Sharing is Caring
We teach our students from preschool that sharing is caring, so why is it so hard for us, as teachers to do the same? Some might have issues sharing their work because of all the time and effort they put into a particular lesson or unit. That investment of time and energy should be all the more reason to share that amazing work. With the Information Age in full swing there is no excuse for us to not come together and share ideas and be inspired by fellow teachers.
"Without sharing there is no network."
Teachers should share their ideas in any way they feel most comfortable. If a teacher really likes Tumblr then that is what she should use. If another teacher likes to blog then she should blog about her lessons and ideas. There is not just one way to share, as long as you are sharing that is all that really matters.
When deciding what to share and what not to share, it really depends on what you want to share. As a teacher, you could pick your best work of the each month and share that, or you could share every lesson you do. It really depends on how often and what you want to post. When it is about posting things that have to do about education there is never too much sharing. Sharing "everything" may seem overwhelming at first but there is value in doing so. It helps you because it provides you with a portfolio of sorts that you can refer back to next year when you go over that same material. Sharing "everything" also helps people get ideas and be inspired by your work.
"to share and refine our learning along the way as a contribution to the greater good for students within our schools and beyond."
People don't always think about talking about different ideas face to face or on a video channel is still sharing just in a different way. You could set up a monthly Skype meeting with a teacher who teaches in Brazil, to talk about the different cultural ways of teaching. Any way you do it and whether you know the people you are sharing with or not it is still making those network connects that matter.
We must remember that with public sharing we will get both good and bad feedback from others online. Even if this criticism is unwanted we still need to know that it will happen. I welcome criticism whether it might be positive or negative. I enjoy hearing people's feedback because I can only grow with what the responses I get. So for me I find it very important to surround my PLN with people who I know will challenge and improve my work. A teacher doesn't know if she or he should fix something if they don't take the time to let others review it.
I realize that there is the pressure while posting on social media of having every word and sentence make perfect sense. But I think that people need to remember that we are human and we make mistakes. These people also need to remember the edit button was made for a reason. So if there is a big mistake in you post then you can easily correct that error.
One thing that is hard for our society to be okay with is being transparent in our everyday life and on social media. Filters and Photoshop make it impossible to know if what we are looking at is true or not. There is something liberating about being transparent though. Being able to post a something that contains your true self with nothing extra and then getting positive comments is the greatest feeling, because you know you don't have to put this fake front up to be accepted. So as teachers it is our job to teach our students that being our true selves, and in turn being transparent, is the most positive thing that we can do as a society.
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