What Connected Educators Do Differently Describes My Own Connected Journey

How well do you remember your very first tweet? Was it original? A retweet? Did you share an article or an idea? Did you connect with other educators?

It just so happens that I remember my first tweet very well, and it was a retweet of an article shared by an esteemed educator and leader with whom I was working at the time--the very same person who encouraged me to get connected via Twitter. I remember well Dr. Jeffery Zoul encouraging me to connect on Twitter since I was already connected in some of the typical ways via email, conferences, listservs, Facebook, etc.

Since becoming more connected via Twitter and through my blog in late fall of 2011, my learning professionally and personally has grown exponentially as I've been a giver, a taker, a learner, and a leader focused on not only learning but on building relationships with others from around the country and the world.

Though the authors of What Connected Educators Do Differently don't know my personal story of becoming a connected educator, I feel as though they described my journey in their book published by Routledge.  Jeffery Zoul, Todd Whitaker, and Jimmy Casas created a 134 page resource for educators on every end of the connected spectrum.

The book starts with an introductory chapter which explains what it means to be connected and why it matters. Even if you're already connected, this chapter provides you more specific background of what to expect throughout the book. I enjoyed the conversational tone and the anecdotal stories, especially those describing scenarios of isolation because there's no longer reason to feel isolated now that we have so many ways to connect virtually (and in person).

What Connected Educators Do Differently is divided into eight chapters with each chapter being a Key Connector. The eight Key Connectors explain what connected educators do differently and why it matters. You'll have to read the book yourself or visit the blog by Jimmy Casas to learn about all eight, but I will tell you about one of my favorites.

Key Connector 5: Strive to Be Tomorrow...Today. This one is my favorite because I believe it drives the very reason I blog, the very reason I passionately persist in public education, the very reason I work on re-imagining public education. This chapter is about seeking the power of a positive voice, bringing our best everyday, and striving to make an impact. If you've been reading my blog regularly, you'll know how much I value these ideas. While I was reading the book, I did what other readers often do and took notes in the margin.  At one point in this chapter,  I wrote "yes! This is why I blog..."

The authors share specific examples of well known change agents such as Scott Mcleod, Jerry Bluemengarten, and Kristen Swanson (Glad they included at least one woman in this section! Though, I wish they had included more). These individuals, described as change agents, are known "risk-takers... people with a consistent and clear purpose, a vision of the footprint they want to leave on the world in which they live." And, yes. That's exactly why I started this blog shortly after becoming connected on Twitter.

If you're not already, you can become connected, too. Pick up a copy of the book and learn not only about the Key Connectors, but enjoy learning about resources and other connected educators. At the end of each chapter, you'll learn about 5 connected educators to follow, 5 resources to find, and 5 action steps to take. I personally appreciate how the action steps grow more advanced as the book progresses, with the earlier action steps being about creating your PLN and the later action steps including ideas such as modeling risk-taking, using Maker Spaces, or implementing Genius Hour.

As we strive to be our best every day, let's remember we have one another for support and if we stay positive, we can indeed make an impact. I am determined to use my voice and connectivity to influence change on a greater scale. How about you? Are you committed to being connected and impacting change? I hope so, and I hope you will join me.

**All opinions expressed here are my own but special thanks to Routledge for a copy of the book**

Why I Read Hatching Twitter

While on a recent trip to San Francisco, my colleague mentioned the Twitter offices to me when we drove through the section of the city where Twitter Headquarters is located, so on my flight home I downloaded Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton and read the entire 600 e-book pages in a single weekend. Why?

Curiosity.  As an avid Twitter user for my work in education, curiosity about the business world and start-ups caught hold of me, especially since I'm working for a brand new nonprofit aimed at transforming education.  Thinking about how Twitter revolutionized communication and interaction motivates me and feeds my curious nature.  A single day in San Francisco left me wanting to know more about the history of tech start-ups.  What makes the ideas for products and services turn into multi-million or billion dollar companies?   Clearly, not every start-up successfully morphs into a money-making, world-changing company, so what happens to the rest of the start-ups that are less successful or that never make it at all?  Is Twitter an outlier in a sea of failed start-ups?   What made Twitter a success?  If someone starts a business following Twitter's business model, will it be successful? 

Okay, so none of those questions are answered in the book because the book is about relationships, drama, betrayal, power struggles.  Plus, Twitter supposedly lacked a real business plan in its earliest years.

Stories.  A conflict filled book based on real life interviews with individuals involved in the founding of Twitter sucked me right into the story about Ev, Jack, Biz, and Noah.  The book includes sections devoted to each of the founders and his story of rising and falling with Twitter. I enjoyed reading the varying viewpoints of each man's ideas for the purpose of Twitter--from individual status updates to connecting with the world and giving equal voice to people from everywhere/anywhere.

