Good NewsBlue Jay Bridge, Winnipeg phys-ed teacher, nominated for international Twitter award
Blue Jay Bridge, a physical education teacher at Henry G. Izatt Middle School in Winnipeg, has been named one of the world's top three educators on Twitter by ThePhysicalEducator.com.
The winner of the Best Individual #PhysEd Teacher Twitter Account will be announced next week.
The prolific tweeter claims Twitter has made him a better teacher because it allows him to interact with other educators and phys-ed teachers.
He wrote about how he enhances his physical education classes with technology in a Participaction blog post last January:
"Two years ago I started a twitter account (@MrBridge204). I thought I was going to use it as another means of communication with students, parents, and community members. I wanted a platform to highlight student success, accomplishments, and to share healthy living tips in real-time. However, I quickly realized that not only is twitter tremendous for sharing program highlights, there is an entire community of Phys. Ed. and health educators sharing teaching success and failures, collaborating on projects/unit planning, and taking part in professional dialogue. Incredible! The ability to take part in professional development at any time, on any day is invaluable," he wrote.
"Following and communicating with like-minded Phys. Ed. specialists, through twitter, using hashtags such as #pegeeks and #pechat, has given me the inspiration and confidence to step out of my comfort zone and to utilize technology to enhance my Phys. Ed. classes."
Following his "Twitter Teacher Award" nomination, Bridge spoke with CBC News.
"It's a way to very quickly generate excitement and get awareness out about what is working in your classroom and the successes your students are having," he said of the social-media site. "The power is in who you follow, so if you follow professional people…you will have professional discussion in your Twitter feed."
Bridge also engages with his students and their parents, sharing information about athletic opportunities and school activities.
"We are sharing with our students. We are sharing with our neighbourhood because we have a number of parents who follow us," he said. "We are sharing with the world the successes that are happening in our classrooms."
