TTT#308 Connected Educator Month w/ Darren Cambridge, Karen Fasimpaur, Kevin Hodgson, Pam Moran, Paul Oh, Valerie Burton 8.1.12
Paul Allison - Thu, 2012-08-09 07:56
“Online communities of practice and personal learning networks are grassroots phenomena. Through them, educators are taking charge of their professional learning, and research suggests the value is real and wide ranging,” says Dr. Darren Cambridge, American Institutes for Research (AIR).
On this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers we are joined by an amazing group of educators as we help to kick off Connected Educator Month http://connectededucators.org/cem/ in our own way—with a conversation about what it all means to us, especially when we think about how important it is to be connected locally and physically as it is to be connected nationally or globally and virtually. Paul Allison, Monika Hardy and Chris Sloan host this conversation about Connected Educator Month (CEM). This special show focus on online communities of practice and includes guests such as:
- Darren Cambridge - http://ncepr.org/darren/, director of the Connected Educator Month project
- Karen Fasimpaur - http://www.k12opened.com/blog/about, founder and organizer of P2PU’s School of Education https://p2pu.org/en/schools/school-of-ed-pilot/
- Kevin Hodgson - http://dogtrax.edublogs.org of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/
- Pamela Moran - http://schoolcenter.k12albemarle.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=97282&, Superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools and a teacher-consultant at the Central Virginia Writing Project http://curry.virginia.edu/community-programs/professional-development/cvwp/
- Paul Oh - National Writing Project http://dcomposing.com (http://www.nwp.org) Program Associate
- Valerie Burton - http://about.me/VRBurton English teacher and new member of the Greater New Orleans Writing Project http://gnowp.org/
Let’s connect the rest of August and beyond!
Kevin: hi
20:50Terry E @tellio: HI, all.
20:51karen (@kfasimpaur): Greetings, everyone.
20:51Kevin: HI Terry -- How have you been?
20:51karen (@kfasimpaur): I must be in the right place :)
20:51Kevin: And Karen -- hi
20:51Terry E @tellio: hi Karen
20:51karen (@kfasimpaur): Hi Kevin, Terry. Good to see you
20:52Terry E @tellio: I have been catching up on farm work and planning on building a sheep shed
20:53Kevin: That's interesting ... I remember now your connection to farming
20:53Terry E @tellio: Yes, I keep an eye to the rain all the time.
20:54Kevin: farmers sure are suffering this year with lack of rain, that's for sure
20:54karen (@kfasimpaur): Kevin, are you joining us in the hangout?
20:54Kevin: Yep
20:55Kevin: Is the hangout started?
20:55Kevin: Or is it "has the hangout started?" Ack.
20:56karen (@kfasimpaur): yep...we;re there (not "live" yet though)
20:56Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Hello all. Welcome
20:57karen (@kfasimpaur): Hi there, Valerie
20:57Terry E @tellio: hi, Valerie
20:58Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Hello Karen and Terry and everyone else
21:00karen (@kfasimpaur): Hi Erin
21:00Pam : Hi all
21:00karen (@kfasimpaur): Where is everyone tonight?
21:00karen (@kfasimpaur): I'm at home on the AZ/NM border.
21:01Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I am from New Orleans, LA
21:01Terry E @tellio: I am from cave country, south central KY
21:01Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: We are going live in a minute
21:01Erin Wilkey Oh: Hey there. I'll be listening/watching from Oakland, CA
21:01Jeremy Hyler: Hi everyone!
21:01Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Welcome everyone. Thanks for joining us
21:02Terry E @tellio: Hello Erin and Jeremy
21:02Erin Wilkey Oh: Hi Terry
21:02karen (@kfasimpaur):http://www.p2pu.org/school-of-ed Free peer learning for educators (and others)
21:03Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Thanks Karen for the link
21:03Jeremy Hyler: Excited for Connected Educators Month!
21:04karen (@kfasimpaur): Me too.
