teachers who don't share ~ Wait, do what??

I was told by one teacher that good teachers don’t share.

This sentence from Steven Anderson and Tom Whitby, The Relevant Educator, struck a chord with me.

How can an educator NOT share their best practices, their failures, and their successes with other educators?!

When I started using Twitter, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew there was a lot of information out there for me, at the time a 2nd grade teacher. I had the opportunity to hear Will Richardson and David Warlick speak at MECA (MS Educational Computing Association), and their keynotes got me excited about and pondering education. This excitement forced me to dive into Twitter even more. Today, I am able to connect with authors, edtech leaders, fellow technology integrators, teachers, and administrators. I share what I know and learn about what they know. I am connected!

So I go back to my question... How can an educator not want to be connected and share?!

- the unknown
- time

These are two big reasons I see as obstacles for educators becoming connected, or more connected.

So what can I do to help, I don't know just yet but for the moment I will continue to share my excitement and story of why it's so vital to be a connected educator.



These were my thoughts while flying to FETC 2015 in January. I wanted something to read and decided to download The Relevant Educator.  Little did I know that download and the Twitter post about it would lead to some YAY moments for me!  That is another blog post though!

While at FETC, I had the opportunity to hear the authors, Steven and Tom, discuss the book.  There are days that I don't feel very relevant at all, but then there are others.

The statement "I was told by one teacher that good teachers don't share." still makes me wonder. Why are teachers afraid to share.  Are they afraid of coming off as bragging? Are they afraid someone will criticize their work?  I do not have the answer to those questions and I really wish I did!

Sharing is not a bad thing.  Just look at how many teachers share items on Teachers Pay Teachers! Look at all of the teachers on Twitter who share on a daily basis.  Sharing is not a bad thing.

How can we get teachers to realize when they share with others, they are growing and helping someone else grow too.

- the unknown
Sometimes you just have to jump into the water feet first!  Everyday is an unknown, especially with the introduction of new innovations. Just today, I saw a video for Corning Glass.  WOW! We have to embrace the unknown, cautiously embrace the unknown, and make it known.

- time
Well, Brad Currie wrote a great blog post about 100 minutes a week.  Time is not a problem if you look at in smaller chunks.  Think of it just like you would a large pizza.  You can't eat the whole thing at once, you have to take small bites.  Do the same thing with becoming connected.

Open your classroom door and share something!

Eva Harvell

#edtechchat with Arne Duncan - my thoughts

On October 28th, 1401 people from around the world got together to talk about being a connected educator.

On October 28th, 1401 people from around the world got together to to share ideas and resources on being a connected educators.

On October 28th, 1401 people from around the world got together and gave educators a voice!


I am a big fan of weekly Twitter chats. I participate in three chats a week - #edtechchat on Monday, #patue, on Tuesday, and #MSedchat on Thursday. I am able to connect with other educators from all over the US and collaborate on ideas and resources that will benefit the educators and students in my school district. I am able to connect with people who are smarter than me and grow professionally!

Last night's #edtechchat Twitter chat was amazing. My Twitter feed was moving so far that I could hardly keep up. What was even more amazing was the chat itself. For one hour, 1401 people came together to talk about being a connected educator. They came together to share their ideas and learn from each other. Yes, there were some negative tweets, but we did not let those tweets take away from the purpose of the Twitter chat.

Last night's Twitter chat reminded me of a really good PLC meeting. A group of educators coming together and talking about what is best for students. The negative comments don't take over the meeting, because all of the participates are there for one purpose - do what is best for students.

I encourage you to check out last night's #edtechchat Twitter chat archive. Be warned though, its over 100 pages long!  It should be though with over 8500 tweets!

I also encourage you to reflect on the questions that were asked and discussed last night.  Reflect on these questions personally and use these questions at your next meeting.

What does it mean to be a connected educator?
Why do you think it's important for educators to become connected?
What barriers exist that prevent you or your colleagues from becoming connected?
How has being connected helped you become a more effective educator?
Fill in the blank: Being a connected educator means _________.

Is it an idea or just a thought?

I saw this Tweet today from FETC and immediately had to retweet it. This was such a quick reaction, that I didn't really think about the short, but powerful Tweet until later.

How many times do we get an idea, but we don't act on them?  I know I do! Take today for example. After working with a teacher on getting her Mimio up and running, I wondered how many other teachers in the district had the same issue. How many teachers in the district had an interactive device, but didn't have it setup yet? What more can I do to help? This self questioning led to my idea of offering 30-45 hands-on sessions after school hours for teachers who want to learn more. Even though this idea isn't something foreign to most people in my position, it had the potential to become a passing thought. It won't though, because of this one powerful Tweet.

Educators need to share their ideas, their talents, their expertise with others.  We need to stop closing the door and keeping to ourselves. We need to open the door and share our ideas as well as take the ideas of others.  Easier said than done!  Educators for so long have kept their trade secrets to themselves in order to have the best test scores.

Ugh...

By sharing my knowledge of Mimio with other educators, I can help change one assignment from paper/pencil to interactive.

Although the Tweet from the FETC is short, it is powerful and should be shared!

So.. what idea will you share today?

reflecting on the school year

For my school district, today was the first day without students in the classroom.  Teachers are busy finalizing grades, completing paperwork, and packing up for the summer.  One thing, one important thing, they should do is take the time to reflect on the school year.

Think about what worked and what didn't work. Really take a good look at the lessons/activities and ask yourself "Will these help meet the CCSS next year".

Many teachers find themselves adding and adding and adding, but never purging their resources. Now is a great time to purge!  Do you really need 10 worksheets on the short a sound?

Look at your "staple" activities and see how you can bump up there rigor or relevance. You may need to change those "staple" activities all together.

Reflect on what topics/concepts you struggled with this year.  Make those your top priority when searching for professional reading resources.  The Internet is a wealth of professional reading resources and ideas for teachers.

The creation of lesson plans should probably not be on the top of your summer list.  The creation of resource files, however, should be.  Take the time to start sorting what you keep from the purge into files that align to the Common Core.  If you want to become more tech savvy, try creating electronic files within Google Drive or Evernote. You can also start searching Pinterest and creating boards for collecting ideas and resources for your classroom.

The end of the school year has come.  We need to take this opportunity to reflect and prepare for the next year.

How do you reflect on the school year?