Blog Junkie

What was the value of four weeks of Twitter?  Will I continue with the Twitter network?

So here it is.  The 4th week of the Twitter challenge.  (It is actually the 5th week, but I had to stop for a week to focus on the 5 Days of Google course!) To continue or cease is the question.  I have not been really sure about the value of a Twitter network.  As the weeks progressed its value began to appear.  The biggest being the PLN it created for me and the sharing of ideas by other teachers.  That culminated itself yesterday.

I had not been very active on Twitter last week.  Until last night.  There were tweets that attracted my attention on unintentional gender bias.  I followed the tweets to David Truss’s blog and continued to follow along to Betty Gilgoff’s blog.  I also took a side trip to Dan Meyer’s blog.  These posting had nothing in common, except to me.  The connection between them made plain the power of my Twitter PLN.

Now, to humbly attempt to write this as well as Dan. I am a linear, logical thinker and I find the web is not a place for linear thinking.  I lose focus and get lost in info overload. Dan’s blog is my anchor. His ability to get to the point, to be linear and logical helps refocus my own very linear thinking.  Dan is at a place in his career where I am.  His post really hit home.  He’s looking for a challenge to keep him “lean and hungry” for the next 30 years to provide his needed level of job satisfaction.  Our difference is I have challenges, more than I can manage, which is causing job satisfaction in my current position to fast lose its lustre.  Dan listed his former challenges and that list is what I needed to “see”.  It helped me clarify what was causing my own lack of job satisfaction and now I know how to fix it.  He, as usual, helped me refocus and clarify.  I wish I could offer the same level of help back.  What does David and Betty’s gender bias discussion have to do with any of this?

One of the most important missing pieces in my former teaching position – the one that caused most of my lack of job satisfaction and caused me to leave – was lack of professional development and dialogue.  On Twitter and in the blogs came a marvelous dialogue on gender bias started by a man (David Truss) regarding biases against women.  The topic is one we all think about but do not speak about.  It was brought up and discussed by men and women from all over the North American and Australian continents with grace, tact and professionalism.  That is what made the power of the Twitter PLN so very, very clear. It was everything I have been looking for for the past 9 years. I now have a way to provide professional development, dialogue and a place to refocus which in turn provides me with a way to create/maintain the job satisfaction I have lost in the past or currently been losing.  All from a set of apparently disconnected posts and tweets on my own PLN. That has immense value to me.

Will I continue with Twitter?  Definitely.

Week 2 actually just ended, Week 3 just started, confused, me too!

Did the noob twit tweet more?  Nah, I was too busy being stressed out, finishing that field study, report card marks no one cared about and starting a new research project with the wild ones!  Who had time to tweet!

Oh, but what did I learn in the 3 days I did lurk around Twitter, you ask?  Sharing time!

Who gave me Dean Shareski’s blog to follow?  I owe you some fierce chocolate!  Dean, you rock! Thank you from this teacher who taught art from grs 4-7, hosted an art show with a colleague, did Speech Arts – choric drama division for 5 years and ran teams in the local book battle. Ms. Rhee needs to come visit me.

There was more. Finishing that field study did not release my stress.  I decided to spin into a professional funk.  Matter-of-fact, I decided to have down right pity-party.  I was going to spin down deep and revel in some self-indulgent, attention-getting funk.  With my tea in hand I headed off to read blogs and to hell with teaching, technology and the rest of the world.  I needed my Dan Meyer fix.  What do I find on his blog – the rule of least power, then I remember Phil Macoun’s post about teacher power and jeez, there goes my funk, I’ve got a challenge!  The glacier starts grinding.  I look up Claire Thompson’s blog and she is discussing controlling the information students are given!  Ok, you guys, thanks for blowing my funk out the window! I had such a good plan for that! BTW – these guys are all on Twitter, well not sure about Phil.

Had a great small group research lesson today, I let go of the teacher power, the info control and worked on the rule of least power concept.  Great time, except, in true me style – I don’t have enough info for these kids to do the research they want! HA!  Murphy’s cloud has found me yet again! (Point is, you realize, I had enough info until I let go of the control of it!)

Next wonderful learning experience from Twitter came from none other than the amazing Sue Waters of Edubloggers.  Notice the images in my last post.  Yep, thanks millions, Sue!  That just opened up a whole new world of blogging. Discovered that teachers down under are just as reluctant to embrace technology as those up top!

And lastly to bookminder who post a pic of North Van that made me remember how much I LOVE visiting Vancouver, and realize how much more I like this. (Sue, you so rule!)

I guess I’ll stick around for another week and see what it brings and revisit that tweet challenge.

What have I learned in the Twitter challenge to-date?  What do I think of Twitter now?

It has been a week since I started this Twitter challenge so what happened out there in Twitterland?  I am now following 31 people and have 23 followers.  An improvement over the initial blog report!

I was given Dean Shareski’s blog as one to follow.  The initial post I read was about sharing.  Dean challenged people to:

Here’s an idea: put a sticky note on your desk that says, “What do you want to share today?” I’m not kidding. Then, if anything interesting comes your way: Share It!

I read his “about” page as I became very curious about a man who wrote such a post.  Surprise, surprise, he is a prairie man.  Go figure.  If you ever get lost out there, you can have a 45 min conversation with a stranger, get invited to their house for supper, then get the directions you need!  I ADORE the prairies.  So Dean, nice to meet you, I’m sharing!

I also was sent some great links:

http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/2008/04/02/are-you-twittering-heres-how-i-use-twitter/ by Sue Waters, of course, on the value of using Twitter.

http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/11/top-ten-types-of-tweets.html from Rodd Lucier on types of communication within Twitter and also http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/07/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet.html where there is a discussion on Rodd’s blog about the value of Twitter.

I found a grade 5/6 class blog just when I needed it! http://56c2008.edublogs.org/

I have learned to use, well sort of learned to use, Twhirl.  I have used direct messages and I have managed to put a toe out into the conversations.  I find that not so easy.  It feels like barging into a conversation at a party that you may not have been invited to. I tend to learn by “lurking” and “delurking” is rather a challenge.  So that will be the new challenge for the upcoming week: send out more tweets!

Now here are the more interesting things I’ve learned this week:

This Week’s Twitter in Review…

• chocolate lava cakes are worth moaning about – well chocolate is a food group on the food pyramid ya know!
• cats should not be machine washed http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/11/18/funny-pictures-told-u-not-masheen-washabul/
• baby showers have developed some unusual games since my hosting days!
• I’m not the only one waiting to see the Twilight movie! – Was great and I always said it should have been Jacob and Bella!
• this game causes people to stay up all night, nope it isn’t WOW! http://www.casualcollective.com/games/DesktopTD No, I did not try it.  There is a limit to my new geekiness!

What do I think of Twitter now?  I’ll stick around for another week.  Lord knows what I might learn!

Decided to accept Betty’s challenge to try Twitter for one month.  So now I am following 16 people (who I sniped from Betty and Claire), 3 are following me and I’m still trying to figure out what I am doing!  I still do not understand why I want to do this.  It is suppose to be a great way to develop a PLE (personal learning environment), but I’m still lost in the fog!  Nothing new there:  think at glacial speed and all. It seems I am a new “twit”! HA! The truth is out!  I should probably figure this out in a month or more and have no followers!

Well, well, I managed to add Twitter to this blog!  It’s getting rather cluttered on those sidebars as I learn about and add new widgets!  Impressive!    Hmm, I guess I will have to keep posting about this new little side journey as well as the TLITE journey.  Hop on and join me if you wish!