I cannot believe that I am only a few weeks shy of my 3rd Twitter birthday. Or is that my “twirthday?” In 2008, I was working as the Director of Development at a local independent school. I was trying to finish my M.Ed. in school administration and supervision and looking for ways to connect with school alumni, parents, and friends. A few years earlier the school had responded rather negatively to student use of MySpace. At the time, our response had been to send out a big warning and tell parents to keep their kids away from the medium. However, by 2007,  the tide of opinion on social media had changed, and I had led the school to use Facebook as a way of building and establishing relationships for our physical and virtual community.

Angie was a friend on the school’s board. Over the course of several conversations, she convince me to also give Twitter a try. So on December 4, 2008, I joined twitter and immediately started following Angie, her sister, and a few of the people they were following. The tweets were random, usually funny, and well, pretty inane.  I gained a few followers and tried to follow most folks back if they didn’t appear too creepy, but in all honesty I never found much use for Twitter. In fact, I was not exactly sure what I should tweet or even why I should tweet. In early 2008, I was listening to the radio on the way to school and the announcer was talking about how narcissistic Twitter was. The criticism matched my experience and within a few hours I had deleted my account. I saw no value in reading what others were having for breakfast, watching on TV, or thinking about politics. Why did their posts (or mine) need amplification or my (other’s) attention? I shut down the account and quietly walked away. I’d spend my time on Facebook.

I was away from Twitter for a few months. In the meantime, Twitter grew. From February to June 2009, Twitter use exploded. People, organizations, and businesses began jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, and I started hearing talk of Twitter everywhere. It was inescapable. I started rethinking Twitter and decided maybe my problem wasn’t with Twitter but rather with how I used Twitter. How could I use it differently? I reopened my account and began to be much more selective about who I followed. I wanted to connect with other educators. Within a few days I was following some wonderful teachers from around the world–people like Monte Tatom, Clif Mims, Shelly Terrell, Tom Whitby, Eric Sheninger, Vicki Davis, Roger Zuiderma, Patrick Larkin, and Jason Flom. I closely watched how they used Twitter and began using it the same way. Tom and Shelly invited me to participate in #Edchat. I did and loved the conversations and added many other educators to my network. I also learned about RSS, social bookmarking, wikis, blogging, etc. Twitter was a learning goldmine!

One of my richest Twitter experiences occurred one Saturday morning. I was engaging several teachers in conversation about learning when Russ Goerend and I struck up a conversation about social bookmarking. Russ had made several videos for his own students about how to use Diigo. He kindly shared them with me and suddenly I understood the possibilities of web 2.0, networked learning, and the cloud. The conversation was career altering.

In a matter of a few weeks I had developed a good friendship with Clif Mims, attended a local Barcamp, and started a new blog. All because of what I was learning online. I quickly became addicted to Twitter and the opportunity it provided for continuous learning. My online connections introduced me to new ideas, new tools, new philosophies, and new methods, and they were always sharing–24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I was so excited by what I was learning on Twitter that I couldn’t quit checking the feeds. (It took a while to find a better balance.)

By the spring of 2010, I had become a Twitter-evangelist. At Dr. Tatom’s suggestion I presented ”The Value of a PLN” to the West Tennessee Administrators’ Technology Academy and connected with Jason Bedell to offer a Twitter for Teachers Workshop at TeachMeet Nashville. While there, I met Melissa Smith, Steven Anderson, Nancy Blair, Adam Taylor, John Carver, Shannon Miller, and Deron Durflinger. These connections have developed into real friendships and into other professional opportunities as well. My connections with Clif and Melissa led to an invitation to present at the Martin Institute’s Fall Conference last year and to our first InnovatED workshop in Memphis–both of which led to my current role teaching 6th grade reading in a 1:1 setting at PDS. Honestly, I’m amazed at how much networked learning and Twitter has reshaped my professional landscape.

