi Blog] Every two weeks there are six new posts on the iTDi blog. In each issue of the iTDi blog we focus on one topic. You'll enjoy this and I encourage you to take part: start by reading some posts and making some comments. :-)

[|World Teachers' Discussion Group on Facebook] When I started this Facebook group a little more than a year ago, I had no idea that we would have more than 7000 teachers from 23 different countries involved, but we do! We'd love to have you involved, too. If you're on Facebook, click the link and go to our page and then //like// it. That gets you in. What you do after that is up to you. We'd love it if you'd pose questions, share resources, and add your voice to the discussions. It's one of the world's biggest staff rooms and we really want you there. Join us.

[|Twitter] If you do not yet have a twitter account, please click the link and register for one. It will only take you a matter of minutes. The minutes you spend doing this will open up a new world for you. On twitter I am @chucksandy and I also curate the @itdipro twitter stream.

[|Starter PLN] My iTDI colleague, Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto has created a list of 100 wonderful educators from around the world who are not only very active in the online community, but also very helpful people who //will// help you get started or develop your own P.L.N. With the click of a button, you can follow all 100 of these educators or you can go through the list to pick & choose the ones who interest you most. My advice: follow them all!

[|#eltchat] is a weekly gathering of 100s if not 1000s of ELT professionals from around the world who gather for an hour every Weds at 12:00 P.M. GMT and again at 21:00 GMT. Each week there is a different topic which eltchatters propose and vote on. The discussion is //always// lively and many wonderful resources get shared. Click on the link provided here to have a look at the #eltchat website where you can find transcripts of past #eltchat sessions.