pension333: Social media: like the staffroom, but without all the negativity

Teacher Kierna Corr explains how she uses social media to network with like-minded colleagues across the globe and boost her professional development

I once heard someone describe Twitter as, "like the staffroom but without all the negativity".

This resonated with me. Teaching is one of those professions where everyone has an opinion on how it should be done; teachers are often harangued for short working hours and long summer holidays, and whenever things go wrong in schools it makes national headlines. But very rarely do you see good practice being celebrated.

This negativity ? and the pressures of the job ? quickly seep into the staffroom and it can be difficult to stay motivated. I once heard Dr. Anne Looney, chief executive of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) Ireland, talk about Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan's book, Professional Capital. One thing she said stuck with me: "if you have high professional capital but are surrounded by others with low professional capital, you will be brought down by them."

Her advice was to get out of a school if this was the situation, but this isn't an option for most teachers. Social media, however, can go some way to overcoming this. Teachers who use social networks tend to be like-minded ? we're the ones chatting about work in the evenings, sharing ideas, forging friendships and keeping our passion for our jobs alive.

I came to teaching later in my working life ? I was 30 years old when I started. By that time, courses for continuing professional development (CPD) were being phased out. My mum was also a teacher and I remember her talking about a time when teachers could get paid leave to do their masters; alas those days are long gone. To make things more tricky, I teach in a one-entry primary school; I have no direct colleague to bounce ideas off or share experiences and frustrations with.

Social media has become a lifeline for me. I love that I can pose a question or retweet someone else's query on Twitter and within minutes have lots of helpful answers. Meeting up online through Twitter, online seminars or eTwinning and exchanging ideas and good practice has gone some way to filling the void that the lack of more traditional forms of CPD, such as courses, has left.

Through these platforms I have built up a network of connections for help, advice, information and products. I could spend hours or weeks sourcing a particular resource for my class, but within minutes I have a wealth of expertise able to advise me through social media. When I see a resource that looks interesting, I can ask teachers directly about where they got it, what it was called and more importantly if it's worth getting for my classroom.

There are always education chats on Twitter, from regional and UK-wide to more specific subject-based ones. A good place to start is #edchat ? there are discussions about all things education on this hashtag every night. From there you can narrow it down to your local region or sector. Try to establish contact with at least one or two teachers and then begin to follow some of the people they follow. Ask colleagues who are already using social media sites for professional purposes if you can follow them or join chats they take part in.

There are lots of early years teachers across the world using social media to do exactly the same thing. I've had glimpses into classrooms in Australia, America, Canada and other parts of the UK. #kinderchat is a well-known international early years hashtag. Other key ones include #UKedchat, #niedchat, #edchatie and #eytalking. On Facebook, there are groups for people using Montessori, Forest School or play-based learning ? these are also useful to dip in and out of.

Nursery teachers tend to be open to sharing ideas so local teachers in my area have also arranged cluster meetings in each others' settings so we can share good practice and have a good nosy round each others classrooms.

One Friday evening in October 2012 I sat in an audience of teachers to take part in my first ever TeachMeet. While I was inspired by the innovation happening amongst my colleagues in the primary and secondary sectors, I was more enthused by their willingness to share ideas and showcase their practice. As one of the organisers said, "Who else but teachers would gather for three hours on a Friday night in their own time for no financial gain?"

Many schools frown upon teachers using some, if not all, social media sites. I can understand some of their reticence but, viewed through the lens of professional development, it is an asset. If users remain as professional as possible they really can't go wrong. Always remember to never type anything you wouldn't be prepared to say in person and allow at least 10 minutes thinking time before you storm into any controversial conversations.