I don’t have time to become a networked educator……I’m a great teacher and I don’t need to change what I’m doing……I’d like to find and connect with other educators, but I have no idea where to begin.

These are some of the most common reasons that educators cite for avoiding becoming a connected educator. In The Connected Educator, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall lay out a plan to help reluctant educators enter this wonderful world. Each chapter helps the reader understand the various aspects of what it means to be a connected educator. This book lays out a well-organized plan for getting connected that any educator can follow.

The authors seem to read the minds of educators as they provide numerous examples of why it is important for us to take charge of our own professional development. This book is a valuable resource for educators who are just starting out on the path to becoming a connected educator as well as for ones who are already there.

This is a book about learning and how we no longer have to do this in isolation. Readers are provided with activities throughout the book that provide opportunities to connect and learn with others. This type of support is vital to help reluctant educators develop the confidence they need to explore this new and wonderful world. The best part of this book is that it puts the responsibility for becoming a connected learner squarely on the shoulders of the individual educator. At the end of the book the authors challenge educators to recognize they do indeed have a choice when it comes to becoming a connected learner.

I recently read a story called Friendly Advice for Teachers: Beware of Facebook on the NPR website. Ironically, the only reason I read this story was because it was shared on Twitter.

There is little doubt that many educators have found themselves in hot water for something they have posted online. However, it isn’t the medium that got them in trouble, but rather it is what they said. The story on NPR did not do a very good job explaining this. In fact, it did just the opposite. The following advice from New Jersey teachers union appeared in the story.

“Don’t ever friend or follow your students on Facebook or Twitter, never post during work hours  or using materials such as a school computer, and certainly never post anything about your job online, especially that is about students.”

Really? I should never friend my students on Facebook? I should never follow my students on Twitter? I should never post to Twitter or Facebook (or other social network) during the work day?

I have some issues with these points and I would like to take this opportunity to share why I’m respectfully telling NPR they can keep their friendly advice to themselves.

I have been active on Twitter for three and a half years. Twitter has provided me with the ability to connect to 6500 teachers which is equivalent to about a quarter of the total number of teachers in my state. Many of these people have had a tremendous impact on me. They have pushed me and challenged my thinking and as a result have had a direct impact on who I am as a teacher. I am better and smarter because of the vast network of teachers on Twitter.

Each year we are required to write goals. Two of my goals, initiating important activities to contribute to the profession and seeking out opportunities for professional development,  rely on the use of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. I am incredibly fortunate to work in a district that supports the use of these tools.

The next point has to do with friending students on Facebook. I don’t believe that there is a right answer to this question, but I definitely do not agree with the advice provided in the NPR story. I do friend students on Facebook, but I have a separate account for this reason. I share things like pictures of my family, trips I take, and feel good posts that I think my students might enjoy. In the last four years two students have used our connection on Facebook (and MySpace) as a method to get back into school. There are also other students who have used social media channels to talk to me about personal issues that they don’t want to discuss in person. If I taught at a different school I might not friend students.

Now about posting during the work day using school equipment. I have no qualms about posting to Twitter during the workday. And yes, I use my school issued laptop. As I stated earlier, two of my goals relate directly to using social networking. During the day the vast majority of my posts to Twitter are professional in nature. Once in a while I engage in friendly banter or a personal conversation, but that is really no different that personal conversations teachers might have at school. I also do not tweet while I should be teaching. When I can I use my network to find answers for students.  I rarely use Facebook during the workday. While many of my Facebook friends are colleagues, I use it more for fun than for work. The notable exception to this is when I am posting something on our official school Facebook page.

My issue with the NPR story is that it made it seem like the answer to using social media is cut and dry. As with everything in life, the answer to how and when to educators should use social media is not black and white. The story could have promoted the responsible use by educators, but it didn’t. It could have discussed how we can be role models for its use instead of making it seem like teachers who use this medium of communication should be persecuted, but it didn’t. Pointing out how Twitter and Facebook can be used incorrectly and irresponsibly is probably necessary, but showing the flip side is important, too.

Earlier today Dean Shareski sent the following tweet:

A little while later Lee Kolbert tagged me in a blog post called “Have We Met.“  I gladly decided to take Lee up on her challenge and I have spent the last couple of hours looking over pictures from the last few years and taking a trip down memory lane. Lee issues the following challenge in her post:

“I challenge you to write your own blog post doing the same. Be good to the Blogosphere and be sure to link back here and also reference Dean in your post; then challenge others to do the same and link back HERE and to YOUR POST.”

If you blog about this please link back to her  post since she was the one who got the ball rolling on this after Dean’s tweet earlier today. It will be fun to go back to Lee’s blog over the next few weeks to read all of these “how we met” stories.

I hope you enjoy these stories and I hope the people I blog about will enjoy my recollection of how we met.

Cory and Beth at ISTE10 in Denver

I first connected with  Cory Plough in the spring of 2008. I was preparing to attend ISTE (formerly NECC) in June and I was trying to make some connections ahead of time. I met Cory on the NECC Ning and quickly discovered we had so much in common.  He was so helpful during the first few months when I was learning all about web tools.

I first met Cory in person outside of the Alamo in San Antonio. Over the last few years he has become a good friend. We have presented together at ISTE and led a conversation at Educon last year.