21:04karen (@kfasimpaur): A group of us are tweeting at @connecteded
21:05Jeremy Hyler: @jeremybballer
21:05karen (@kfasimpaur): 31 different conneced educators giving a glimpse into their lives...inspired by Kim and friends at Writing Project in San Diego
21:05Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Sorry Paul Oh's Mic is going in and out
21:05Jeremy Hyler: Yeah, here too
21:06karen (@kfasimpaur): It's his new Chromebook ;)
21:07Terry E @tellio: Just joined the connected ed group on p2pu-skoo
21:08Jeremy Hyler: I love Digital IS
21:13karen (@kfasimpaur): Any questions for Darren?
21:13Jeremy Hyler: What are some examples of connected learning going on now?
21:14Jeremy Hyler: Where are some sites besides Digital Is and Youth Voices where I can be "connected"?
21:14Christina: Hi all. A group of us is tuning in from Golden Colorado ... nice to see you all!
21:15Jeremy Hyler: Hi Christina!
21:15karen (@kfasimpaur): My top list...TTT, P2PU, Twitter, DS106
21:15karen (@kfasimpaur): Hi Christina et al
21:15Jeremy Hyler: Big Twitter user here
21:16karen (@kfasimpaur): I used to not really get Twitter. Now I *live* on it.
21:16karen (@kfasimpaur): So many real friends on Twitter
21:16Erin Wilkey Oh: I just learned about DS106 in Chad Sansing's DigIs resource. Was new to me: http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/3969
21:16Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Twitter is the best PD that I have done in years
21:16unnamed: Evening. On the CEM schedule, I see a lot of work with organizations. How is the month capturing the
21:16Jeremy Hyler: Yeah, Twitter is a place I can get excited about teaching again when I feel a low.
21:16Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Everything new that I have done in my classroom I got from a tip from Twitter
21:17Sandy Hayes @sjhayes8: Good question, Paul
21:17Christina: @paulallison Nice question!
21:17Erin Wilkey Oh: Thanks, Karen. Looks fun!
21:17Christina: @Jeremy!
21:17Christina: Hi @Jeremy, I meant :)
21:17Jeremy Hyler: DS106 looks very interesting
21:17karen (@kfasimpaur): Jeremy, reigniting passion for education through connections has been a theme for me today
21:17Erin Wilkey Oh: Hi Christina!
21:17Christina: Hi @Erin!
21:18Anna (@writerswriting: Evening. On the CEM schedule, I see a lot of work with organizations. How is the month capturing the "connecting" happening outside of established organizations?
21:18Jeremy Hyler: Awesome Karen!
21:18Seth: It took me forever to figure out how valuable Twitter is. Now I'm slapping myself on the forehead and realizing what I've been missing.
21:18Jeremy Hyler: Great Comment Seth!
21:18karen (@kfasimpaur): Me too, Seth (I was the same way with flash drives. Ha ha.)
21:18Terry E @tellio: Key word there is 'sustained'
21:19karen (@kfasimpaur): Anna, I think that most of the educators participating are actually outside of established orgs
21:20Anna (@writerswriting: I agree. This is why I wanted to see how Darren plans to capture that.
21:21Jeremy Hyler: Awesome idea Karen. I already know who to contact!
21:21Christina: adopt a lurker!
21:21karen (@kfasimpaur): Outstanding, Jeremy.
21:22Sandy Hayes @sjhayes8: Adopt a lurker: I could be a poster child
21:22karen (@kfasimpaur): Anna, I know that Darren is asking participating orgs to start capturign how many educators their individual efforts touch during the month
21:22Terry E @tellio: Yes, I am about to go through some of these top down meetings, too.
21:22karen (@kfasimpaur): You're here Sandy!
21:23Terry E @tellio: Great word here is 'folksonomy'--bottom up
21:23Terry E @tellio: connection from the bottom up
21:23karen (@kfasimpaur): I'm looking at how to reach out to teachers who aren't connected thru f2f events/places like conferences, schools, etc.
21:24karen (@kfasimpaur): Looking for some schools or disctricts who might want to try a connected peer-driven approach to PD
21:24Terry E @tellio: Is Monika talking about re-connectedness
21:24Terry E @tellio: reconnected with self, yes
21:24Anna (@writerswriting: I love seeing and hearing these people I've been interacting with on Twitter now for a long time!
