The Biggest Department in the School

I have recently gone from the smallest department in the school (2 FTE teachers) to the largest (over 100). How have you done this I hear you ask? Through the medium of Twitter and, of course, Tutor2U.

I began the summer (as I often do) reflecting on the previous year and thinking about what I could do differently next year. Teaching is a great profession and always evolving especially when you are fortunate enough to be teaching Economics and Business. There is so much going on in the Economics and Business world and so much more commentary on them than there was 20 years ago when I started in this profession. I had flirted a little with Twitter but could not see its relevance to me.

My eyes were opened last summer when I attended BTNC 2011 in London (I am in one of these photos). I realised that there was a new world of CPD where resources were being shared and new ideas being developed.

I had previously wondered what motive colleagues had for posting blogs and tweets – were they just wanting to see their name ‘in lights’. As I have embarked on this process I have realised that there is a great deal of personal satisfaction in sharing ideas but also the opportunity for personal reflection which, in our busy lives, many of us do not get the chance to do. I am enormously grateful for the all the Business and Economics teachers out there that regularly tweet and post blogs.

At the moment I am more a taker than a giver but I can assure you that my pupils are benefiting from your input. I have even developed my own departmental website using Moodle. This is an excellent way to organise, present and store resources which might be useful now or in the future. I have always been I.T. literate but also an I.T. sceptic – I know how to use it but have never been fully convinced by its use in the classroom. I suppose it has been a case of form over function (or to use the concept of Value analysis, aesthetics over function). There seemed to me to be a lot of I.T. based resources out there that looked good but did not really enhance the learning process.

But through the use of Twitter and Moodle I have been able to develop resources that I can use and improve what I am doing. I am in full control of the resources and am able build my lessons around them.

Finding the time to read the national press every day is something I struggle to do. In a department of two we would share ideas on a regular basis. In my new department of 100, ideas are being shared several times a day, all around the world and using a multitude of resources. There is a real pride in being a part of this and I promise to give more to it in the future.