Professional Learning on Clubhouse Changes the Vision of PD for Educators
William Jackson, M.Ed. STEAM Educator on Clubhouse @myquesttoteach
William and Aida – Volunteers WordCamp US 2019
The newest and one of the most engaging social media apps is supercharging professional development. Teachers are not sitting in mass in classrooms or conferences rooms they are comfortably at home, on the road with their
families, alone enjoying a coffee and snacks or other relaxing positions.
Clubhouse has opened new opportunties to learn, grow, connect and collaborate on an audio platform that teachers have access to high caliber people globally to connect and learn from. Teachers now how a global
reach in professional development and learning.
The face or the sound of professional development is changing with the use of audio platforms where educators and administrators can speak real time with educational peers/professionals literally anywhere in the world. My wife Aida who is an arts educator and STEAM advocate and I, teaching STEAM learning in public education are speaking with professionals that we can use to grow or knowledge. We have access to resources to speak to youth, teens and young adults to inspire new careers in Space and the growing Space industry. There are growing
opportunties here in Jacksonville with Jax Aviation
Authority and its connection to commercializing Space. There is an authentic and unique relationship to this opportunity that has never existed. Other online digital spaces; Flipgrid, Facebook groups, Twitter chats, and private chats on different platforms have tried to accomplish this level of engagement but have not come close. Aida and I because of our direct involvement in several rooms about STEAM Education and Learning on Clubhouse have spoken at several online conferences that ranged from 500 to several thousand globally. We are scheduled to speak at several events and broadens our ability to collaborate online with organizations that support STEM and STEAM learning. We are not just local influencers but
global influencers of STEAM education.
Our participation in the WordCamp web development community enables us to share to a broader audience the relationship between STEAM and Web Development. Nothing to date has provided the same level of open authentic communication and collaboration
with others as being active and engaged on Clubhouse.
Clubhouse offers new opportunities to truly share, listen, speak, discuss, share the voice of a professional educator and to be heard beyond just their local areas. The opportunity to make transformative connections and develop real relationships with
people that are respected, that is very exhilarating professionally.
Globally Clubhouse has grown from
600,000 in December 2020 to 10 million in February
2021 and continues to grow in influence. When my wife Aida introduced it to me in 2020 at first I was skeptical, but after attending several rooms for educators I was completely hooked. I was able to speak to professional educators from around the world in the areas that I am passionate about in helping youth, teens and young adults to grow in their skills, talents and abilities outside of the classroom. To guide students of color and culture
to new directions for careers that allow them to dream higher.
Empowering students with information from professionals is one of the best ways to change the future of our young people because teachers have access to real people doing real work in
business, technology, science, research and development.
Educators can connect with people that have a vested interest in making sure all students are successful and even understand the struggles of urban youth, students that are struggling with learning challenges and even dealing with social issues that are both positive to their growth and social challenges
they are dealing with personally.
“Clubhouse allows educators to connect with fellow educators and share best practices and also to discuss the bigger ideas around education to allow them to reflect on their practice to improve students’ outcomes and also challenge their own views on education. It also allows them to hear voices that they may not have access to normally.”
Doctor Michael Harvey, @doctor_harves
Professional literature like
Global Trends in Professional Learning and Development have stated the changes in professional development, that the trends were changing and adapting with the increased use of mobile technologies. ‘Open, design led and immersive’ where ideas and resources are exchanged in unregulated online
environments.
Clubhouse is doing this on a national and international and multilingual scale. Educational experts that are respected like
David Price, Open: How We’ll Work, Live and Learn In The Future
have stated that the changes of information and the barriers to teacher learning are falling away. “Because information flows faster and more freely than ever, and because we are better connected than ever, the barriers to learning are being dismantled. We share what we learn instantly and, generally,
without restrictions.
How we learn, and whom we learn from, has been transformed. Our reliance upon anointed experts and authority figures has diminished, while our capacity to learn from each other
has spiraled.”
Teaching over 30 years in pubic and higher education, the access to educational peers and resources helps to keep my knowledge and skill-sets fresh and relevant. This means that I can share real-time information with my students that is relevant and empowering, not shared from a book that may be years behind educational models that do not address the needs of my diverse student audiences. Enjoying applying the learning on this unique professional development platform
that directly connects me to educational peers.
William Jackson and Aida Correa
Our educational peers can follow us on Clubhouse @myquesttoteach and on Twitter @wmjackson those that are artists/educators can follow Aida @lovebuiltlife and
join the discussions on @Educ8World https://educ8.world
William is the digital innovator for his brand My Quest To Teach using the hashtag #MyQuestToTeach sharing his journey teaching, mentoring,
community activism and community collaborations.