Jenny She

Friday is here and the planets are in perfect alignment. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are rising from the east and if you trace a line that bisects the trajectory from the heavens above to the terrestrial world below you will find the beautiful land of New Zealand and a rising star in the East… Jenny She.

Our special guest this week on the Friday Follow Twitter Interview is Jenny She who is sharing with us all the way from Auckland in beautiful New Zealand. Jenny has been a lively part of my Twitter PLN for some time and I always feel reassured when I see Jenny’s engaging smile and thoughtful sharings in the Twitter stream. Let’s begin…

1. Please share a little about yourself with the readers.

I am a primary school teacher in Auckland, New Zealand. I teach a Year 2 class at Pt England School. I integrate e-learning extensively in the classroom with a particular focus on Literacy. I have explored many 21st century tools to raise the students’ oracy development. Much of my work can be viewed at my class blog: http://littlevoiceslittlescholars.blogspot.com/

2. Describe the role played by social media in education.

Social media is extremely important in education in the 21st century. Teachers and other educators not only learn from each other through blogging, facebook and twitter, they are able to get constant and sometimes instant support and advice from their friends and teachers. The students work can be shared globally using twitter and blogging, giving these students an audience and a voice that otherwise is fairly limited. Social media benefits both the teachers and the students by enhancing their learning and their role in modern society.

3. Tell me about your relationship with social media. How do you feel about social media?

I love social media. In actual fact I am almost addicted to blogging, twitter and facebook. I have made and met so many friends through twitter. These friends mean a lot to me as they are always there to give me instant support and advice when I need it. Social media also gives me a big boost in my personal confidence because through twitter and facebook, many has asked me to give and provide advice or help on various subjects. In normal situation, this would be limited to my colleagues and a few friends locally. I love it when somebody from America asks me how I put my class movies together –for example!

4. What do you feel are you strengths?

I have to say that I am good at using technology in my classroom and for my own use. I am always learning new things online and I am not afraid to ask for help. Being a person that can’t live without friends make me a very friendly person and to me –this is a strength! I love to share and connect to people because I believe it is good for the soul. Twitter is good in that I can engage in instant discussion and conversation easily and it always lift my spirit up!

5. What advice do you like to share with people?

Both twitter and facebook are good for learning as well as socializing. They are good for building strong relationship and supportive communities. These are rich sources of knowledge and happiness for a lot of people.

6. Are there any questions you would like to ask?

Are there any teachers out there that are willing to exchange and collaborate on class projects or other areas?

Thank you Jenny! I agree that connecting with like minded individuals is good for the soul. It is always great to share ideas, provide responses and share in feedback. Uplifting for sure! ^_^

Do not forget to subscribe to Jenny’s Twitter feed, blogs and other social media…

Jenny on Twitter: @jshe
Jenny’s class blog: Little Voices Little Scholars
Jenny’s blog: Jenny’s Learning Journey
Jenny on Flickr: Jenny She’s Photostream
Jenny on Facebook:  Jenny She