The Connected Educator

I pride myself on being a life long learner.  I always look for areas in which I can grow as an educator, father or husband.  In the last year I ventured into an area I didn't think I would ever go nor did I see any value in going there!  Yes I have a Twitter account.

I have spent the better part of the last year learning what Twitter is, why I want/need it and how it can benefit me.  I have come to find out that it has become an invaluable tool to me as an educator and my professional growth.  I would not have said that a year ago.  Today I spend 3 to 4 times per week on it reading articles and connecting with other educators all over the United States.  It has been a wonderful experience.

I recently read a book entitled "What Connected Educators Do Differently" by Todd Whitaker, Jimmy Casas and Jeffrey Zoul.  What an awesome book!!  I wish I had read this book a year ago when I started my Twitter adventure.  There is so much helpful  information in there that makes Twitter a great tool and easy to get started with if you are new to it.  The authors do a great job of starting with the basics and offering many tools and suggestions of people to follow. Each chapter is rich with ideas and resources to get a new person started.

So what is a connected educator?  The authors define it as follows: "...a mindset more than anything else" and "ones who are actively and constantly seeking new opportunities and resources to grow as professionals".  That's how I see myself.  It has been a great journey in the last year to grow and learn how to use this new tool.  I have made many new Twitter connections in the last year that have really helped my growth as an educator and administrator.  I have a strong desire to continue to be a "connected educator" moving forward and model it for others.

One of the things I hope to do with this book is to encourage my teachers to get on board with Twitter and all the possibilities that it has for professional development by reading this book and putting the principles and ideas to use.  I want them to become that "connected educator" and experience what I have experienced and continue to experience every day.  In a time where we are personalizing and differentiating learning for students, teachers need to do the same for themselves and Twitter is a great free, done on your own time professional development tool. Twitter needs to be promoted as a differentiated, personalized learning experience and this book can kick start that for them.

I strongly recommend this book for all educators, especially those that are thinking about or are new to Twitter.  Please feel free to share your thoughts as you read this book.