I am actually too fortunate as a connected educator, because I have too many personal learning networks to keep up with.  As both an Apple Distinguished Educator and PBS Digital Innovator*, both groups have very active online sharing through members-only forums, and there is a monthly #ADEchat.  At my state level, there is a very small-but-growing Twitter chat group called #WVEDCHAT. This group exists mainly on Twitter, but we get together sometimes for in-person events at the State Technology Conference, and last month, we hosted our own Edcamp.  In my district, I am an Apple Vanguard Coach, and we have our own Twitter chat and in-person PD opportunities.  Lastly, I am a member of a great Facebook Art Teachers group that started out years ago as a listserv through the Getty Center for Education in the Arts.  That group is probably my favorite, because many of us have become lifelong friends, and I love seeing what goes on in my friends’ classrooms.  Many of the teachers in this group have blogs and post amazing lesson plan and classroom problem solvers online.  I have a difficult time keeping up with all the groups.  I am bad at logging into the ADE and PBS forums because they are immense and I just don’t take the time to do it as often as I would like to.  Also, the ADE chat happens the same time as #WVEDCHAT, and though I can follow both with Tweetdeck, it is usually late at night and I’m too tired to keep up.

The benefit of having a robust professional learning network is that I always have a wealth of information that I can tap into at any time.  Any problem I could run into has been had before, and most likely, someone’s written a blog post or lively forum discussion about it.  I know that I will always be able to find answers, no matter what I am struggling with.  I am also connected to some truly amazing teachers who embody the growth mindset, so I am always inspired and excited about teaching when I read what they’ve been doing.  Not only do these teachers provide me with great ideas and thought-provoking conversation, but a few of them have become my best real-life friends, and we collaborate on huge, crazy projects, such as our Edcamp launch.  Most of our best and most effective ideas have come from just getting together for dinner or coffee.

Also, as we learn to get professional development in more authentic ways, it changes our teaching.  In an article titled, “The Connected Educator:  It Begins With Collaboration”, Tom Whitby says: “How does this all translate to helping students learn? Educators are models of learning for kids. As educators’ learning shifts from the “sit and get” model to the collaboration model, that shift hopefully transfers to their teaching as well. If an educator controls his or her learning through self-direction, that learning becomes more meaningful. Authentic self-directed learning becomes self-motivating. That does more than translate to a better-educated educator — it also creates a teacher advocate for collaborative learning. A teacher who benefits from collaboration tends to appreciate its effect and will use it in his or her own methodology. If we are to better educate our kids, first we need to better educate their educators.”

I am not as engaged in state-level art teachers groups as I am in technology education groups because our state art teachers are really not as involved in technology.  Sadly, fine arts teachers usually aren’t given as much technology to work with because we are not core teachers.  I was almost not given an ipad and Macbook in my district’s push to go 1:1 because I am technically not employed in one school, so I am considered a part time employee at 3 different schools.  Because of this kind of thinking, a lot of “specials” teachers get left behind.  I only got my tech because I showed up, voluntarily, at a professional development seminar and did as much as I could on my iPhone, and the Apple Professional Learning presenter pointed out to my district leaders that they really should put the tech in the hands of the creatives, because we are the ones most likely to use the technology and inspire others to use it, too.  I am hoping that as more art teachers in my state get technology, they will find ways to connect and collaborate digitally.

Whitby, T.  (October 1, 2014). The Connected Educator:  It Begins With Collaboration. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/connected-educator-begins-with-collaboration-tom-whitby