21:25Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Yes Anna, it is great to put a face and a voice with a Twitter name or persona
21:25Terry E @tellio: Or say engaging students who disagree with us
21:26Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: We are CONNECTING
21:26Jeremy Hyler: and Why does it matter?
21:27Terry E @tellio: Monika, are you saying we should embrace our own inner iconoclast?
21:30Terry E @tellio: I think we need to be more accepting of where the initial conditions lead us
21:30Terry E @tellio: in the ecosystem
21:32Terry E @tellio: I agree that there is active resistance to these connections. Why is this?
21:32karen (@kfasimpaur): Terry, even with teachers + admins?
21:33Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Karen and Terry from both of them?
21:33karen (@kfasimpaur): The connections keep us going.
21:33Jeremy Hyler: I am not sure it is resistance. I think it is a lack of knowledge about what the connections can do/
21:33Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: There is a division that limits what we can do
21:33karen (@kfasimpaur): I see resistance w/kids connecting but not as much w/tchrs.
21:33Terry E @tellio: Yes, I work with both admins and teachers. I think these divisions are systemic
21:33karen (@kfasimpaur): Except for the whole time/overload issue
21:34Terry E @tellio: yes, karen, that is what I think of as systemic
21:34karen (@kfasimpaur): True, Valerie. Some groups just don't talk to each other well
21:34karen (@kfasimpaur): (moreso at higher grade lvls?)
21:34Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I can understand that but we are doing the students such an injustice
21:34Terry E @tellio: Connecting is like community organizing--a profound skill
21:35Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: We have to tear down the walls so that we can better the profession
21:35karen (@kfasimpaur): yep
21:35Jeremy Hyler: It is a crucial time to better the profession too!
21:35Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: It is a profound skill and such a necessary one as well
21:35karen (@kfasimpaur): absolutely, and I think being more connected is a way to do that
21:36Terry E @tellio: So how do we learn to be better connectors in the many contexts that we work in?
21:36Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Can you imagine what we could do if we all get together to do SOMETHING....ANYTHING
21:36karen (@kfasimpaur): getting those who are not connected (the majority) involved seems critical to me
21:36Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Part of it is to bring the lurkers in
21:36Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: S
21:37karen (@kfasimpaur): Yes, Valerie. Chris Lehmann was talking about that earlier today
21:37Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Sometimes the lurkers feel as though they do not matter ... but if not them, who?
21:37Terry E @tellio: don't lurkers have a reason for not connecting
21:37Terry E @tellio: Let's find out what those reasons are.
21:37karen (@kfasimpaur): We've talked a lot about lurkers at P2PU. Many think that this is just a stage in the connection continuum.
21:38karen (@kfasimpaur): I'm starting to get that more.
21:38Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Good pt. Karen
21:38karen (@kfasimpaur): Lurking is one way of connecting
21:38Terry E @tellio: I totally agree, karen
21:38Jeremy Hyler: Lack of confidence for lurkers...afraid their ideas aren't important.
21:38karen (@kfasimpaur): Hierarchy discourages connections. Very true.
21:38Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I was never a lurker. I always jump into everything with both feet and question what I did or said later
21:39Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I do have to respect the caution of the lurkers
21:39Terry E @tellio: Ihave been a lurker
21:39Jeremy Hyler: Me too Valerie, jump right in!
21:39karen (@kfasimpaur): me too...not aways because I lack confidence...many reasons are possible
21:40Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Definitely.
21:40Jeremy Hyler: I see a lurker as a listener too. Sometimes we need people to just listen.
21:40Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: And that is ok because lurkers are listners
21:40Jeremy Hyler: yup
21:40karen (@kfasimpaur): yes, sometimes lurking gives time for that critical reflection
21:40karen (@kfasimpaur): I worry less about lurkers and more about the folks who aren't even in the (virtual) room
21:41Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: The lurkers are the ones who can sometimes reign in the jumpers and offer them ideas
21:41Jeremy Hyler: Yes, Karen and I know a lot of these educators in my building.
21:41karen (@kfasimpaur): A lot of districts don't give educators permission to try this
21:41karen (@kfasimpaur): (or worse actively discourage it)
21:42Terry E @tellio: Saul Wurman said we should build museums to failure
21:42Terry E @tellio: we can learn so much from 'hailing failing'
21:42Terry E @tellio: But risk is anathema in most school ecologies
21:42karen (@kfasimpaur): fear...
