No, I’m not talking about swapping classrooms with someone for a day, I’m talking about swapping ideas, resources, tips, and tricks. It’s something that teachers in schools do frequently, but what do you do when your network runs a little dry? How do you get new ideas?

Turning to the internet might just be the best option, but if the thought of googling through hundreds of pages of useless lesson plans, and resources that just don’t cut it, then you might like to think of a better option. The simple answer to your ‘good ideas’ problem is to network with other educators, and find a good source.

Network: My prefered method of networking is twitter. If you’re not sure what twitter is, then I wrote a blog post about it here. If you want to add me, I’m @Sunshinetalia. You will find that there are HUNDREDS (maybe even thousands) of educators on twitter, and most are more then willing to help you out and give you a few ideas. Here are some of the educators on twitter that I follow that have recently updated: @theother66, @kolson29, @dmcordell.

Once you’ve started to establish this network, then check out each person’s blog, which will probably lead to some sort of bookmarking site. My preference is del.icio.us, but I also use Diigo sometimes. Here you will find that people bookmark good sites that help them in their teaching. This is a great way of finding RESOURCES.

The Source: If it’s actual lesson plans you’re looking for, then I have a great solution. A Lesson Plan Wiki. No, I’m not advertising ANOTHER wiki I’ve created, but I am a part of this wiki, and I think it’s a really good idea.

It’s definitely more relevant to university students studying teaching, and new teachers, then it is to ACTUAL teachers, but I’m sure that their input and feedback on the ideas, and their contribution to the Lesson Ideas page would be well worth it!

It is certaintly one of the great things about the internet that we can share ideas and resources as freely and readily as we can. I encourage you all to have a go at joining this wiki, and putting up your ideas for lesson that have worked etc. There is also an RSS of pages tagged on del.icio.us with ‘lesson’, ‘lesson plan’, and ‘education’. So if you want to tag something that would be beneficial to other teachers, then tag it with one of those, so it shows up!

So lets re-cap: First we network with twitter and find other educators, then we connect with them on del.icio.us, or diigo, or another social bookmarking site. Then we tag sites that are useful with ‘lesson plan’, ‘lesson’, or ‘education’. Then we join the lesson space wiki, and contribute our ideas, lesson plans, and reflections on types of learning!

If you like this post, you might also like: “Which free wiki provider should I use?” and “How do wikis fit into education?“

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