For more information on the background and structure to #CyberPD, you can check out Cathy Mere's website http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-5th-annual-cyberpd-event.html
Well, I guess I might as well share them here!
Yes, it is a bit research heavy. I'm hoping to learn more about self-study and maybe even start a self-study group in Fall. I spent some time at the Self-Study SIG (https://selfstudysig.wordpress.com/) sessions at #AERA15 and was quite fascinated by the wide variety of work being done in K-12 and higher education classrooms and beyond through self-study. I especially enjoyed the unique ways of representing their learning and reflections from the presenters.
The other theme I'm currently investigating is mindfulness, both in the classroom and everyday life. I also attended a few sessions at AERA sponsored by the Holistic Education http://www.aera.net/SIG135/HolisticEducationSIG135/tabid/12064/Default.aspx Before that, I just finished reading The Way of Mindful Education by Daniel Rechtschaffen http://danielrechtschaffen.com/ One of his major points was that teachers need to practice mindfulness for themselves, not just because it has the potential to increase achievement or decrease behavior issues in the classroom.
So, as a teacher and teacher educator, I've been trying to be more mindful. I've been meddling around with some apps too, for my smart phone and the one that I especially like is Insight Timer https://insighttimer.com/ I've been using the free version for about 2 years, and finally bought the full version that allows for more customization. There are so many features of this app that I enjoy - seeing the community of people I'm meditating with, having access to guided meditations and the statistic tracking, just to name a few.
Looking forward to seeing what book #CyberPD picks for this year!
