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This post and associated slides are for my TL21C Reboot Session addressing the topic of: Becoming a Connected Educator (22/7/2014) Becoming a Connected Educator (TL21C) - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires Becoming a connected educator is so unique. There is no rule or recipe to follow and no two stories are the same. The reality is that it is many things to many people. The biggest challenge is continually defining what it actually means to be connected and why it is important. I don't wish to offer some cure, rather I hope to keep the conversation going. Instead of providing a recipe, my approach has always been to share some of the choices that I have made and my thoughts behind them. Although signing up to various platforms is important, it is the journey associated with this that matters most to me. As +Tony Sinanis   says , in reflecting on his own connected experiences, "the Twitter experience is a journey ... it is not an exp...

creative commons licensed (BY-NC-SA) flickr photo by fredcavazza: http://flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/278973402 In my previous posts, I spoke about connecting with people both in person and online . The problem that I found with both of these situations is that connections are often only ever as deep or strong we let them be. If we are unwilling to give back , should it be any surprise that people don't always want to share with us? However, what it took me a little bit of time to realise was that 'giving back' was more than just about ideas and information, it was actually giving a part of you. Taking more ownership over my online identify was therefore my fourth marker to becoming a more connected learner. A Digital Badge I had known that the only person I was fooling in trying to hide behind some sort of anonymity was myself. The reality was and is that if someone really wanted to piece together 'who' I was, there were enough crumbs left lyi...

Background One thing that I have learnt over time is that there is no silver bullet in education. However, there are some things that work better than others. The problem with this though is that you do not always know what the ideal solution is until you are in the midst of learning and teaching.  I have taken a range of ICT-based electives for a few years now. From Pulp Publishing to Multimedia. One of the biggest changes that has occurred  during this time has been a transition from teaching ICT to teaching through ICT. One of the consequences of this change has been the search for the best way to teach technology without actually teaching the technology. One of the answers that I have found is the notion of Project Based Learning.  I first stumbled upon Project Based Learning via a post from +Rich Lambert  looking at the difference between Project Based Learning and Challenge Based Learning. After exploring a range of free resources provided by ...

There has been a lot shared lately as a part of Connected Educator Month about the benefits of connecting online. In many respects, I agree with +George Couros  that ' isolation is now a choice educators make '. However, something overlooked in many of the discussions and debates are some of the taboos associated with being a connected educator. Some of the reasons why teachers do make the choice to stay isolated. Teacher-Student-Friend? In a recent post , Peter Dewitt spoke about how he saw a photo come up in his feeds from an ex-student, whom he had taught in Year 1. She was photographed finishing her last teaching round. It got me thinking, when is it ok to connect with students (and ex-students) online? Another similar example that comes to mind is from +Adam Bellow 's inspiring keynote from ISTE2013 where he invited people to 'change the world'. A part of this is utilising the power of social media to connect with students through such mediums as ...