The Connected Educator Book Summary

The Connected Educator is more than just someone that uses technology in the classroom. The connected educator is a lifelong learner, ready to adapt and use the tools available to improve their practice. They embrace new ideas and viewpoints throughout the connected world. Through the development of connected learning communities, the connected educator can improve their practice, encourage the work of others, and build an ever-changing repository of shared knowledge to benefit the education community as a whole.

BECOMING A CONNECTED LEARNER AND EDUCATOR

As educators of 21st-century learners, we must embrace different models of learning and connectivity that are native to our students. Learning happens for our students in a connected world. The same should hold for educators. Collaboration between educators of diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise allows for creating connected learning communities: an amalgamation of communities of practice, professional learning communities, and personal learning networks. Connected learning communities provide the same benefits as the three aforementioned communities but on a scale not previously achievable due to the connected tools available today.

BUILDING CULTURE THROUGH COLLABORATION

Conversations with a community of practice can lead to deep, connected learning. Learning as a connected educator is important to connect with global educators in a globalized world. Educators can make learning relevant for themselves and their students through communities of practice. The focus of connected learning is on a collaborative culture that includes having a shared vision, shared values, and opportunities for inquiry.

Magnetic Connections
Magnetic Connections by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

DEFINING THE TOOLS FOR CONNECTING

In the past, connecting outside of the classroom was relegated to professional development opportunities and conferences that only a few educators attended. With tools like Twitter and Facebook, teachers can participate in groups and chats based on grade levels, content areas, teacher leadership, and more. Bookmarking and sharing sites such as Diigo and Wakelet allow teachers to curate resources around any topic and share them with the larger community. Blogging tools like Blogger, WordPress, Squarespace, and more allow teachers to reflect on professional learning with a worldwide audience.

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH CONNECTIONS

Educators must have a plan and purpose for how they will build their personal learning network (PLN). Tips for getting started creating a PLN include:

  • Begin with one tool and add others when comfortable.
  • Establish a consistent username across all networks.
  • Find a mentor to help along the way.
  • Choose well-respected and familiar educators, see who they follow, and select connections from their list.

Educators assume roles and responsibilities in a PLN: linking, lurking, learning, and leading. Linking and lurking involve staying on the sidelines and being reluctant to share thoughts. Learning and leading members are frequent users who share ideas and help shape the community. The learning and leading roles should commit to bringing those linking and lurking into action.

people doing group hand cheer
Photo by Dio Hasbi Saniskoro on Pexels.com

SUSTAINING COMMUNITIES

While forging ahead in new connected realms, it is important that educators work to sustain these communities and foster growth. Through appreciative inquiry, educators can sustain the initial work begun in newly connected virtual communities by focusing on their strengths and asking “what if?” to explore possibilities. Community members can keep a positive perspective on what can be accomplished using the 4-D model of appreciative inquiry: discovering what they feel the group is at its best, dreaming about what it would be like to see those discoveries happen, designing the community to make those dreams happen, and fulfilling the destiny for the community by implementing those designs.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THROUGH CONNECTIONS

Transformational leaders collaborate, encourage connected learning, and believe in distributed leadership. Distributed leadership is shared throughout the school by many people to strengthen the community. To shift to transformational leadership, traditional leaders must let go of control to move forward. Distributed leadership requires having a shared vision and shared responsibility in problem-solving. In a connected world, solving these problems includes making online connections with experts to inform ideas. Being connected allows teams to collaborate outside of the school day in a shared space.

CONNECTIONS TO LEADERSHIP

Being a connected educator goes hand in hand with teacher leadership. It is important in leadership to be an effective communicator and collaborator, which are also important aspects of being connected. Connected educators build their personal learning networks, or communities of practice, to continue professional learning and build connections outside of their school community.