Michelle, George, and me in Philadelphia

My very first memory of Michelle Baldwin was just prior to NECC08. She contacted me on behalf of NETA to let me know about the get together for members during NECC. Since I didn’t know a soul from Nebraska (and was too shy to go) I blew it off. A few months later I saw my name pop up in a conversation between Cory Plough and Michelle. It was at that moment that I connected with her on Twitter. We met in person for the first time at Edubloggercon in 2009. Since then we have been roomies and shared lots of laughs!

Exactly one year later I had lunch with Michelle in Denver the day after ISTE was over. I was telling her I wanted to do something a little different for 2011 for the ISTE Newbie Project. She suggested George Couros.  My first connection with George was in July of 2010 when I sent him an email asking him if he wanted to be the next ISTE Newbie. I quickly realized how incredibly special he was. His thoughts and ideas inspire push me to be the best teacher I can be.

Kyle and Shannon at Pearl Street Pizza Party

This is Kyle Pace and Shannon Miller. I cannot say exactly when I got to know Kyle because I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. My first connection with Shannon was when a coworker of mine got an issue of Learning and Leading with Technology and read an article that Shannon wrote. My coworker brought it down to me and said, “This Shannon lady reminds me so much of you!” I didn’t have time to read the article at the time and forgot about it. A few weeks later Cory Plough and I were working on our presentation for ISTE10 and he suggested using some of the information from Shannon’s article. I figured I’d better follow her since she seemed to be everywhere!

I first met her in person at a pizza party I threw after Edubloggercon. She and I instantly became friends. She’s one of the kindest and most genuine people I know.

Beth and Scott at Google Block Party

I began following Scott Floyd just weeks before attending NECC08.  I liked that he was not afraid to speak his mind. (Something about Pearson and Edubloggercon I believe.) After following Scott for a few months on Twitter I knew he was brilliant. He came to my assistance when I had an issue regarding using Firefox on student computers in the fall of 2008.

That interaction with Scott was my “a-ha” moment on Twitter. Since then, Scott has become a trusted friend and no matter how busy he is he is always there to give me advice and guidance.

Jason and Beth in Rocky Mountain National Park

I first connected with Jason on Twitter three years ago. He was starting a new blog and asked me to look over his first post before he published it. I was flattered yet confused about why he asked me to do this, but I did and it was the start of a wonderful friendship. I have worked with Jason on so many projects that I have come to think of him as a coworker even though we live 1500 miles and two time zones apart.

I need to collect some information regarding the role of  “technology integrations specialists.” Since my personal learning network is my best source for information I could not imagine looking anywhere else for what I need.

Over the last few months I have been collecting information on the responsibilities of educational technologists. For the most part it appears the primary responsibility of educational technologists is to help teachers figure out the best way to integrate technology. What is not terribly clear is what a good title is for this position. Earlier today I asked my personal learning network what they would rename this position if they could do so. Their replies are included in the Wordle pictured in the VoiceThread below.

What I need from you is an explanation of what educational technologists do in your school. Feel free to explain their role or share a story about how they have made a positive contribution to your school in order to illustrate their importance. My goal is to have several dozen explanations that can be used as evidence for why this is such a critical position to a district.  I’d love to have  replies from teachers, administrators, IT department, and anyone else who might have a story to share!

Please feel free to use this VoiceThread for your own needs. All I ask is you help me by sharing it so we can collect a lot of evidence!

If you have read my blog for any time at all then you know the issue I have struggled with the most is grading. During the last few years I have gone from one extreme where I have taken points off for EVERYTHING under the sun to the other extreme where students have been allowed to work completely at their own pace.It probably won’t come as a surprise to hear that what I found works best is something in the middle of these two extremes.

After literally years of struggling with grading I found that all that mattered was the answer to one question.

At the end of the marking period what should the percentage on the report card reflect?

The answer to this for me is simple yet so incredibly complex at the same time. In my classroom students are given a variety of assignments which have a point value. In the past if they blew off an assignment or did poorly on some of them it wasn’t really a big deal because over the course of a 9 week marking period losing points here and there wasn’t a grade killer. Students were allowed to “take” a zero. Students were allowed to flunk assignments. It wasn’t about the learning or improving. It was about obtaining enough points over the marking period so that at the end of the quarter they had enough points to earn a 75% and pass the class.

Then policies changed and students were held to a higher standard. According to our new policy it was no longer acceptable for a student to “take” a zero. If they were missing work they were required to come in on Friday (not a school day for my students) to make it up. If a student scored lower than a 75% on any type of assignment they were required by policy to come on and either redo it or complete a similar assignment in its place. Blowing off Friday school isn’t an option since they run the risk of being removed from the program after the second time.

How has this worked? Typically at this point in the quarter anywhere from 30% to 50% of my students are not passing. Right now 100% of my students are not only passing, but nearly all of them have earned full credit on every assignment. If something isn’t near perfect I point out what is wrong and I have them fix it on the spot. For my particular clientele this usually means having them fix errors in their writing. I have seen students who really struggle with writing improve over the last couple of months. Students who used to rush and who didn’t really care about the quality of their work have slowed down. They know if the quality is low I will have them redo it.

The emphasis has shifted from punishing students with zeros and late grades to focusing on learning and improving. Grades should never, ever be used against students and it is evident that many students aren’t motivated by grades. When given the choice many will opt to not do an assignment because they know in the end they will probably pass the class without the points. This shift has actually placed more responsibility on the students and I can honestly say it is one of the best changes we’ve ever made.