Around 10pm last night I accomplished a goal that I had been working on since early July. I sent out invitations to about 1500 Nebraska teachers to join a new network, called the Nebraska Educators Network.

Back in April I started my PLC by joining the NECC Ning. At the time I did not realize how meaningful the people in my PLC would become. Most teachers in my region teach in small schools where they are the only subject-area teacher in their discipline.  For the most part we only see teachers outside of our schools at one in service each year. We do not network. We do not share ideas. Nebraska teachers have amazing lessons and ideas, but they do not have a way to share them easily with colleagues.

The Ning will allow teachers to create groups to help facilitate communication. I would like to see educators create the following groups:

• Social Studies (maybe even specialized–History, Geography, Government, ect)
• Math (one for each class—Alg, Geometry, Calc, Trig, ect)
• Science (different categories)
• Language Arts ( different catgories)
• Different groups for each grade—–k-6
• College professors (2 year/4 year)
• Counselors
• Librarians
• Coaches (by sport)
• SPED teachers
• Elective groups (Art, PE, Music, Band, FCS, drama, ect)
• Student teachers
• New teachers
• others?????? I know I am missing some!

Educators can start discussions inside of the different groups. They can share links to webpages, videos, and lesson plans. The biggest complaint from teachers is that they do not have enough time to get things done. They don’t have time to find new lessons. They don’t have time to talk to colleagues. The beauty of a Ning is that teachers can participate when it is convenient for them. For example, Mr. Smith a Social Studies teacher might request help finding a good website to use for the upcoming election. He puts his request in the Ning and within 2 days he has five responses. How did those teachers who responded know he put out a request for help? They subscribed to changes in the  “American Government” group. This means that each time a change is made in that group they automatically get an email.

I hope this network is wildly successful. It has tremendous potential, but it takes participation to make it happen. Please feel free to join even if you are not a Nebraska educator.

It has been too long since I took some time to write a post. I am almost at the end of the third week of school and I so many things on my mind. I want to start by saying this school year, at least with our face to face students has started very well. We have a great secretary/para who is always on top of things, our principal has made sure we have everything we need to have a successful start, and all four teachers get along famously. We could not have enjoyed such a good start without tech support. They have made us a top priority and I thank them for that.

Our online program was launched about ten days ago. Considering it is our first year things have gone well with that, too. However, I have learned some incredibly valuable lessons with online learning.

1. No matter how far in advance I planned there were districts that just plain dropped the ball. Many of my students still do not have Skype or other programs loaded onto their computers so they can converse directly with me.
2. Computer “experts” tend to give scope to the truth when it suits their needs. If something is too difficult to manage then they claim it violates regulations. I have learned to double check all facts before accepting them as truth.
3. Adults are just as guilty about not reading directions as students are! Perhaps they are even a little worse???
4. Social Networking is still not accepted by all districts we are working with. I set up a Ning for my students and one district blocked it as “Unsavory and dubious.” Educating those who are not very open to embracing technology is very frustrating and I am NOT a patient woman.
5. Teaching online takes way more time than teaching in a traditional setting. I do not know why, but I know it does. I work for 16 hours a day and I still do not finish everything that I need to do.

I still have so much to say, but I will save it for another post. It is time for me to take a break!