Raventech Reveals

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I LOVE music – country, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, pop, top40, classical etc. – you name it and I most likely have it on my collection. In fact, on the ride to the airport and while we were waiting to depart Philadelphia I think my weary brain automatically allowed my lips to sing the words to every song on the radio most likely to the dismay or possibly the amusement of my traveling companions.

After boarding, and once we reached flying altitude, I pulled out my trusty iPod for what I assumed would be a nice melody of tunes to lull my weary brain to sleep for a quick nap. As luck would have it, however,  “Defying Gravity” by Idina Menzel was the first song to pervade my inner ear.

For those that do not know the lyrics a portion of them are below:

 “Something has changed within me, something is not the same. I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game. Too late for second guessing….. it’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap. …it’s time to try defying gravity.….I’m through accepting limits cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but till I try I’ll never know...my future is unlimited…everyone deserves a chance to defy gravity.”

After listening to this song it dawned on me that EduCon is all about exactly that; defying gravity. The conversations I heard all weekend were about taking chances, about improving education, and taking risks for the betterment of the students in our care.

The question I pose, then, to everyone in attendance at EduCon 2.2 is this:

What will you do tomorrow in your schools to help those around you ‘defy gravity? Will you merely return to school re-energized by meeting many of your PLN face-to-face looking to improve what you do? Clearly, that is one reason we attend a conference like EduCon but what about those around you? Will you reach out to the folks in your department, down the hall, even in a neighboring school across the district or in your state?

My challenge for anyone who reads this post is to ensure that not only do you continue to defy gravity for the greater good but that you also challenge those around you to close their eyes, defy gravity, and no longer accept the limits because someone else tells you they are so.

Defy gravity...

As humans, we naturally seek social interactions with like-minded individuals. Clearly, social networks thrive because of this instinct. For me, and educators around the world, social networking provides us with a large Professional Learning Network where we can test ideas, ferret out thoughts, and make connections outside our own schools and institutions.

One of the greatest benefits to professional social networking, also known as Professional Learning Networks, is that it readily helps me to connect the dots or bind together the threads of information I find in my various readings. I admit that I have never been much of a pleasure reader. But I do love skimming a variety of media types for information including newspapers, magazines, blogs, wikis, and tweets to name just a few.

Recently, I can across the following tweet in my feed:

While this tweet was one of hundreds that my network put out that day, and could have easily been whisked on and off my radar, it grabbed my attention. Why? Well, the quote help me connect the dots between my emerging thoughts on educational leadership and a USA Today article I read back in June entitled “Avon CEO likes to see with fresh eyes.”

In this article, corporate management reporter Del Jones asked Avon’s C.E.O., Andrea Jung, a series of questions regarding her tenure at Avon over the past 10 years and specifically about the current economic climate. The following caught my attention:

I believe that the idea of reinventing yourself is the key to change in educational leadership. If our educational leaders would fire themselves on Friday and return on Monday with a fresh set of eyes regarding change they just might be able to reinvent their schools. For, as Thoreau put it, “it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

Tomorrow morning when you get to school, what will you see?

If you are not presently living in hiding in the mountains of a remote land you have no doubt seen Twitter, among other social networking sites, referenced in the mainstream media. My hometown paper here in Raleigh, The News & Observer, has written over 80 articles since the start of 2009 that reference Twitter. Unfortunately, most journalists in the mainstream media craft their articles by pointing to this star or that star who are tweeting or how it's taken Congress by storm. Clearly, they are only seeing with the proverbial 'naked eye' and are missing the potential of these deep and rich knowledge mines.

Recently, however, I came across an article written by Laura Bauer for McClatchy Papers titled "More people flock to Twitter as a conduit for information." In her article she notes:

"It seems this land of Twitter - where life is documented on the Internet in 140 characters or less - isn't just about celebrities or the silly anymore. It's about real information, in real time."

Bauer, Laura. "More people flock to Twitter as a conduit for information." The Kansas City Star 20 Apr. 2009

What a powerful statement - "It's about real information, in real time." And while this is certainly how many educators choose to treat Twitter, it is clearly not a river of gold where knowledge is constantly flowing every time you dip your mining pan into the water. Rather, it takes hard work to build a trusted network. In fact, one must take the time to dig a little deeper, to explore their surroundings, and take chances on the 'what ifs'.

