Open Letter to my Colleagues and Friends:
I just read a blog about upcoming Connected Educators Month.
I am really torn by how to support, encourage, and challenge my friends and
colleagues to embrace connected learning both as a professional development
tool as well as an avenue for teaching and learning.
I get the resistance; it’s all about time, and the balance
between “tried and true” pedagogy and augmenting one’s repertoire with
practices that support the modern learner.
I am not going to kid anyone. Time is an issue; a huge one.
It does take time to learn, practice, engage in and maintain the habits that
enable one to benefit from the connected learning that occurs within a professional learning network. The more you engage, the more you feel you need to learn
more, and with the world at your finger tips, you must pick and choose the
visits along your journey as a connected educator.
The essential activity of an active connected educator is sharing
the sites and sounds that one encounters along the journey. For me, this
sharing is multifaceted. I share within my PLN and beyond it. I share digitally
in an open forum as well as within a closed network. I share targeted material that support a
program, may motivate a colleague, or simply may spark curiosity toward a new
endeavor. But in the end, my sole
objective is to share, collaborate and learn.
Everyone I work with directly on a day-to-day basis has been
blessed with an abundant amount of technological resources and human support.
No one I know takes this for granted. We all use our resources and support
uniquely and I am in awe on a daily basis of what I observe in the classroom.
One colleague is exceptionally talented in turning her SMART board into a
interactive, fun, engaging cultural journey; a 30 minute class can feel like a
voyage to a Carnival in Brazil – with all the sites, sounds and fun a long the
way. Other colleagues have helped publish their students’ iBooks in iTunes;
others ensure that their students collaborate and blog throughout the week; and
some have a tact for editing the perfect iMovie to add to their pedagogical
resources. In sum, everyone is doing an
amazing job. The most powerful faculty
meeting I have ever attended was one where colleagues AND students shared their
success in integrating technology into their learning and practice.
I bring this all up because I truly do think we all want to
learn from one another. At times I hear from colleagues that they feel
pressured to use twitter, blog, Skype or visit the many sites that folks share from
week to week. I could be wrong, but I think my colleagues know me well enough
to realize that my sole intention is simply to share. Not only do I like
sharing, but I consider it a personal and professional responsibility. If I
have encountered a process that helps me grow professionally and through that
process I run into resources that will support the growth of our learners, both
as students and as teachers, I do feel the responsibility to share the wealth.
As Connected Educators Month begins on October 1, I offer my
support to anyone who wants to extend his or her path as a connected educator. I
also take this opportunity to thank each of my colleagues for all that you teach me on a
daily basis as I visit your morning meetings, listen to your students share
their written story or practice their reading, or simply allow me the
opportunity to engage in the “messiness” of an active community of learners.
Sincerely,
Margo
A couple of resources for Connected Educators Month, October
2013.
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