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References:

Hord, S. M., & Sommers, W. A. (2008). Leading professional learning communities: Voices from research and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Hall, L. A. (2011). The connected educator: Learning and leading in a digital age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Thoughts on an Education Twitter Exodus

I’ve been on Twitter for over 15 years now (a disturbing bit of trivia in and of itself) and have seen all the changes along the way.

Since Elon Musk took the company private in October 2022, there’s undoubtedly been an uproar from many who believe the site will become a cesspool of misinformation, hatred, and racism.

Even the education world that embraced Twitter as a way to grow personal learning networks over a decade ago has begun to show signs of leaving the platform.

Musk has already laid off roughly half of Twitter’s staff, fired some top leaders, and deep-sixed its board of directors.

The changes could have major repercussions. Back in 2021, Twitter famously ousted President Donald Trump when he declared that voter fraud had cost him the presidential election, despite an overwhelming lack of evidence to support his claims.

Now educators are wondering whether they will be able to continue using Twitter as they always have, or whether it will become a dumping ground for racism, dangerous misinformation, and threats.

via EdWeek

Personally, I have no plans to leave Twitter. I’ll continue to use it as a platform to connect and share ideas with others.

I can’t control what others do, especially not the actions of Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter.

And if you’re leaving, I understand. We all have to do what is best for our mental health.

But I wonder if, by leaving, we are only giving power to those we least want controlling the narrative on Twitter.

Maybe we should stick around and keep doing good things and sharing all the good others do, too.

Friday Finds: Spooky Edition

It’s the end of another week, and we’re heading straight into the very witching time of the year. Hocus Pocus 2, Halloweentown, and The Nightmare Before Christmas have been on repeat at my house.

Many of us enjoy a good scare from time to time (because humans are weird), so here are ten things I found this week to help get you in the spooky mood…

  1. I love old-time radio shows, which likely explains my love for podcasts. Here’s a playlist of 149 vintage Halloween radio shows to enjoy while you hand out candy.
  2. While we’re on the topic of spooky sounds, this was the soundtrack of my early Halloween memories that I thought had been lost forever. Thanks, random stranger on YouTube.
  3. One of my favorite spooky stories is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Poor Ichabod Crane. For added creepiness, here’s a retelling of the tale done with shadow puppets and a cool behind-the-scenes video.
  4. It’s not all that spooky, but the tale of how Toy Story 2 was almost deleted before ever being released is certainly scary and a great lesson in backing up your digital life.
  5. For streaming fans, here are some new spooky tales to check out this spooky season (I am hearing amazing things about Werewolf by Night and Cabinet of Curiosities from my friend, Brian Rodman).
  6. Speaking of Brian, if you’re a fan of all things comics & horror, you should check out his work. He’s venturing into prose in the coming months, and I can’t wait.
  7. I keep talking about AI art generators and their ability to create some amazing creations from strings of words. Of course, they can’t take the place of true artists, nor should they. But they’re fun for projects like reimagining scary movie posters.
  8. At my house, we buy one box of Boo Berry cereal as soon as it hits the shelves in the fall. I had no clue that the monster cereals had such a weird history.
  9. If you happen to get a little too spooked, here are some tips to help you calm down and maintain your sanity.
  10. Finally, here are some of my favorite scary books. Like, super scary. There’s Something Wicked This Way ComesIt, and everything Edgar Allan Poe ever wrote (The Tell-Tale Heart is my personal favorite).
woman wearing tank dress
Photo by Edilson Borges on Unsplash

As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy yourself this Halloween, and remember to check your candy for anything suspect or ridiculous (Seriously, drug dealers aren’t going to randomly give their product away. They make money selling it.)

This newsletter is a reader-supported publication. The best way to support it is to shop for some of my favorite stuff (I get a cut) or hire me to speak or consult with your organization.

Will Students Use AI to Write Papers?

Since the dawn of time, students have been looking for ways to get out of writing papers. How do I know this? Because I was a student who tried to get out of writing papers.