Think for a moment. If humans never toiled we'd not have precious commodities like gold, diamonds, pearls, and oil. Was it hard work for folks to mine for those precious commodities? Absolutely. Did they toil endlessly for hours finding hundreds and thousands of rocks before striking it rich? Sure.

Twitter, in my opinion, is no different. But once you start digging it can become the largest knowledge mine the world has to offer helping you strike it rich repeatedly.

And while the same holds true when using Social Media to mine for knowledge the main difference is there are many wonderful guides to help you "get rich quick" and avoid the endless toil, sweat, and tears as you venture out on your own.

So where does one go to find these guides? Sites like edSocialMedia.com are a great place to start. However, I'd offer up the following articles, Tweeple, and Bloggers as a fantastic entre into the world of knowledge mining using social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA ARTICLES

-Lorrie Jackson; Message Matters (http://lorriej.wordpress.com)

-Renee Lemley; The Perfect Social Media Trifecta: Have you found yours? (http://www.graymatterminute.com/2009/01/07/social-media-trifecta-on-twitter-linkedin-and-facebook)

-Leo Babauta; HOW TO: Simplify Your Social Media Routine (http://mashable.com/2009/05/14/social-media-routine)

-Ravit Lichtenberg; 10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009 (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/10_ways_social_media_will_change_in_2009.php)

TWEEPLE - Educators who tweet on twitter

-Kelly Hines; 4^th Grade Teacher (@kellyhines)

-Lisa Parisi; 5^th Grade Teacher (@LParisi)

-Kevin Jarrett; K-4 Teachers (@kjarrett)

-Meredith Stewart; 6^th Grade Language Arts (@msstewart)

-Heather Mason; MS Language Arts (@hrmason)

BLOGGERS - Educators who log their thoughts on the web and share resources

-Liz B. Davis; The Power of Educational Technology (http://edtechpower.blogspot.com)

-Bill Ferriter; The Tempered Radical (http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical)

-Chris Lehman; Practical Theory (http://www.practicaltheory.org/serendipity)

-Jon Becker; Educational Insanity (http://edinsanity.com)

-Alex Ragone; Learning Blog (http://www.learning-blog.org)

So what are you waiting for? Start knowledge mining today!

Bluntly stated, and with almost comedic dead pan, that line was delivered during a session on Web 2.0 tools and Social Media that I was presenting at the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Annual NCAIS TECH conference a few weeks ago. The attendee, a development professional, was clearly struggling with the conversation that morning as it turned toward personal learning networks and the role that social media tools, like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook play in the lives of those who have succumbed to the allure of these trees of knowledge.

In that moment I certainly could have gone in a variety of directions with that comment; either looking to dismiss the question or prove a point. Rather, I gently offered the analogy that personal learning networks are simply the best of what the six degrees of separation has to offer. And while I probably did not do it justice at the time as I've reflected on that day I've come to realize that that is exactly the proper  way to address the doubting  Thomas who has yet to come to grips with why people blog, tweet, or update walls.

Why? If you stop to consider what it means to be part of a personal/professional learning network or as I prefer one’s “learning ecosystem”, you quickly realize that these ecosystems thrive because of four very distinct members. You have your contributors - who offer content, your connectors - who link people together, your lurkers - who take the knowledge and use it to better themselves without giving back and your casual passers-by – who fall between the contributors and lurkers. Without these four distinct and critical members any type of learning ecosystem would cease to exist and social media and P.L.N.’s are certainly no different.

Consider this; Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book The Tipping Point “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills.” The same holds true for learning ecosystems; where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole and without each individual member one’s own learning ecosystem would wither and die.

Therefore, the next time someone asks “who cares” when asking about social media and learning ecosystems make sure you tell them that while they might not, their best friend’s brother’s wife’s colleague’s sister just might find what you are talking about important to them. And if that’s the case make sure to remind them to pass it on…they just might make a difference.