As a teacher in a one-man department. It is impossible to share good practice and bounce ideas off a colleague at work. With modern social media, it is far easier than it ever used to be to share with colleagues in other schools.
The Internet is so much more than just TES online, Musical Contexts (which is fab if you don’t already subscribe) and the odd Music Teacher’s Resource site.
I am a member of several Facebook groups for music teachers, which are brilliant! The best are the KS3 and Edexcel GCSE ones. I read them daily and contribute regularly. It is a great way to share/steal ideas and the best, most personalised form of CPD there is. Without them, I honestly don’t think I would be the teacher I am today. I have been reassured that I am doing it right, realised I am doing it wrong, felt better for helping someone else, learnt from others, borrowed resources, shared material and even whinged and moaned with other music teacher colleagues. Without social media I wouldn’t have been able to do this.
Another brilliant resource is the myriad of online blogs. This isn’t self-promotion, more to highlight that there are dozens of music education experts who blog their musings, which make for even more personalised CPD – I read the articles that interest me and skip (and usually come back to) the ones that don’t, at that time!
Finally, I am a firm believer in using the Internet to develop my own resources and teaching ideas. I am always scrolling through YouTube videos looking for the next inspirational clip for my students. I then share them with pupils. In years gone by it would have taken ages to steal a video from the library and then set it up and watch. Those days are long gone!!
Anyway, I am on holiday from tomorrow. With little to no mobile or Wi-Fi… Bliss!
Happy holidays musos!!!
Teaching Musically 