I have met some incredible people, learned with some amazing educators, and developed some life-changing friendships–all through connecting with others on Twitter. In just the past few weeks, I’ve Skyped into a Visible Thinking study group in Australia, had brunch and talked connected learning with a prominent marketing/blogging guru, and had lunch to discuss project-based learning with a brilliant IDT professor–all because of connections made on Twitter.

So what about you? Do you have a Twitter story? If so, please share and make sure you tweet it with the hashtag #mytwitterstory. You can link to others’ Twitter stories from Dr. Michael Grant’s original post.

In order to accomplish this goal, I plan to take the following steps:

1. Read Ron Ritchhart, et al’s Making Thinking Visible (2011).
2. Blog my metacognition marks and reflections on the text.
3. Meet regularly with colleagues in a book club to discuss the text and our experiences incorporating the routines.
4. Research and connect with other members of my PLN who are using visible thinking routines.
5. Design and write lessons/units employing the routines.
6. Document student thinking and the use of routines through sticky notes, photos, pencasts, student reflections, and blog posts.
7. Blog reflections on my experiences using the routines in class.

When my blog posts, conversations, and lessons demonstrate greater proficiency using the visible thinking practices and student thinking shows a deeper understanding of read texts, I will consider my goal accomplished. I know that’s somewhat obtuse and not measurable, but I’m not trying to create data. I’m trying to become a better teacher–and no matter what politicians and reformers say, that isn’t easily quantifiable.

If you are interested in talking about the routines, in reading the MTV book together, or even collaborating on a project, let me know. As always, I am open to questions, comments, and feedback.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

I won’t replay my whole message here, bu I did want to share my slides. All images are licensed through Creative Commons and attributions are provided. I started with a visible thinking routine (Compass Points) that I learned at Project Zero just to give everyone a moment to digest the morning. Then, I shared a little of my story, my struggles, and how I’m working at “Becoming What They Need.” I’m not sure I’m doing it well, but I am trying to do it differently based on what I’m learning about, well, learning. Enjoy the slides; there are some great images. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks again to all the #TMKY11 folks. It was nice to meet ya’ll. I hope our paths cross again soon.

Lisa shared that she likes to show how much she values thinking by having her students do a See/Think/Wonder on the first day of school. I loved her idea. The former me always started school the “Wong Way” distributing my prepared syllabus and speaking to rules and procedures. Lisa’s idea resonated with me because it prioritized what I value (or want to value) most–THINKING! So, I stole Lisa’s idea, and guess what we did on the first day in sixth grade reading. That’s right! The students used the See/Think/Wonder routine to think about 6th grade, my classroom, reading class, and me.

• I see a woman wearing a wedding dress.
• I see a picture of Mr. Cummings wearing St. Louis Cardinals clothing and standing with four kids outside a baseball stadium.
• I see desks pushed together in groups.  
• I see two comfy couches sitting on some rugs next to the book shelves.
• I see a stuffed Phineas, Ferb, and Perry the Platypus. 
• I see “the language of thinking” words posted around the room.

After ten minutes of exploring, students returned to their seats. I instructed them to write “I think” statements based on the evidence they had collected while they were “seeing.”

I knew little about the PZ program before boarding the plane for Cambridge. I’d been prepped by friends at PDS and by what I’d read online, but I didn’t really understand the program goals until I arrived on site. The design of the program includes time in large group instruction (keynotes), classroom instruction (mini-courses), and small group interaction (study groups). I’ll confess that before attending I totally dreaded having to attend the study group time (I needed an attitude adjustment), but it became my favorite part of the week. The typical morning started with a keynote, followed by a break, then a class. Lunches were on our own. We spent the entire afternoon in study groups. We registered ahead of time for our mini-courses, and PZ assigned us to study groups according to our professional teaching roles (age-level & subject content). Each keynote presented a idea about teaching and thinking; the mini-courses modeled its use, and the study groups allowed time for conversation, discussion, and reflection. The entire week was awesome.

