Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation have launched Teacher Wall, a social network for teachers. The site functions as a virtual town hall that gives teachers an opportunity to talk about the things that are most important to them-from challenges to “A-ha! moments,” from lessons learned to job satisfaction, from curriculum to parent engagement. The topics tackled on the Teacher Wall showcase a wide range of voices and provide teachers with a chance to interact and share with one another, all while adding to the conversation on America’s schools.
Videos on the Wall represent the diversity of America’s teachers and students: Emily, a Special Education teacher in Honolulu, HI, discusses the challenges she faces with students who do not read on grade level; Logan, a Science teacher from Rochester, NY, shares ideas for using the film X-Men to pique students’ interest in genetics; and Erin from Sioux Falls, SD talks about building community in her classroom.
Teachers who join the Teacher Wall community upload video responses to questions relating to teaching practice and classroom experiences. The site launched this week with more than 3000 participating teachers and more than 8000 individual videos, discussing issues ranging from the challenges teachers face in their classrooms to successes they have achieved during their careers to professional development strategies and more.
Though there does not appear to be any mechanism in place to check that all account holders are educators, the site is moderated. All videos must be approved before they go live and there is a strict ban on posting videos containing offensive content or featuring students under 18 without written parental consent.
For more information about the Teacher Wall, to create an account or join the conversation, visit www.teacherwall.org.
