This post is also on Wes Fryer’s blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity. If you are inclined to comment, please post on his site so we can have the conversation in one place.

I have had a post brewing in my head for a very long time and I think this is the perfect forum in which to bring this issue to light. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a problem that so many of us have, but are unwilling to acknowledge. The issue I am referring to is finding a balance between the various aspects of our lives. More specifically, I am an going to discuss the amount of time we spend online versus time we spend with our families.

I have two great loves in my life: my family and my career. I am passionate about both of them, but lately it seems like work has overshadowed my family. If I am being honest I would have to say that for the better part of the last year my family has taken a backseat to my career. I teach and develop online classes. Most of this is done at home on my own time due to the constant interruptions at school which occur even during my prep time.

I also have developed an amazing PLN that I love interacting with, but each minute I spend with them is a minute that I could (and should) be spending with my family. My family does not quite fully comprehend that I learn so much on Twitter. The other thing that they do not understand is that some of the friendships I have made on Twitter are very meaningful.

My husband made the awful mistake of giving in to my request and bought me a BlackBerry for Valentine’s Day this last year. I am now connected to all of my email accounts, Google chat, and Twitter around the clock. While I think this is great my family is not as thrilled. You see, I have not yet mastered the art of unplugging and taking a tech break. I enjoy the ability to connect to my network at any time from any place. My family is not impressed that I make myself so easily accessible to the world.

Last week I walked away for a few hours. I actually powered down my laptop and cell phone and I snuggled up with my husband in our favorite over-sized to watch a movie. When I had trouble remember the last time we did that I realized that I have been plugged in for way too long! It finally occurred to me that I need to find some balance. While I love working and I am not in danger of burning out; I am missing out on some very important things in my life. I am just not sure how an online teacher spend less time online, but I will figure it out.

Twitter, blogs and emails can wait, but my family can’t. I still have a lot of work to do online this summer, but I am going to turn off Twitter and I am going to purposefully neglect my reader. While I am online I need to focus on the task at hand. I need to learn to become more efficient when I work. I get tend to get sidetracked very easily! I am not quite sure how I will do this, but I need to find a balance.

I know other people have faced the same issues. How have you managed to strike a balance between work and family time? What are some of the suggestions you have for finding an adequate amount of time for each?

Last week I wrote a post on how to get a newbie started off right in Twitter. Then I started thinking about all of the educators who have already fallen through the cracks. The ones who gave Twitter a try, but were really never given a proper demonstration on the ins and outs of Twitter. What about the ones who were left to figure it out on their own and felt so overwhelmed that they gave up?

Here is my challenge to you. Find someone who has tried Twitter, but who dropped out. Send them a message to let them know you want to help them rediscover Twitter. Help them make sure their profile and bio is complete. Invest some time teaching them how to use Twitter. This is something we wrongly assume people will figure out on their own.  Teach them how to do things like send “@” messages, DM’s, and add links and images. Help them bookmark different sites so they can reference them down the road.

Perhaps the most important thing is helping them find people to follow who are the right fit for their PLN. It might look like they are following a lot of people, but what really matters is the quality of information that is coming across. Help them find 30-40 good people to follow. Show them how to find people in different directories such as Twitter4Teachers and WeFollow. The next thing you need to do is help them make some meaningful updates. After a week or so reintroduce them to the Twitterverse! Add them to a Follow Friday list to help them grow their PLN. Once they see that a couple of dozen people care about what they have to say it might just hook them on Twitter permenantely!

In just a little over two weeks I will celebrate my one year anniversary on Twitter and the beginning of my PLN. This is one of those posts that I am writing more for myself. It is to remind me of why I invest so much time in my network. It is my small way of saying thank you to some of the people in my PLN. I wish I could thank everyone who has made an impact on me, but I don’t have enough room. If you are not on this list please do not think it does not mean you are not an integral part of my learning network. I am picking a few people that I have had some very memorable interactions with over the last year. This has been the best year of my teaching career and it is because of my PLN.