I was terrible at it since I’d mostly just end up not writing the paper (Have I told you how horrible I was as a student in middle school & high school? Or maybe I wasn’t horrible, I just didn’t want to do things that were busy work and it all seemed like busy work…) and placing all my hopes for decent grades on awesome test-taking abilities.

Regardless of the wonderful technologies our students can use today, at some point, they are going to write a paper. Until we convince every teacher in the world that there are other ways to demonstrate learning mastery, there’s a paper in every student’s future. And there are times when a paper is the best form of assessment or communication.

With advances in artificial intelligence, we may need to rethink writing assignments for students.

Rethinking Writing with AI in Mind

As we think about creating deeper learning experiences for students and moving past work that doesn’t have applications outside the classroom and only asks for evidence of low-level learning, we educators need to know what’s possible with AI writing programs.

If you’re asking students to give an answer that looks something like a “listicle” you might find on a website, an AI writer can craft an incredibly decent response.

Without AI, innovate_rye says the homework they consider “busywork” would take them two hours. Now homework assignments like this take them 20 minutes.

from Vice

And some budding entrepreneurs learn quickly that if they know how to use AI writing software, they can make a quick buck from classmates.

I quickly searched for “ai writing apps” and retrieved around 82 million matches. The first page of the search results is littered with articles like “21 Best AI Writing Software Tools of October 2022 (Top 3 Picks)” and “21 Best AI Writing Tools of 2022,” amongst many others.

My point is this: students will find a way to game the system. They will put more effort into getting out of work than they will in doing the work if the work they are asked to do seems pointless.

white robot
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Can we honestly say we don’t want to do the same? If we could have an AI attend the average staff meeting in our stead, wouldn’t we?

You could even use AI to write up some helpful tips for other teachers if you want to. The quality of the work may not be what you’re looking for, but is that wrong?

Technology is a tool that we can leverage to complete mundane tasks. The part of that statement that is difficult to define is the mundane part. Who decides what tasks are mundane and which ones aren’t?

A Plea for More Authentic Tasks

I’m not saying that papers can’t be authentic; I’m saying that we have to think carefully about what we ask students to write about. As with all the work we ask of students, a move toward more authentic, student-centered learning is essential in our modern world.

Planning frameworks like the 4 Shifts protocol can help us think about the tasks we ask of students and how we can modify those tasks for more authentic work.

And maybe worry a little less about software writing student responses.

BONUS: I had this newsletter ready to launch when I saw an AI-generated podcast between Joe Rogan and Steve Jobs. Disturbing? Yes. We need to know what’s out there and what it can do. The future is now.


Thanks for reading. This newsletter is a reader-supported publication. The best way to support it is to shop for some of my favorite gear (I get a cut) or hire me to speak or consult with your organization.

Colorado Teacher Reaches New Heights

Colorado chemistry teacher Eddie Taylor has something new to add to his resume: He’s reached the peak of Mt. Everest.

And he did it with the first team of Black climbers

While other Black climbers have previously climbed Mount Everest, this was the first summit by a team of Black climbers. The other Full Circle team members who summited were Thomas Moore, also of Colorado; and Manoah Ainuu, Rosemary Saal, Demond Mullins, James “KG” Kagami, and Evan Green. Phil Henderson, who lives in Cortez, Colorado, led the Full Circle team but did not climb. 

“If you’re a black person or a Latino person and you Google ‘climbing,’ you’re going to still see lots of people who don’t look like you,” Taylor said. “That, I think, makes those sports … seem a little bit more unapproachable.”

https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/16/23076383/colorado-teacher-eddie-taylor-summits-mt-everest

Assorted Links for Monday, May 16, 2022

  1. Free sound effects for you to use in school projects from the fine folks at the BBC
  2. Explordle – watch a video clip and guess where the video was taken. Great for identifying context clues and environments
  3. Relationship Building with Dialogue Journals
  4. Three videos about the black hole at the center of the Milky Way

On Dealing with Fake News in Education

fake news
Photo by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash

Fake news. Disinformation. Misinformation. We see it all and so do our students.