21:43karen (@kfasimpaur): The real risks (not preparing students for life) might be bigger though
21:44Terry E @tellio: Interesting use of the word 'selection' as in natural selection and adaptation
21:45karen (@kfasimpaur): This is all tied up in identity and agency
21:48Jeremy Hyler: Being a leader, means standing up for what you believe in and being prepared for people to question why is it important.
21:48Terry E @tellio: Read a great article about that today ,karen, with the money quote: “closing the gap between wondering and knowing.”
21:50Terry E @tellio: Movement for and toward purpose?
21:51karen (@kfasimpaur): Can this really happen any way other than grassroots?
21:53Terry E @tellio: Yes, there are no institutional imperatives where I am for messy, alternative tracks to run trains on. Its all freight and no passenger.
21:54karen (@kfasimpaur): Sometimes you can walk faster than a train
21:55karen (@kfasimpaur): Together, we can be a real force.
21:55Terry E @tellio: Yes, the cowpath is the better road. You make it by walking it.
21:56karen (@kfasimpaur): I'm on the cowpath...but will gladly support anyone building (thoughtful) train tracks.
21:56karen (@kfasimpaur): The problem with train tracks is that they're hard to change.
21:56karen (@kfasimpaur): (Am I killing this metaphor? :)
21:57Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: When I think about how often I jump in and think later it si frightening
21:57Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I often walk on the cowpath
21:57karen (@kfasimpaur): I call it brave, Valerie.
21:57Terry E @tellio: the metaphor is about train track as institution
21:57Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Sometimes I walk and have no idea where I am going or what I will find when I get there I just know that I HAVE TO GO
21:58Terry E @tellio: that model is the one I follow
21:58Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: We do need to have the kids make their own PLNs
21:59Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I have given several of my kids the collect your Tweets challenge and it si funny to see their faces when they realize that they have put in BS so their collection will be BS
21:59Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: I have to ask them what is your message to the world?!!??
22:01Terry E @tellio: Pearson/Blackboard have agendas don't they?
22:01Terry E @tellio: Independent and profit oriented motives
22:02Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: They do and we have the responsibility to sort through their stuff and find what we want and need
22:02Terry E @tellio: Twitter and Facebook too. And as educators we definitely need to be careful about these companies and their tools
22:02karen (@kfasimpaur): the educational industrial complex
22:02karen (@kfasimpaur): Being a connected educator helps us to be more critical consumers + learning designers
22:02Terry E @tellio: How much does trust factor in here?
22:03karen (@kfasimpaur): Big. We need to trust teachers more.
22:04karen (@kfasimpaur): Connections and openness are ways to raise the professionalism of educators.
22:04Terry E @tellio: How do we build trust? Through connection
22:04Terry E @tellio: and that has many forms
22:04Jeff: Sorry - need to step out. Look forward to catching the recording.
22:04Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: OK. Thanks Jeff. Bye
22:05karen (@kfasimpaur): That's pacing. In place in most schools, no?
22:05Terry E @tellio: Automated learning?
22:06Terry E @tellio: automated teaching?
22:06karen (@kfasimpaur): We need fewer "experts" and more exceptional practice
22:06Terry E @tellio: Or about growing collaborative classroom expertise
22:07Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Whoa Karen!! Fewer experts!!! How does that work?
22:07Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Can you imagine??? LOL
22:07karen (@kfasimpaur): Follow the money as Pam said :)
22:07karen (@kfasimpaur): "experts" with big quotes :)
22:07Terry E @tellio: experts on tap not on top
22:08karen (@kfasimpaur): Everyone has expertise
22:08Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: We have been saying from the beginning of time that some of the experts need to come out of the office and back to the classrooms and then make their decisions
22:08Terry E @tellio: And it our purpose to grow that expertise
22:09Terry E @tellio: Yikes
22:10Terry E @tellio: nite all
22:10Valerie Burton @MsBisOnline: Nite all
22:10Jeremy Hyler: Good Night Everyone!
22:14karen (@kfasimpaur): Thanks all. Awesome conversation.
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