Project Zero centers around these essential questions (“through lines”):

• What are the components of an effective education for the world that students live in now and will live in 10, 20 or 50 years from now?
• What is understanding and how does it develop?
• What are the roles of reflection and assessment in student and teacher learning?
• How can participants continue to share and pursue their understanding of Project Zero’s ideas with others after the institute? (via PZC)

I took pages and pages of notes and grabbed every handout and business card I could find. I also bought a ton of books as resources. To be honest, the learning was overwhelming. I had already begun the process of reinventing myself, but PZ kicked everything into overdrive, and I had to return home and start in-service almost immediately. Yikes! It’s now the middle of October, and I’m still sorting through all I took from the experience.

The PZ week culminates in a brief project presentation made in study groups. I had a tough time narrowing my project because I’d been blown away by so many new ideas, but two things surfaced that I want to share. First, I committed to learning more about the visible thinking routines and incorporating them into my classroom instruction. I have set this as my professional development goal for this school year. I have created a study group with some of my PDS colleagues to read and discuss Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church (CV .pdf), and Karin Morrison. I started using the routines on the first day of school, and appreciate the learning and discussions that have resulted with each use. (I plan to blog about a few of the experiences I’ve had.) Second, I am trying to design my class experiences using the Teaching for Understanding (TfU) framework from PZ. I’m still working my way through TfU, but thanks to my study group’s guidance I was able to identify the through lines I am using to design my sixth grade reading class. The through lines, or big questions, are the bones around which I am building the class learning experiences. I am also trying to consider my students’ interests as well. Here are the through lines as they currently stand:

I’d love some feedback on these ideas. This is all new to me. Not only am I in a new position, new to PDS, and new to single-sex education, but also I’m new to sixth grade, new to thinking routines, new to “teaching for understanding,” and new to teaching reading outside the traditional English curriculum. It’s a lot of new. It’s a year of trial and error–of experimentation–of learning, and I love that I’m at a school that encourages me to do so. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about what I’m doing, I’d love to hear from you.

As some may know, I decided to start over this school year. Well, that’s an over statement. Last April, while I was pulling double duty as a Title I facilitator and an English 10 Honors teacher, I received an offer to return to the classroom full-time. The Title I job, a quasi-administrative position, was a great opportunity when I accepted it. I learned a ton about federal programs and gained valuable experience. I was well on my way toward reaching my goal of becoming a high school principal. At the same time, I started on a personal learning journey with the help of my PLN and began to rethink what it means to be well-educated and a networked learner in the information age. I realized that while I had been a successful teacher in my old job, I would totally reinvent myself if I ever returned to the classroom.

Over the course of last few years my perspective and my satisfaction with my job changed. The problem was that while I admired the people with whom I worked, I was totally disillusioned by the constant focus on high-stakes testing and quantitative data. I didn’t (and don’t) believe it was best for students, teachers, or schools in general. I wanted to lead a change in the way schooling was done, but if I was truly honest i had no idea how to go about teaching the way I believed it needed to be done. When the opportunity presented to pull double duty and spend the majority of my day in the classroom, I jumped at it because it allowed me to focus less on test data and test prep and see if I could actually be the teacher today’s students need.

I loved being back in the classroom. I loved the re-connection I made with students, other teachers, and my PLC. I also realized just how hard it is to truly reinvent oneself. I think I made strides, but I also fell short. I was to blame for most of the failure, but I was also limited by things beyond my control. I struggled with the lack of student access to technology, the required standardized test prep, the required number of summative assessments (and inflexible grading scale), and the mandated standards and pacing guides. It’s no wonder all the teachers are stressed.

When the opportunity presented to teach 6th grade reading at PDS, I jumped at it. PDS has an excellent reputation in town, and I had already connected with several other PDS educators through the Martin Institute and TeachMeets. They were (are) an impressive bunch. I’d also worked closely with my friends Melissa and Cindy to organize InnovatED, which PDS hosted, and I knew they’d continually push me to innovate. I love that PDS is committed to preparing boys to be critical, creative, and connected thinkers. Besides, how could I say “no” to the opportunity to teach in a 1:1 laptop setting and try to become the kind of teacher I think today’s students need.

