PLN: Sharing, Giving, and Taking

I've been participating in a summer book study of What Connected Educators Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, Jeff Zoul, and Jimmy Casas through the Indiana Department of Education. Many educators in this group are brand new to Twitter, PLNs, and the idea of being connected. Over the weeks, I have seen my fellow teachers gain comfort and confidence in navigating Twitter, and they are building their connections and beginning to share ideas. Here are my thoughts on the idea of giving and taking with your PLN. 

Public Domain image via Pixabay

It's easier and safer to be a "taker" when we're new to things, teaching in general, a specific grade level, or Twitter. However, being connected means we become more comfortable and willing to begin "giving." It's important to realize that EVERYONE (yes, you!) has something valuable and important to share in the education conversation, and to share those ideas and gifts we all have to improve education! I know many teachers who feel they couldn't possibly know enough, be expert enough, or be a good enough/speaker/writer to share with the world--and nothing could be farther from the truth! If you are willing to participate in a summer book study, you are exactly the type of educator who SHOULD be sharing! It can be scary at first, but it is well worth it!

I have become much more connected in the last year, thanks mostly to Twitter! Yes, it does take time, but I am a better teacher and will eventually be a better administrator because I have fellow educators across the state, the country, and the world who will help me if I'm investigating something new, will help me tweak an idea, and, most importantly, encourage, support, and stretch me to be the best educator I can be!

I "steal" great ideas from my PLN all the time, but I credit to whoever gave me the idea in a Tweet or a blog post to support that person if it's an an original idea. I also try to give a Tweet or a mention to anyone who shared an idea with me and ask if I can reuse it. Crowdsourcing ideas, adapting them to fit the needs of our schools and students truly gives us power to grow and make positive changes! If I only had my own ideas, or even the ideas from the teachers in my own building, I wouldn't have half of my good ideas or be half the teacher I am because of my PLN!

I give much more now that I am comfortable with social media and have established connections. I share ideas on several Twitter chats a week, tweet pictures of projects in my classroom, and I try to blog regularly about my ideas for education. I know that this way I am giving my PLN some ideas to work with, and giving back to them for all of their sharing!

Thank you to all of my PLN colleagues and friends for your support!

Combating Teacher Zombies

I read a great post by fellow educator Ron Dorland last week, Twitter: The Heartbeat of Education. Any educator I know who has braved social media and connected on Twitter would agree.  Twitter is an amazing tool for getting enthusiastic, generous teacher to share ideas and try new things.  I overlooked Twitter for far too long; I told myself I didn’t have time for one more thing.  Now, a year after I really started engaging on Twitter and building my personalized learning network (or PLN), I tell every teacher I know that I don’t have time NOT to be on Twitter.  Twitter is THE venue for the most passionate, student-centered, risk-taking educators to share, learn, and grow.  

Ron’s post made me reflect on all the ideas and energy I gain daily through my PLN, but it also made me ask why I don’t always feel this same passion and energy from my colleagues. Sure, some days are better than others; some days we share more, engage each other and our students more. But some days we enter the building like tired teacher zombies, heads down and shuffling along. What can I do, as a teacher-leader and future administrator, to help combat this beaten down, defeated attitude?

First, all educators need to realize that we mainly share our success stories through any social media like Twitter. We usually share our most engaging activities and lessons, brag a little about our best student questions, and offer those failed moments only when we have fully learned from them. In a single building, teachers see each other day in and day out, through the good moments and the ugly. It is all too easy to slip into zombie-mode! We need to be committed to broadcasting our successes to each other-in person-the way we do on social media. If we don’t celebrate the good times, no one will know beyond our walls.

Also, we connected educators need to encourage and support the rest of our colleagues to become more connected.  We must spread the word of the power of social media to form connections, transform our teaching, and increase our passion for education. Take a few minutes to show someone how to get started with Twitter, suggest a few hashtags to follow, maybe even pull up your Tweetdeck to show a colleague all the fabulous ideas coming to you in that moment! Not only will you help spread your own enthusiasm, but you might ignite that enthusiasm in a fellow teacher and help prevent that aforementioned zombie shuffle!

I am doing my part to engage my fellow teachers. I recently introduced several teachers to Twitter at an after school Tech Tuesday, including how to use Tweetdeck to manage the barrage of information headed their way now that they have been brave enough to connect themselves. I am also planning a voluntary book study of Dave Burgess’s Teach Like a PIRATE ( the “P” and “E” in PIRATE stand for passion and enthusiasm; just the thing to combat teacher zombies) in the coming weeks, where participants will engage in 15 minute Twitter Spark chats as one means of discussion. Hopefully, I can encourage them to share the wonderful ideas I know they are going to have beyond our study group and tweet them out to engage with other educators around the world.

Finally, if social media can ignite passion in teachers, imagine what it can do for our students!  Stay tuned for more thoughts about social media in the classroom soon!