Are You Connecting? Better get on that!

I have just spent the weekend resting and reconnecting with my family after 4 days at the Illinois Computing Educators Conference 2014: Connect to Learn #ICE14. Each year, I come away swimming in ideas, connections and exhaustion!

This year, for the first time, I presented a half day workshop with two of my amazing colleagues, Jenna Hacker @jennahacker and Carrie Baughcum @heck_awesome on "How to Speak the Twitter". It was such a rewarding experience! The workshop had interested educators who knew the power of Twitter, but needed help managing the noise and understanding how to get into the conversation flow.

Every time I even think about presenting I feel like I really need to step out of my comfort zone.
Sometimes I wonder who wants to hear from me? Or, what do I have to offer when there are so many amazing educator speakers out there who are so much more respected than I. After this weekend of reflection, I have come to the conclusion that I connect with people each time I present. The teachers I help, then become part of my PLN, and I then get to learn from them in turn. Also, as innovators it is imperative to share what we are doing. If we are to move education in the direction we know it needs to go, then the people who are changing their pedagogy have a responsibility to share what they know.

Those who know me think of me as chatty, gregarious and outspoken. But, the truth is, I sometimes have trouble picking up the phone to call for pizza. The thought of speaking to a crowd of people I don't know, makes me feel paralyzed. Then, once I get going, take the first leap into the session, I get this feeling of confidence, almost like a high.

I would encourage any one of you to reach out, present, share and connect with other teachers. If I can do it, so can you! I feel strongly enough about connecting with others to venture to say out loud (well in a blog style out loud) if you are not connecting with other teachers at conferences or on social media, then you are going to become obsolete. The idea that you already know everything because you have been a teacher for a long time is wrong! We need to change our thinking. Gone are the days of copying what you did last year for this year. When you connect with other educators, your eyes become open to the shift in education from worksheets, to project based learning. Real world connections for kids. Students want to share what they know outside the walls of their schools. They want to connect with experts, to share their dreams for the world. A poster board project just can't do that! Getting connected changed my professional life. It can do the same for you!

If you are thinking about becoming connected through Twitter, check out our How To Speak The Twitter Presentation, or our Thinglink. It is a great place to start!

Want to become a Connected Educator? It will change your life.

"Connected Educators" are defined as teachers who are actively involved in connecting with their peers, their students and the world through blogging, social media and chat rooms and bring back what they learn to their classroom, school and district.

The old days of isolation and closed classroom doors are a distant memory. Connected Educators are honing their teaching practice and sharing about learning by talking to experts, colleagues and reading about best practice online. The discussions between teachers are shifting from complaints in the staff rooms to creative problem solving and shifting pedagogy.

For me, the journey to become a connected educator has been eye opening, uplifting and has shaped who I am as a person. It has changed my ideas about education, teaching and learning. I feel like I get filled up by being connected to educators around the world. I love learning, reading about what others are doing, seeing student work, hearing about what does not work and where teachers are going on their own journeys.

It's like working with a creative, helpful, positive friend who is always in the classroom next door! I have not felt so inspired and supported since I was so lucky to have Lori Feeney as a teaching partner. Lori and I planned together, shared ideas, reflected, laughed and were there for each other every time we tweaked our lesson plans. Now, my "Lori Feeney" are all the teachers on Twitter. Since I became connected, I spend time reflecting on my own teaching, tweaking it with each lesson, blogging, and sharing on Twitter. Instead of complaining about how hard my job is, I talk to my Personal Learning Network (PLN) about what they are doing, and together, we shift the focus from what is not going well to what we can do to fix it.

I have three favorite ways to connect with my PLN. Twitter, Edmodo and Pinterest.

@jmaclaurin

I spend the lion's share of my time on Twitter, sorting by hashtag (a total must), and clicking on links for blogs, web tools or online documents shared. Often, I store (because we teachers are gatherers aren't we?) and then incorporate them into my practice. I can't tell you how many times I have gone into another teacher's room and said, "Hey, I saw this on Twitter..." when we co-plan.

Edmodo.com

My next favorite is Edmodo. Edmodo is like the perfect balance between Twitter and Facebook. Teachers signed up either through their district or on their own, originally to connect students. But, as time went by, teachers formed groups and then began sharing tips and ideas on Edmodo. It is a great place to start for those who aren't ready for the rapid fire noise of Twitter.

http://www.pinterest.com/jmaclaurin

Pinterest is awesome for people who aren't really exactly sure what they are looking for. It is very visual, amazingly easy to find great infographs, teaching rubrics, lesson ideas, images, and all things crafty. Recently, they added a comment section, allowing a little bit more back and forth in terms of communication too.

Becoming a connected educator is not just about gathering information though! It is about building relationships, sharing and reflecting on your teaching.

Are you looking to learn how to speak The Twitter? Recently, my great friends Carrie Baughcum (@carriebaughcum) and Jenna Hacker (@jennahacker) and I presented to teachers in our school district. Carrie (carriebaughcum.com) created a really helpful Thinglink to help people get all the resources they need to begin getting connected. P.S. She also designed the graphics for my blog! She rocks.

Student Presentations: Oh my!

Every day in my school, students use Google Presentations to share their knowledge and to "tell facts" to their class. It is torturous for both students and teachers.

The teachers and I really wanted to challenge the students to give engaging presentations, where the audience is engaged and learning. Then, I remembered the keynote speeches I saw last summer.

I was fortunate enough to attend Building Learning Communities (#BLC13) Conference that Alan November puts on each year in Boston, last July. What struck me about the keynote speakers was that they taught us all kinds of things without the traditional presentation slides. In fact, they displayed amazingly engaging images and few words.

When I saw the educational visionairies present, I thought, this is exactly what I have been trying to describe to my students! So, it has been my mission this year to challenge the students at my school to transform their presentations. I won't lie, it has been an uphill battle!
When I explained the new process to the students, I showed them TED talks, Eli Pariser's on online filtering, partly because it was an engaging topic for 8th graders, but also because his talk was a great example of the style of presentation I was proposing.

The students discussed what they noticed about the slides, then the candance of Eli's talk, but also about the stage. Once I pointed it out, the students noticed the teleprompter in the floor.
From there, we came up with a plan to create two presentations in Google Drive.
One presentation was the "teleprompter" with all the words the students were going to share. The other one was the presentation that the audience would see, with engaging images and little to no text. Then, on presentation day, the students had the projector hooked up to one computer, then another laptop for their teleprompter.
The teachers and the students loved the process because it allowed to students to give their presentation confidently because they had their notes in front of them to refer to, and then the audience loved it because they were engaged in the visually stunning images.

We are working on moving from telling of facts to creating something new with their new found knowledge...baby steps.