Everyday Lessons
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • For Teachers
    • Start Here >
      • Literate
      • Numerate
      • Curious
      • Kind
      • Healthy
      • Technology in the Classroom >
        • Digital & Media Literacy
  • For Parents
    • Learning At Home
    • Great Apps & Websites
    • Help! My Child is Struggling in School >
      • First Steps to Take When Your Child is Struggling
  • Book Reviews

Connection - more important now than ever

7/25/2021

3 Comments

 
Note: This is part of a series of reflective posts that form part of a university course that I am taking. I hope that you will find something valuable in my reflections as well. ​
Picture
I love working with others. It's where I do my best thinking and idea generating. I also love working alone; alone, I will dig deep into topics, learning about the nuances and intricacies of the things that fascinate me, gathering links and resources that I think others may find useful. Both allow me to be connected to other educators and experts in their field, in very different ways, with very different requirements in order for me to feel successful. Being connected to other educators around the globe keeps your thinking fresh and your teaching alive; without it, we tend to repeat the same lessons and the same patterns, stagnating in our own little ponds without the benefit of an influx of new ideas that might challenge us to venture further afield.

What does being a connected educator look like? Let me break it down for you...

A connected educator is...

  • Active on social media. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, educators can find a wealth of information and resources on social media. Personally, I prefer the visual nature of Instagram and the community vibe of groups on Facebook for building connections and learning a lot.
  • Willing to stretch your thinking. The whole point of building a PLN (personal learning network) is to learn new things and discover new ideas and ways of doing things. You can't do that if you set up your social media feeds and email lists as echo chambers...join a wide variety of groups and be prepared to be open minded to the discussions you find there.
  • An active curator. The internet is a vast and almost bottomless pit of information. If you don't curate your feeds and email lists you can end up drowning in unimportant or irrelevant information (note the point above about echo chambers; unimportant or irrelevant is not the same as a different perspective than your own). Carefully choosing who to follow means that you will have quality information coming to you regularly.
  • Always open to learning​. Whether it's your Google feed, email lists you subscribe to, books you read or the social media you scroll, always be on the lookout for opportunities to learn more and connect with others. Some of my best learning comes from the email lists I subscribe to and read through with my morning tea (or bookmark to read at the end of the day). That being said, don't limit your learning to the digital space; there is a lot of learning to be done with real people in real time in your building and your district. 
No one way of connecting and learning is right for everyone; nor, as I noted above, is one person necessarily going to prefer one over the other all the time. In her book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking" Susan Cain notes that introverts often do well learning and communicating online because the platform allows for more time to think and prepare one's thoughts than a live environment, where extroverts often dominate the conversation. Knowing your own learning style (or styles) helps you to decide which one works better for you when. For me, generating new ideas, planning lessons and debating educational topics is best done face to face with others, gathered comfortably with a tea and plenty of space to spread out; I prefer to dig deeply into topics, whether online or in a book, alone, where I can process my thoughts and begin to think about how to apply that learning to new situations. 
No matter how you choose to learn, connection has shown itself to be more important now than ever before. The pandemic has shown us how much we, as human beings, value connection and seek it out; while it has kept us from connecting in real life, it has opened up new ways of connecting that we never before imagined. Being able to attend a conference in India (TIES, hosted by Toddle) or Alberta (ReLit with Dr Jody Carrington) was once out of reach but is now completely accessible thanks to the power of the digital world and the human drive to connect. Keep seeking out these opportunities, as well as opportunities in real life, in order stay fresh and stay connected.
Picture
3 Comments
Erin MacLeod
7/26/2021 07:23:55 pm

Hi Bryn,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I love that you quote Susan Cain, I really enjoyed reading her book years ago! I am an introvert and have always felt like my quietness was undesirable and that I should try to be different. Her book really made me feel empowered to be who I am and be happy with that. I have always found sharing in front of others intimidating and anxiety provoking. I NEVER contributed to class discussions in university or high school, and I seldom do at staff meetings. This is the first distance course I've ever taken and I have found it really refreshing to be able to share my thoughts and not be afraid to do so. I agree whole-heartedly with Cain that the online platform provides introverts with time to organize their thoughts and feel confident to share them.

Reply
Laura Brzovic
7/27/2021 12:47:07 pm

Hi Bryn,
I love how you mentioned the importance of connection in terms of learning. I remember learning once in high school that our thoughts and opinions would be COMPLETELY different if we had different personal experiences. It made me realize how my ways of thinking weren't "right."

I think it's important for people to share their ideas when learning so that all of those perspectives can be shared. Often people will tell me things and I will say, "Oh I didn't even think about that!!" I really appreciate those moments.

Reply
Darcy McNee
7/27/2021 01:54:51 pm

Another thoughtful and reflective post that documents your thinking and shares strong strategies. Your list of attributes for connected educators is an excellent model for others.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    I'm Bryn, teacher, mom, book lover, athlete. I am passionate about living life with my family, teaching and learning something new all the time. I hope you find something that speaks to you here on my blog and would love to hear from you too!

    Categories

    All
    30 Day Challenge
    Boys
    Close Reading
    Collaboration
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Daily 5
    Early Literacy
    For Parents
    For Teachers
    Freebies
    French Immersion
    Global Issues
    Goal Setting
    Holidays
    Homework
    IMWAYR
    Interactive Notebooks
    Kindergarten
    Learning At Home
    Lit Pit
    Math
    Mentorship
    Middle
    Motivation
    Organizing Your Classroom
    Perspective
    Primary
    Professional Development
    Provocations
    Racism
    Reading
    Reflective Teaching
    SEL
    Teachers Pay Teachers
    Teaching Mantras
    Technology
    The Importance Of Language
    The Newness Of It All
    Tough Conversations
    University Courses
    Writing

    Archives

    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    October 2013

    Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth - TeachersPayTeachers.com

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from verchmarco (CC BY 2.0), alex_why, wuestenigel, s.schmitz, mrkrndvs, Sean MacEntee, rweait-osm, hstower, wuestenigel, MPD01605, grongar, momsworking01, wwarby, William Hook, CJS*64, mrsdkrebs, Brett Jordan, Wade Rockett, quinn.anya, Infomastern, debaird™, ksunderman, csakkarin, verchmarco, Neil Tackaberry, John Brighenti, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), mikecogh, simplyalex, smaedli, TomMartinArt, Wonder woman0731
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • For Teachers
    • Start Here >
      • Literate
      • Numerate
      • Curious
      • Kind
      • Healthy
      • Technology in the Classroom >
        • Digital & Media Literacy
  • For Parents
    • Learning At Home
    • Great Apps & Websites
    • Help! My Child is Struggling in School >
      • First Steps to Take When Your Child is Struggling
  • Book Reviews