• mrplough07 You took so much time last spring and summer to make sure I got off to a good start. I could not have asked for a better mentor. I am glad you have returned to your PLN. (I am not sure if I have told you that yet, have I?)
• StonyRiver You have added a completely different perspective to my PLN. Your work in Australia is so inspiring. I enjoy getting the emails that you send and my students absolutely love hearing about you.
• woscholar For the last year you have given me great advice on a number of topics which has helped me make a solid case to bring change to my school. You have no idea how large your impact has been on my school.
• michellek107 and j_allen I have loved getting to know my colleagues from the central and eastern part of Nebraska. You guys have really taken the time to get to know me and include me in things like NETA. I cannot wait to meet you someday, Josh. Michelle and I get to meet Michelle next month.
• budtheteacher You moved to the top of my list of favorite people on Twitter when you tweeted about your quest to find fresh, hot doughnuts on your family trip last summer. That tweet stuck in my mind because it was one of the first noneducational updates that came across Twitter. (I had only been on for three weeks at that point.) You are the only person who stepped up and questioned the purpose of the Newbie to NECC project. Thank you for challenging me on that!
• karlfisch I was sitting in the Bloggers’ Cafe in San Antonio last year and someone asked me if I had seen Karl. I said “Who?” and they said “You know, Karl Fisch. The Shift Happens guy.” I could not believe that I was in the same location as one of the people who was responsible for that amazing presentation!  I was a little intimidated. I also wanted to tell you and Bud that the conference you put on in Colorado back in February let to some connections that have changed my life.
• a_dowling You have been part of my PLN for as long as I can remember. You seem to always know when I need a Starbucks and a hug! I cannot wait to meet you in a few weeks.
• kyteacher I feel like I already know you because we have so much in common. I am glad that we will finally get to meet in DC.
• npratt We met quite by chance last year. Who would have ever guessed that being interviewed by Pearson Learning would have helped create a friendship. Guess there is a silver lining in every cloud.
• bksmith, anschutzrm, marydobro You have all helped make this year the best year of my career so far. I cannot think of three people that I would rather work with everyday. I am so proud of all three you for finding your voice on Twitter.
• missmarista You have reminded me that not every teacher can be as open and honest with their students as I am. It seems like alt.ed. teachers have a lot of latitude. I am looking forward to following you on your journey to Dubai.
• TeachaKidd I have looked up to you ever since I started following you last year. You always share such useful information! (Like the pictures of your trainer!) On a serious note…if it were not for you the NECC Newbie project would not have been as successful as it was. Your connection to the great people at VoiceThread helped make the project a success.
• rmbyrne I am so glad that you believed in my crazy Newbie to NECC project enough to agree to be the focus of it. It took a lot of guts to trust me and believe in this project. THANK YOU!!! You and I have faced some of the same challenges this year and I am so excited to get to meet you in DC next month. In fact, I think there are a few people who are excited about meeting you next month!
• oswego98 It is hard to believe I talked to you on Twitter for 3 months before finding out your real name. I have learned so much from you since you became an active part of my PLN. And just think….I was supposed to be the one teaching you. Some mentor I turned out to be! The projects we have worked on collaboratively have convinced me that it is possible for people who are separated by distance to work together to share their knowledge and passion to come up with fantastic ideas. Your suggestions, ideas, and energy have helped me more than I can say.

These are just a few of the people who have been part of the amazing journey that I have taken this year. In hindsight I almost regret writing this because there are hundreds of people that I have learned from over the last year.  I just wanted to recognize a few people that have impacted me or my career. Thanks!

A few months ago I wrote a post about the meaning of the word friend. We tend to use the term so loosely and it has taken on an entirely new meaning in the world of social networking. It is evident to me now that true friendships can be formed with people that we have (and may possibly never) meet f2f. In fact, sometimes these bonds are even stronger than the ones we have with the people we work with everyday. Now that is a topic for another post!

Donations for the Send a Newbie to NECC project have been steadily coming in.  As of late last night we were closing in on $600. In order for this project to work we need help from as many people as we can reach. Only you have the power to make this project successful.

Many people have expressed concern about donating money online through PayPal. We completely understand this concern. If you want to participate, but do not want to share your information online please mail your donations directly to:

Richard Byrne
54 Top Hill Road
Naples, ME 04055

Remember that your contribution will not only help send Richard to NECC, it is helping show everyone how powerful our network can be if we all work together to reach a common goal. Together we can send a very strong message to those who continue to question the value of networking and wonder if our ties are truly valuable. I hope you will join us!

The other day on Twitter I noticed I had a message from @mobbsey, an avid edublogger from Australia.  She had tagged me as one of the seven people in her PLN that she wanted to know more about. Nic Mobbs is a lot like me. We both share a passion for getting more teachers to use technology effectively in the classroom and we both resent working in environments that are over filtered. But what do we know about each other beyond each others blogs and tweets? Not much until she responded to a request from someone to write a blog post listing seven things about herself. Chances are that we will never get to meet those people who comprise our PLN. I’d like to take this opportunity to share seven things about myself that might help you relate to me on a personal level. While it is impossible (and possibly counterproductive) to get to know all of the people in our PLN’s, it is nice to know a little bit more about some of the people who have an impact on us.

1. I grew up as an Air Force brat. I lived in Germany, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida before I moved to Wyoming to attend college. I have an Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology. Now I call western Nebraska home.
2. I am an only child. (yes, I know. That explains a lot.)
3. I was lonely growing up. Being an only child is not very much fun which is why I wanted to have at least two kids. My husband and I have two beautiful girls………our family is complete.
4. I graduated from high school in Tampa, Florida in 1992. I HATED history class so I skipped whenever I could. It was not until I was 22 years old that I realized that I had cheated myself out of an education. So I went back to college and decided to become a history teacher!
5. I have three dogs. Libby is a Bassett Hound, Ruger is a Black Lab, and Winston is a Scottish Terrier.
6. If I could do it all over again I’d live in Italy (Florence or Rome) and study art history. I’d also spend a lot of time in Tuscany. That is the absolute most romantic location on the earth!
7. Things I LOVE: Texas-style BBQ, Mexican food, 80’s and early 90’s music. I have been known to sing at the top of my lungs while listening to NSync while working out. (I have never done this at the gym—-just at home on my Elliptical!)

To stick with the original invitation I am only going to tag seven people, however I invite anyone who reads this to comment. I am going to repost this on @mobbsey’s blog as well.

Invites sent to the following people in my PLN:

• @oswego98 I love your enthusiasm for learning new things.
• @rmbyrne You have provided me with some excellent resources.
• @karlfisch You have a brilliant mind. Did You Know had a huge impact on me.
• @darlingawe I feel like I already know you because @craighicks talks about you all of the time!
• @dstall I really want to get to know some of my colleagues in eastern Nebraska.
• @npratt When I met you in Texas I felt like I was meeting a long lost friend! I still don’t know much about you outside of school stuff.
• @mrplough07 You went from being my virtual mentor to friend. I know there is still lots to learn about you.