A summary of the results of a survey about Online Professional Development collected over four days (after an #eltchat on Twitter: How can we encourage teachers to participate in online professional development?)

1. Online Professional Development Survey Created by Sandy Millin (CC licence: permission to use non-commercially) Survey done: January 6-9 2011, using Google Docs Disclaimer: this is not meant to be in any way scientific!

2. Twitter Used by 41 / 43 respondents (probably because I sent out the survey through Twitter!) http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/3383916444/ (via @europeaantje)

3. When did you join Twitter?

4. How long did you ‘lurk’* before you started to actively participate in Twitter? *to lurk (on Twitter): to read other people’s Tweets without making any yourself

5. How long did it take for you to feel comfortable with the way Twitter works?

6. How did you initially find out about Twitter? Other sources were: ELT conference, ELT journal (ETp), Stephen Fry, blogs, can’t remember, spouse, webinar

7. How did you find your way around Twitter once you’d joined?

8. What do you use Twitter for? connecting with people around my city, to motivate others, finding out ‘what’s happening’

9. How do you access Twitter?

10. How much time do you spend on Twitter each week?

11. What do you think you’ve gained from using Twitter for professional development?

12. What one tip would you offer to Twitter newbies? TAKE YOUR TIME (most people said this!) Don’t be afraid. Lurking can be necessary to learn. Don’t give up – give it at least a couple of weeks. Use guides or videos to help see how it works (try www.teachertrainingvideos.com by @Russell1955) Find a mentor. Ask for advice: everyone is willing to help! Give yourself time limits. Use hashtags #eltchat, #eltpics, #esl, #efl to help you find your way around. Find out who to follow using lists (Listorious, Tweempl) or by asking a friend Fill in your profile. Manage your time. Try to give as much as you get. Be selective about who you follow. Don’t be shy! Everybody has something to say. Join the discussion.

13. Blogs Used by 41 / 43 respondents

14. Do you write your own blog for professional development?

15. How did you find the blogs that you read? Searching subject matter, readers, social bookmarking, Google blogs

16. How many professional development blogs do you look at each week?

17. What do you use professional development blogs for? Sharing ideas, following Larry Ferlazzo

18. How do you access the blogs you read?

19. How much time do you spend on blogs each week?

20. What do you think you have gained from using blogs for professional development?

21. What one tip would you offer blog newbies? Bookmark your favourite blogs. Or use a reader (like Google Reader) Support other blogs – comment on them! Read comments as well as posts. Read a variety of blogs. Don’t worry about what to write, but do think about it. Don’t copy or plagiarise – someone will notice! Read blogs > comment > write your own. Experiment with your own blog. Tweet links to promote it. Be patient – it takes time to find an audience. Talk up your successes / Reflect on your failures. Use it to keep a record of activities / lessons. Blogging is about you: there are few rules.

22. You Tube… …and other video sites. Used by 24 / 43 respondents

23. How do you find the professional development videos you watch? Blogs, TED themes, subscription to YouTube channels

24. What do you use YouTube for? Seeing other people’s approaches to the classroom, finding new resources to turn into materials, watching interviews and presentations, tutorials

25. How many YouTube videos do you watch each week? Sorry – I know five is here twice 

26. How much time do you spend on YouTube (for professional development) each week?

27. Do you use other video-sharing sites for professional development? Vimeo (lots of people said this) TeacherTube (lots of people said this) SchoolTube Slideshare Cartoon / comic makers Photopeach TED talks lessonstream.org (formerly teflclips.com) teachertrainingvideos.com ASCD website Edutopia website

28. What do you think you have gained from using YouTube for professional development?

29. What one tip would you offer YouTube newbies? Use Twitter to find links. Click on the name of the person who uploaded the video to find more by them. Be careful of the comments when showing videos in class (language may not be appropriate). Preview everything before you show it! Subscribe to channels you enjoy. Create your own channel so you can bookmark favourites and return to them easily. / Sync with a google account. Be selective. Search using key words. Look at who published the video. Explore. Play. Enjoy.

30. Teaching English website Used by 10 / 43 respondents

31. Do you subscribe to the email newsletter?

32. Which parts of the site do you use?

33. How much time do you spend on the Teaching English website each week?

34. What do you think you have gained from using Teaching English for professional development? This was my introduction to online professional development, although I didn't take the next step until Shaun Wilden came to our school and talked me in to Twitter! Interesting ideas to reflect on (articles)- activity ideas to use in class- insight into great ELT authors` views on teaching (guest blogging) Lesson ideas / materials and some good theoretical knowledge. Learned new techniques, activities to be used in class with my students. Ideas. Lots of new ideas and resources and information for reflection. I share heaps of this with my colleagues. New to it, so still exploring it. BBC has some great science resources as well which I have used

35. What one tip would you offer Teaching English newbies? Explore. Go beyond the homepage. Explore the archives. Subscribe to the email newsletter to dip into everything.

36. Webinars / Online Conferences Used by 32 / 43 respondents http://evosessions.pbworks.com/f/1260463758/TLVW.jpg

37. When participating in online conferences, are you a:

38. What do you use online webinars / conferences for?

39. How many online conferences / webinars have you participated in?

40. How often do you participate in online conferences / webinars? Rarely, Whenever I hear about them, By interest

41. What do you think you’ve gained from using online conferences / webinars for professional development?

42. What one tip would you offer to online conference / webinar newbies? Don’t be afraid to try it out – you can always click out if it’s not what you expected. Don’t worry if the technology is new to you – it is to a lot of others in the session too! Ask for help. Try to watch them live for the full experience. Login early and test your audio to be sure you can hear. Remember you can scroll through later if the chat goes too fast. Note the speaker and use a link to watch it again. Ask if there’s a certificate Try one!

43. Other

44. What did I forget? Social bookmarking. Nings. Facebook. Yahoo groups. Mentors – try to find one (ask on Twitter). Websites: try building your own. Try to keep your username consistent. Use a real name if possible to show that you’re not a spammer / spy.

45. Thank you for participating! If you’d like to add your voice, the survey is at http://bit.ly/hv7Uja You’ll see the results once you’ve finished. @sandymillin