We can choose to ignore it or we, as educators, can help students see what is real, what is fake, and what is somewhere in-between.

Kimberly Rues writes as she tries to get a better understanding of fake news herself:

Eating the proverbial elephant one bite at a time seems like a great place to begin, but which bite to take first? I would propose that we might begin by steeping ourselves in definitions that allow us to speak with clarity in regards to the types of misleading information. Developing a common vocabulary, if you will.

In my quest to deeply understand the elephant on the menu, I dug into this infographic from the European Association for Viewers Interests which took me on a tour of ten types of misleading news—propaganda, clickbait, sponsored content, satire and hoax, error, partisan, conspiracy theory, pseudoscience, misinformation and bogus information. Of course, I recognized those terms, but it allowed me to more clearly articulate the similarities and differences in text and images that fit these descriptions.

My first instinct is to keep bringing us all back to the subject of digital citizenship (which is just good citizenship in a digital world) but I know I’m still a small voice in a big world.

Also: here’s one of my favorite tools to help recognize media bias.

Pike Mall Tech: 9 May 2022

dangers of social media
Photo by Daria Nepriakhina 🇺🇦 on Unsplash

Today’s Links

We need social media for schools

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools looked for any way possible to maintain contact with students, families, and the community.

Resilience, Reorientation, and Reinvention: School Leadership During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.637075/full

Leaders who may not have been keen on social media before were scrambling. They would use any and all means to stay connected with students.

Of course, working from home is not the same as working from school. Even for students who have internet access at home, it’s often not as reliable or as fast as what they can get at school.

Our public schools have at least 1Gbps upload/download fiber connections here in Kentucky, better than pretty much anything available to homes.

Also, knowing that as the pandemic began around 15% of students in the US did not have reliable high-speed internet access at home and 17% of teens indicated they did not have the resources to complete schoolwork at home (the “homework gap”), just connecting to students would be an issue.

Still, schools leveraged what they could.

I wish I could say that all schools use social media well but we’re still very much on the learning curve of these technologies. As with most other things in education, someone has to manage a program for social media.

Often, this falls to the school library media specialist or a technology teacher. And just as often, these folks have little experience with crafting a media message or dealing with comments from the public on social platforms.

If we want our schools to use social media, we have to find a way to fund having a person that takes care of that content.

Yes, your school needs a PR person. Of course, this person should likely also have interns (students) who want to learn the ins and outs of modern communications and PR.

It’s something to think about as we move forward post-pandemic.

We don’t need social media for schools

On the other hand, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for anyone to admit that social media is not always the best tool to introduce to students, especially when we don’t talk about digital citizenship in schools.

The role of social media in spreading panic among primary and secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020326505

Due to the nature of most posts on social, our attention span is shortening. We don’t deep-dive into subjects any longer, we just want to swipe and get the next hit of dopamine.

https://medium.com/@profgalloway/the-attention-economy-is-making-us-stupid-86461c0baa05

With TikTok challenges wreaking havoc in schools as students returned to in-person learning, school administrators are likely to look for ways to avoid social media and block school access.

https://www.asralertsystems.com/blog/tiktok-challenges-school-safety

Of course, blocking access leads to other issues. When schools move past blocking access to the most egregious sites on the web, they can get into the tangle of “I need you to block this site/app because my students are distracted” requests from teachers at every level.

Historically, blocking access doesn’t achieve much.

Where can we focus our efforts in schools to avoid the trap of blocking socials and multiple other sites that are annoying to everyone but students?

Digital Citizenship

Linkus Randomus

Colophon

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Currently writing:

  • Volume 1: The Heretic Chronicles – a fantasy story about a girl, her sword, and extreme fundamentalist religion (WC: 15,457)
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