So this August I started over. I moved to a new school, a new subject, and a new grade level. I rethought what a classroom should look like and how a classroom should be led. I stopped reading so many educational theory articles and dove head first into young adult literature. I cut back on the amount of time I spent on Twitter and spent more time considering how to teach kids to think. It’s been an adventure–one that I’m loving, and I wouldn’t change a single moment. I’ve experienced some success and some frustration, made new friends and missed some old ones, but when the alarm sounds each morning I cannot wait to get going. There’s just so much to learn.

I’m going to do my best to chronicle this journey here but I confess that finding time to blog has been problematic already. If you have any advice as I move from high school to elementary school or any tips on how best to get out of my students way, I’d appreciate the feedback. I’ll let you know how things go.

The idea for the project and presentation developed from conversations we had about how to incorporate more 21st century and cooperative learning in our classrooms. Bill Ferriter deserves recognition for all we gleaned from his book and his website about teaching with social bookmarking. I also want to give a hat tip to my friend Russ Goerend who first introduced me to Diigo and really opened my eyes to the possibilities of online collaboration.

Dear Jabiz and Katie,

First of all I accept your challenge and I’m going to connect your work back to me, but first, let me share a little of who I am.

I am a dreamer. I’ve always been this way. While I love people and really enjoy a deep, open conversation that allows me to connect with a friend. I could also sit for hours with my own thoughts and consider all the “what ifs.” This makes me continually restless, but fortunately, I married an extremely patient woman.

Speaking of Debbie, she is the most amazing person I have ever known. She is a beautiful, brilliant, and talented, and I am grateful that I have her as my partner on this journey. Debbie was widowed with three small sons when we married, but we have known each other since middle school. I actually had a crush on her when we were younger and co-starred together in a high school musical. Our youngest is our daughter, who has total control over me.

I have been an educator since January 1999, when I left full-time youth ministry to take a brief interim as a 7th grade English teacher. I was then hired full-time to teach 8th grade English and have been in a teacher or administrator role ever since in both independent and public school settings. Currently, I am serving in both roles. While I am loving being in the classroom again (I really missed it), I am finding it a real challenge to do both roles simultaneously and do them both well. I’m burning the candle at both ends and trying not to neglect my family. I confess I haven’t struck the right balance yet, and two things I have cut back on are time spent dreaming and reflecting and time interacting online. I’ve been “marking all read” and lurking more than engaging in conversation lately.

So what does this dreamer dream? I, too, have dreams of rock-stardom, Jabiz. Okay, not really. I would love to learn how to play the guitar again. I played when I was younger but haven’t practiced for…decades. I used to write lots of poetry and lyrics, and I’d love to write some music and perform for a live audience again. I do love to sing. I also dream of writing a book – perhaps a novel, but I’m afraid it would be rather autobiographical in nature, and I’m still working on the whole “transparency” thing. I also dream of traveling, moving from place to place, seeing the world. In this way, I am really jealous you, my friend. You have lived in places about which I have only dreamed. We are very connected with our extended family (they live nearby) and our local church. While I may talk often of moving to Iowa, Colorado, Majorca, or Patmos, the thought of being far away from those we love is always a cold shower of reality.

Jabiz, if I had to pick a post of yours that most challenged and connected with me, it would probably be Life as an Open Book. It’s not that I completely agree or disagree with your post, but rather how much it left me conflicted. (Full disclosure: I didn’t read the post when you originally posted it, but found it later.) I long to be transparent and known while I also desire to be protected and distant. I am a paradox, and at times, I question my own motives for why I share what I share. (Perhaps this is why I also connect so deeply to what John writes.)

Katie, your blog is new to me, but I have read through the most recent posts and will explore it more later. Your Getting What I Really Want Out of Twitter post resonated with me because I wrote a similar post last fall entitled Rethinking My PLN. You’ve also renewed my interest in a PLN road trip. Maybe we could go visit Jabiz as a start? :0)

I look forward to continuing to get to know you both (and be challenged by you), and thank you again for your willingness to share.

Warmest regards,

Philip

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.