This week we challenged participants to engage and connect with others in the community. This required that participants first think about how they wanted to represent themselves, and figure out how to say hello to someone they’ve never met before. Much of this was a leap of faith by many of the participants.
Some people identified someone that resonated with them, and immediately called them out for a quick virtual high five to get it done with.
Some participants tried for humor, and immediately got a couple virtual high fives to their credit.
Even still others reluctantly raised their virtual hand on the hashtag, and waited for their virtual high five…and they waited…and they waited…
Finally, one of the mentors in the group came over and gave a high five to acknowledge the effort.
The biggest thing to remember is that you tried. Many people are still trying to figure out how to use Twitter, or Tweetdeck, how to find the #WalkMyWorld hashtag, how to respond, etc. Even still others are trying to figure out what identity to present online, or whether or not they should be recognized and validated in this space.
Keep in mind this is a learning experience for all involved. The mentors in the group are learning everyday. There are plenty of us that are figuring out how to “do this Twitter thing.” We’re all learning together. We ask that you keep trying, and reach out to someone for more support.
For those of you that are trying, and still figuring out how to get involved…you are valued, and we appreciate it. Keep trying, keep your head up, and remember that we’re all trying some challenging, sophisticated communication technologies. HIGH FIVE!!! We’ll get there together. 🙂
Developing a Personal Learning Network
Part of the reason we wanted everyone to reach out in Learning Event Two and get a virtual high five from someone else is to start to create connections in the community. We’re developing a personal learning network (PLN). A PLN is important because you’ll always have that human being on the other side of the tweet that is there, and cares about you. You can reach out to connect, to ask questions, to complain about bald instructors…hypothetically…
As we develop this PLN, many of us have been asking about people that we should share on Twitter. Specifically, Eric Patnoudes (@NoApp4Pedagogy) wants to know who are the three most influential educators on Twitter that we should follow. We’re not really thinking about number of followers, we’re talking about thought leadership and vision in education.
Please visit the following EtherPad and leave your comments and suggestions for people that we should follow on Twitter to learn more about education. If you see a name you already follow…give that name a +1. If you don’t see the name…add it. Let’s build up our PLNs together.
Thanks again all. See you in Learning Event Three. 🙂
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