Are you are "Connection" Educator?

I for one, will not, and will never, bash an educator for not being on a certain program or doing a certain thing. That's just not sound leadership. Telling everyone that they need to be doing something for afar may be effective in the short term but in the long term, what is lost?

The same can be said when it comes to connected-educators and those who are not (let's call them, non-connected educators). Telling everyone that they need to be on Social Media is not sound leadership. But all too often, I have seen it recently.

It goes something like this:

Connected-Educator - " I don't get why more people aren't on such and such, they need to be or they will get fired." (BTW, that was said on Twitter, in a tweet).

Non-Connected Educator - "I don't get or have the time to go on these sites. I have all the resources I need and my school will provide me with everything I need." (Said in Lunchroom).


So you have these two sides nuking it out in forums where their only audiences are those who have similar feelings and interests. Its like an echo chamber. No one can reach the other side because we are speaking in places where they aren't.

Instead of doing that, we need to be leaders and we need to be CONNECTION Educators. These are people who connect with one another is many different areas, in person, online, in small groups and in large groups. They know how important face-to-face interactions are. They know and understand that PD opportunities happen all the time, whether LIVE, Recorded, or archived.

They reach across the aisle to both sides and bridge the gap. They are CONNECTION Educators. They make the connections with staff on all fronts. They share the wealth on information they have, instead of keeping it to themselves or re-posting it in a place where only those who know the info already are. When presented with two extremes, the middle is often the best bet and most reliable option.

Let's be that for our colleagues. Let's be that for our staff. Let's be that for our students.


FYI - Just in case you do want to join an online chat, check out this list of hashtags!

List of Twitter Hashtags For Students and Teachers - EdTechReview: List of Twitter Hashtags for Students and Teachers. As monitoring the hashtags and getting the needed information easily, is simply a gift in the age of knowledge bombardement.