Surprises.  Since I had never previously read anything about the founding of Twitter or about starting a technology company, many surprises came my way while reading Bilton's book.  The power of money and investors was new and surpirisng information for me as were the hiring/firing procedures.  Basically, if the investors/board members decided the leader wasn't directing the company the way they preferred, the CEO would be fired, even if he was one of the comany's founders.

Learning Ev Williams was the founder of my favorite blogging platform, Blogger, was exciting, too, especially since the reason for creating blogger was for "to tell stories.  To disrupt media." Twitter is a tool for disrupting media, starting revolutions, building new businesses and electing government officials.  Twitter is also a tool for creating a network--a professional learning network or PLN.  Personally and professionally I have experienced tremendous growth since learning how to use the tool effectively.

Renewed Learnings.
Relationships matter most.
Stories are powerful and important.
Leaders should respect their employees.
Social media is changing the way we work, interact, communicate, learn, sell, build, and connect.

NCTE 2012 Allowed Me to Dream and Connect

Becoming a Connected Educator

Late last fall just before NCTE 2011, I was working on a project with an educator who was then working for SREB. This man is a dynamic leader who is very active on twitter. He encouraged me to join twitter and create my own professional learning network. I have to admit I was skeptical at first because I was concerned about the time involved. However, because I respected this education leader and because I was on my way to Chicago for NCTE, I acquiesced. My first tweet included a NCTE hashtag. Because I was just getting started, I messed up the hashtag, including 20 in front of the 11 instead of just #NCTE11. I didn't realize my error until after I left Chicago and the convention. Typical of my personality, I persisted in my pursuit of learning and networking online, and I became a more connected educator.  Being more connected at NCTE 2012 in Las Vegas allowed me to experience the energy and excitement of more sessions than there was time to attend because we could follow the events and quotes happening all around the convention center. It was invigorating to follow but also to be retweeted or to have my tweets favorited a time or two.  Connected.

Dreaming about a Focus on Creativity

Connection and collaboration are increasingly important in our education world today. As I've blogged about previously, we have to team up and use our voices to stop the crushing focus on standardized testing.   Sir Ken Robinson's opening session on Friday morning was a highlight for me.  Hearing him speak was energizing and invigorating, a perfect lead into a session I presented with another colleague. Our session"My Administrator won't Let Me" Media Literacy and Core Standards was inspired by a Kentucky teacher who was fighting the good fight toward teaching students some of the skills that receive less emphasis in the common core, but he was not feeling supported by his administrators.  Unfortunately, our session had small turn out, but we enjoyed sharing our inspired session with the educators who attended and have made plans to present a similar session at our Kentucky Council of Teachers of English conference in the winter.  Naturally, we'll tweak our presentation based on feedback from participants and based on other things we learned at NCTE.

While at NCTE 2012  one of my biggest claims about the teaching of writing was supported in a round table session with Jim Burke who stated--"If kids show up to college only knowing the 5 paragraph essay, they will be inadequately prepared."  In the district where I work, this is a hot topic which doesn't yet have many believers.  By learning Jim Burke's approach,  I'm hoping I can share his well received advice with teachers who are more likely to believe an expert such as Jim Burke.  In fact, I don't think it's that they don't want to believe me, I think it's that they don't feel there are other options.  I'm hoping to show them other options do exist.

National Writing Project sessions were another hit for me.  In one session from the Bay Area Writing Project in California, we learned from three practicing teachers the ways they are meeting the needs of English Language Learners in their schools.  ELL students are another growing population in our district as schools continue to enroll refugees and immigrants due to Lexington being a refugee resettlement center.  We are all learning and growing together as we determine the best ways to meet the needs of all students in our district.  Thankfully, this session provided some practical tips and resources for me to consider as I work with teachers and students.

One of the Ignite sessions I attended was especially exciting.  Sara Brown Wessling opened the session and included artwork to talk about ways teachers can be uncommon in an era of common core.  She effectively set the stage for the speakers who followed with their 20 slides in 15 seconds.  Each speaker made my eyes sparkle a little more and my smile widen because I felt connected to other educators who also believe we need to cultivate creativity and innovation in our schools, classrooms, and districts.

I can't possibly write about every session I attended and have any hope of this blog post being a reasonable length, so I'll end by mentioning the connection I experienced when I attended the reception hosted by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and organized by Sandy Hayes.  Sandy's focus on continued collaboration between NCTE and NBPTS sings my song of collaboration.  Before I even left Vegas, I was dreaming of a creative year and planning my proposal for NCTE 2013.