Reflecting on Professional Connections

Professional Connections

The weekend I first discovered Twitter I stayed up all night reading; jumping from blog to blog and looking and discovering things I never even realised were going on in Education.  I felt enthused by the buzz.  I walked around Countdown Manurewa the ping of Twitter notifications sounding and I thought is anyone else engaged in professional reading as they gather their supplies?

I love making connections with others.  I enjoy gathering knowledge that will enrich my experience and the experience of my learners.  I like to see the big picture slot together in a way that benefits many people.  I contacted Sanitarium to see if they’d like to sponsor our school camp knowing that their ethos includes community service.  I saw a plug for free theatre tickets for classes and contacted TaPAC theatre and said yes please.  Tristan Pang is coming to talk to my class because I met Andrew Patterson at the Mind Lab.

My Map

As a teacher I am embedded into my workplace.  But the workplace needed be based on a singular location.  Through the selective use of tools I can practice within a classroom without physically being present.  My links help me to learn and help the learning of others within and without.

The more connections I have, the more connected my class can be, the more interwoven we are the great potential there is for increased ubiquity.  As a class and as an individual I’ve spent 2015 improving and building and expanding on these relationships.  This year I am working in a 1:1 digital classroom which is working within the Ako Hiko cluster.  As such we are lucky enough to be coming under the umbrella of James Hopkins.  James Hopkins is a primary school teacher who is now working for Core Education and has taken on a three year contract working with the Ako Hiko Cluster.  He is a jack of all trades.  James is all about connections.  James has supported us on our Twitter journey, he’s helped us be connected to the other schools in our cluster, he shares our learning with other professionals, he increases our visibility and lets us see what others are doing.  When he talks I listen because he is driven by a desire to empower students and teachers learn, create and share their learning.  

Mind Lab has spawned a plethora of supportive connections.  Every week I would see familiar faces and we would commiserate over assignments, discuss learning in each other’s classrooms, glean knowledge from one another, share anecdotes and laugh at our shortcomings.  I’ve built some amazing relationships which I feel confident to call on and ask for support or try something new or gain some guidance.  I hope to solidify these relationships and draw on them in the future.  

Working in a More Interdisciplinary Environment

The Benefits

The Challenges

Many points of view Opportunities to draw on the knowledge of others Can lessen the workload as skills vary You learn from one another Offers many chances to delve into real world problem solving and innovation Very active as you need to communicate well with one another Teamwork and co construction High level of engagement

Many points of view Takes more time to find a consensus Personalities and learning styles takes effort to gel and work cohesively Can increase the workload as things may slow down Underdeveloped leadership skills means can result in an unbalanced situation Debate could be seen as negative without enough practice at sharing, discussing and critiquing Accountability, who will be responsible for what?

Goals For Extending Professional Connections

• Use Twitter and blog more effectively to participate rather than observe

Working full time, being a mother and studying means that my time is precious.  I enjoy reading and independent personal professional reading but I’m also really tired and worn out when the day closes.

I hope to next focus on participating more fully on Twitter and blogging in a more participatory nature.  I am moving to a new school which has a less visible online profile and I hope that with the professional connections I’ve grown this year, that next year I will be able to lead the way in this field.

• Participate more in the professional conversation between contacts to increase the bonds between the connections.  
• Seek more opportunities to create connections with professional in other fields, especially in areas outside my expertise perhaps through social media or professional development.

References

ITL Research & Microsoft Partners in Learning. (n.d.) 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics.  Retrieved from http://www.itlresearch.com/itl-leap21

Mathison, S. & Freeman, M. (1997). The Logic of Interdisciplinary Studies. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf