I can hardly remember what teaching was like before social media. Twitter runs on my laptop all day long through Tweetdeck. My contacts are organized by education, local, friends, news, and sports. It is a constant stream of ideas, reflections, and life experiences.
Every day I get a list of links and new apps to try. I have instant answers to teaching's seemingly un-answerable questions. All I have to do is ask. I try to give back as much as possible by sharing techniques and resources I find helpful and offering up the occasional "don't bother" on websites that seemd promising but bombed with the kids. Bob Sprankle was one of the first educator I followed as I got connected. He talked way back in the day about "Professional Learning Network currency", essentially the idea that the more you contribute the more you will benefit.
Take a look at this video featuring many edtech all-stars as they better explain how impactful being connected can be. Get connected this month at connectededucators.org.
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