Saturday, January 4, 2014

What? Already?

January 4th, 2014

When I set up my blog on December 31st, 2013 I had no idea that I would be inspired to write another blog 4 days later.  However, after participating in #satchat this morning I just HAD to blog!  I am in awe of all the educators that came together on a Saturday morning to share their craft.  It was such a positive experience that you couldn't feel anything but inspired.  The moderators: Scott Rocco (@scottrocco), Brad Currie (@bradcurrie5) and Dave Burgess (@burgessdave) took amazing to a whole new level.

I am so excited to be a part of this twitter community.  I "joined" on October 13, 2013 and have loved every moment since.  I've read great articles, got ideas from teachers around the country, and shared my excitement of twitter with my 4th grade class.  "Hey kids, check out this video I saw on twitter last night!"  "Boys and girls tell me what you think this quote means."  Their response now when I show them something new is, "Mrs. Jones, did you find that on twitter?"  This is me, smiling!  :)

The feeling I get from participating in a chat (#satchat, #tlap, #IAedchat) is unreal!  It still amazes me how fast and furious the information starts coming at you in a chat, but once you start becoming a player, and not a spectator, the feedback you get is awesome!  I love it!  And now I want other people to love it and feel the joy of the excitement of twitter!  This is my 25th year of teaching and this year, more than ever, I feel so re-energized and excited to try new things and it's all because of the power of twitter.  It would only be appropriate to give a shout-out here to Jay Posick (@posickj), my principal, who introduced me to twitter in the first place.  Jay also started our staff book club with Dave Burgess's book "Teach Like A Pirate" which also changed my life!  See what I mean?  This is all amazing stuff!  

My excitement for twitter is full throttle, 100%...so of course, I want to share my enthusiasm for twitter with our staff.  Once a month we have a "PLAY-date" (PLAY = Professional Learning and You) where staff can choose to go to different "sessions" put on by fellow staff members (think edcamp).  Our TILT committee (Teachers Integrating Learning Today), which I am a part of, generates a list of topics and people sign up to teach them!  I'm excited to present twitter and we'll see how things go on January 22nd.  I want others to see the value of being a connected educator.  Sometimes I think, "How can you NOT be a connected educator?"  The hard part is dodging all of the negative Nellie's out there who question my passion. I try not to focus on them, but it's not easy.  I had one staff member tell me just this week (while I was laminating a quote I found on twitter) "Oh, Heidi, you went to the dark side."  Ugh!  So, I will just heed my principal's advice and "Keep on, keeping on!"   

Stay tuned for the results of my presentation...

Thank you for reading.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Heidi!
    Heidi Hi!
    :) Just found you on Twitter & enjoyed reading your blog! I, too, am an educator. I teach 2nd graders in a suburb of Dallas. I have some other things in common with you, as well. I just got started with Twitter about the same time as you and have really been enjoying it, especially in these last days of my holiday. We go back to school after our two-week break on Monday. I just started a blog this fall, too! Please connect with me on Twitter. I am Melissa Williams @smileloveteach Keep up the good work! Stay positive, and I am certain that 2014 has many wonderful things to come! I look forward to hearing about your PLAY-date!

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  2. Hello Melissa! It is a pleasure to "meet" you! Thank you so much for reading my blog. I'm thrilled that you have found a love for twitter as well. It is so amazing to be a connected educator...it's like opening up a present every single day! I'm looking forward to "following" you and reading your blog...see, our connection is the essence of twitter! Have a good rest of the weekend and please send some sunshine and warm temperatures up here to Wisconsin. We need it! School has already been cancelled on Monday due to frigid temps and -40 below windchill! Yikes! Go Packers tomorrow!

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  3. I love the enthusiasm of teachers when they encounter their first experiences of being "connected". Keep on sharing and learning!

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  4. Thanks for reading, Joel. I'm giddy over the idea that people across the country are reading my blog! I promise to "Keep on, keeping on!" At this point I don't know how I could stop...it's so invigorating!

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  5. I saw your post from Twitter and thought I'd come say hello. I appreciate your enthusiasm with learning something new. I keep trying to turn my staff on to the power of Twitter, but most of them are content with me sharing rather than them "doing"!

    I blog, too, over at Wordpress: http://boxofchocolates29.wordpress.com/
    I've gotten out of the habit of every day blogging, but I"m trying to fix that. You may be interested in joining the Slice of Life blogging at Two Writing Teachers -- http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/ -- It's a community of teachers who post life stories on Tuesdays, then a month-long daily challenge in March. That's the place I learned more about writing, community, and teaching.

    I can't wait to read more from your blog!

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  6. Hello, Stephanie. Thank you so much for reading my blog and giving me the gift of feedback. I am excited to read your blog and the "Slice of Life" blog sounds interesting as well...especially the part about the month-long daily challenge in March. See, now I just learned something from you! That's the beauty of twitter!

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  7. hello Heidi, saw your tweet and thought I would come visit. blogging is an awesome way to connect with other educators! I have learned so much since I started blogging. welcome to the blogging community!

    Cindy
    Mrspriceskindergators.blogspot.com

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