Not too long ago, I sat and watched a friend in Kansas connect with my friends in Montgomery, TX. As I was sitting there I started to reflect on the importance of connecting with others. The importance of knowing that we aren't the experts at everything and that reaching out for guidance and inspiration is more about growth than it is about deficit.
It took me a while, as an educator, to come to this realization. To completely understand the Power of the PLN. What is a PLN? To me, a PLN is a group of professionals that thrive on the concept of "sharing is caring." The more that I think about the term PLN, it makes me think of a Kindergarten classroom or any classroom for that matter. When learners first enter elementary school, what is one of the first things that we teach them to do? Share. We foster a learning environment that encourages and inspires students to collaborate, share, and bounce ideas off one another. Isn't that exactly what a PLN is to us today as lead learners? So why, as educators, is it sometimes so hard for us to ask for help? Why does that fear sometimes win?
I didn't realize the power of connectivity until about 3 years ago, when I finally decided to start a classroom Twitter account. I was inspired by Kayla Delzer, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made as an educator-the decision to make my classroom more than the four walls that contained it. During that school year and the next, my kids connected with Ryan Davidson, a meteorologist from the weather channel (check out his story here), a Martian soil expert from Kansas (check out her story here), a college professor and her students from South Carolina, and so many more. Little did I know that meeting this college professor would mean so much to me and my profession!
Dr. Julie P. Jones was one of the first educators that I met on Twitter, and it was all because we (my 4th grade classroom) thanked her for being our 200th follower. She quickly responded, but not just with a "thank you". She sent my kids some challenges about #make200. It was one of the first instances where I recognized the power that Twitter had, especially for my kids. Dr. Julie P. Jones is a professor at Converse College in South Carolina, and she works with educator prep students. Because of our initial connection, our classes soon connected for other reasons! My 4th grade students visited with her college age students about classroom management, technology tools, and classroom jobs. They loved being able to voice their thoughts about the classroom and education with future teachers.
A year later, we finally met in real life! We presented about Twitter at a conference in Orlando, FL called ATE about the magic that is social media. It was such a surreal experience to meet one of my Twitter heroes!!
I recently attended TCEA, in Austin, Texas. Each time that I attend this conference, I leave rejuvenated and inspired. This year did not disappoint! I wanted to share some of the highlights of this trip, and to also shine a light on educators and innovators who inspire me daily!
We arrived in Austin on a Tuesday, and started our day at Le Cafe Crepe. It was the perfect place to start our day!
I attended a few sessions on that day, but one session stood out for me! The session was titled "The New, The Old, the NOT-so-Obselete", and it was led by Lauren Kallail and Brandon Hunter. In this session, they introduced a tool called Touchcast. With Touchcast, teachers are able to use broadcasting tools to present information. It also fosters creativity and collaboration amongst the students. Check out this video about Touchcast! Can't wait to use it with my kids!
Wednesday brought an abundance of information and inspiration! The first session that I attended was about project-based learning. It was led by Wendy Dickerson. I am in my second year as PBL facilitator, and this session gave me so many great ideas on organizing and supporting these lessons! Here is the presentation link. My biggest take-aways from this session, were the additions of workshops into the PBL topics/units and the "hook"! We are starting a new PBL project tomorrow, and it is all about soil. I will post the hook soon! Kevin Honeycutt was a huge help in developing an idea for this topic!
@kevinhoneycutt
Another session I attended, was lead by Janet Corder and Joan Gore, J2! I never miss a session led by these two wonderfully hilarious educators! This session was titled "BYOD Activities That Work". One tool that was shared was Quizizz. As soon as they introduced it, I emailed my staff, and shared it! It is that good! Quizizz is pretty similar to Kahoot, with a couple of exceptions. Students can work at their own pace, and the questions appear on their devices. It is awesome! Another cool one was Bingo Baker! Check it out here!
Tammy Worcester Tang is another leader that I never miss! She always shares the coolest tips and tricks! She shared how you can use your lightening cable and Quicktime to share your iPad or iPhone screen! Crazy how I never knew that you could do that! Here is a quick tutorial on it!
Thursday was a day at TCEA that I was totally looking forward to! I was finally going to get to meet and listen to George Couros. I have been following him on Twitter since I met and connected with Kayla Delzer. He truly is an inspiring and innovative educator with a heart for students and authentic learning experiences!
Every word...every single word inspired me! Here are some of the quotes from that session that have stuck with me since.
"If students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them." @gcouros
"What would you want to spend the whole day learning in your own classroom?" @gcouros
"Are kids doing this because of school or in spite of school?" @gcouros
"Innovation often begins and ends with empathy." @gcouros
"We need to make the positives so loud that the negatives are almost impossible to hear." WOW, right!? @gcouros
And my absolute favorite-"Kids often defy expectations when you give them the opportunity." @gcouros
Doesn't all of that just make you want to change the world!? Check out his book, The Innovator's Mindset. I can't wait to read it!!
Another person that I could not wait to meet on this day was Jaime Donally. I recently participated in #digcitathon and Edcamp Global, and she was a huge part in both!
Her session was about virtual reality! VR is something that I have been excited about since Google Cardboard came out! I have a class set, and the students love to take virtual field trips!
I had no idea that Nearpod had virtual experiences that you can add into the lessons! So exciting! She also talked about Augthat and Google Spotlight Stories. I have plans to GH (Google Hangout) with the creator of Augthat this upcoming week! So many great things shared in this session, and I was so excited to finally meet her! Can't wait to reconnect soon!
TCEA is a conference that I look forward to each and every school year! I hope to one day be able to present at it!!! You should make plans to be there on February 6-10 next year!!
