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Facilitate THIS! (Networked Learning FTW!)
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A colleague of mine here at my school asked me for some help the other day. Her first question:“Just wondering if you would know anywhere I could search for a virtual field trip to Champs-Élysées…”
She added, in the P.S.:
“… love wordle … trying to think of a way to work [it] into a lesson.”
Off to Twitter I went, asking my network for help here and here, and boy, did they deliver! Thanks for helping me do my job better! Here are the results (linked as Twitter updates rather than the resource provided to show context and give credit to the Twitterer):
Tweets/Resources related to my request for virtual field trips in France:
- http://twitter.com/tracyrosen/status/1059564827
- http://twitter.com/kellyhines/status/1059573836
- http://twitter.com/bookwyrmish/status/1059575797
- http://twitter.com/tracyrosen/status/1059662456
Tweets/Resources related to uses of Wordle in a Middle School Language Arts program:
- http://twitter.com/sammorra/status/1059943800 (which led to this gem – Wordle holiday cards – brilliant!)
- http://twitter.com/gardenglen/status/1059565689
- http://twitter.com/kellyhines/status/1059568316
- http://twitter.com/plugusin/status/1059582986 and http://twitter.com/plugusin/status/1059588783
- http://twitter.com/gardenglen/status/1059591106
- http://twitter.com/sarahhanawald/status/1059608418
- http://twitter.com/jrichardson30/status/1059669850
- http://twitter.com/spillarke/status/1059693242
Now, for the rest of the story.
This colleague of mine is sharp. She could easily do my job if she wanted to. So she doesn’t really NEED my help, but her asking me allows me to make an important point about networked learning.
She came to me, I’m assuming, because she figured I’d be able to quickly offer her some resources and ideas. Here’s the thing. I’m just one person, but I’m pretty knowledgeable, and she works with me, so it’s a reasonable place for her to start. The power of networked learning is that she didn’t just ask me, she asked (through me) over 1,400 people in my network. 1,400 other knowledgeable, helpful, willing people. Did we get 1,400 responses? No. Did we get enough high-quality leads to get her started? You bet. Did it save her time? Without question. Was she able to find resources she’d otherwise have missed with a traditional search? Absolutely.
So the people who say “I have no time for Twitter,” I say, how can you NOT have time for a resource like this? Granted, everyone starts with zero followers, and yes, building your network (people you follow and learn from) is work. But it’s also easy (thanks to the twitter4teachers wiki), it can be done anytime, and at your own pace. As you use Twitter, and focus on contributing YOUR knowledge, people start to follow YOU. Next thing you know you have 10 followers. Then 50. Then 100. Then hundreds…and it goes on from there. For most people, a few months of light Twitter use (writing updates or browsing tweets of others) quickly results in a vibrant, growing personal learning network. The greater your time investment, the greater your networked learning rate of return. Simple as that!
-kj-
Published on December 17, 2008 · Filed under: Networked Learning, Training / P.D.;
10 Responses to “Facilitate THIS! (Networked Learning FTW!)”
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Nice work KJ, in fact worthy of a perm bookmark and shared to the Diigo/Delicious networks too. Really nice use of hyperlinks to tell the story. I reckon your job is safe. But there’s always Australia if things don’t work out.
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Thanks Dean, you are too kind, we are indigenous to the area, so much family here, little chance I’ll *EVER* be able to convince the wife to live elsewhere!
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Tatian Greenleaf said on December 17th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
As a tech teacher myself, I’m quite impressed with your blog. Seeing the lesson plans for the 4th grade classes is inspiring. I do a few of those types of projects throughout the year, but nothing like the intensity (weekly) you list. Thanks for the great ideas and constant reflection. — Tatian Greenleaf, Saint Mark’s School, San Rafael, CA
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Tatian, you are too kind, so happy you find my blog useful! It’s always nice to hear from readers, especially new ones. Happy Holidays! -kj-
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So true. As someone who is slowly building their network I totally agree with everything above. It takes time & patience to build your network but the rewards it can reap are massive. Thanks for sharing!
Andrew Jeppesen -
Hi Andrew, thanks for commenting! What advice do you have for people wanting to get started? Have you encountered any surprises along the way? -kj-
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Thanks Kevin,
Advice for getting started in twitter?
Firstly, if you’re not confident or don’t ‘know’ anyone already using twitter, “lurk” (find people you may benefit from following and read what’s going on) for a little bit and get a sense of how twitter works – but don’t be afraid to join in the conversations.
Once you have found people in your teaching / interest area, follow them; but be prepared to contribute to the conversations & share your own knowledge. From these conversations you will find more people to follow and so it grows …
But – be patient. It may not seem like much at first, though eventually you will follow / be followed by enough people for it to start to make a lot of sense and be a “time-saver”. Better than regular professional development … -
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! :-) See you in the Twitterverse! -kj-
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I love the practicality and realness of this post. I’m getting ready to do some PD on various Web 2.0 tools. Will definitely be sharing :) Happy Holidays. I look forward to continuing to learn with you via Twitter.
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Kelly, Happy Holidays to you as well, and good luck with your district PD efforts! Pay it forward!
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