Collaboration

__** Collaboration **__

When you decide that you want to maximize your impact on student achievement, I hope that you realize that collaboration is the key. What you do alone may be good, but team efforts always yield a greater harvest. Plus, there is comfort in being able to depend on people that are like-minded and care about doing what's best for kids, by being a support system that is best for you.

To begin with, it takes only one invitation. It takes finding just ONE other person to start bouncing ideas off of to begin the transformation of teaching and learning. You can't be a teacher without also being a student. It is helpful and necessary, and not to mention good role modeling to commit to being the learner once in awhile. If you are the sage on the stage, it's time to step down into the audience and learn together. Finding a "buddy" will facilitate your entry into an eventual larger network. Start by having discussions about best practices (meaning research based and peer evaluated practices). Share your own successes and resources and expect to be rewarded with the same information. Once the seed is planted, branching out is easy...

The next step is to build your "Circle of Wisdom." This is where you move beyond your box, your zone, your comfort space. You move into cyberspace and begin interacting. You share with a larger group. You both give and receive support. You create content, you respond to other's creations, you find a niche, a place to belong and feel welcome, and you expand your capacity and abilities by creating and expanding your Professionall Learning Network!


 * Build your Professional Learning Network in a Digital Way: **



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 * // __Twitter__ //**


 * [|Master Twitter in 10 minutes!] (Thanks to [|Twitteroid])
 * [|Twitter 4 Teachers Directory]-Find Educational Folks to follow on Twitter!
 * http://twitter4pd.wikispaces.com/
 * [|50 Ideas on Using Twitter in Education]
 * [|Nine Reasons Teachers Should Use Twitter!]
 * [|Get Started with this Step by Step Twitter Guide]
 * [[file:TwitterTT.pdf]] From Alfredo Reyes ( [|TeachTechy.com] )

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 * // __Facebook (Social Networking)__ //**

Skeptical of Facebook?[|Interesting article here.] TIME magazine article: [|Why Facebook is for Old Fogies] [|Facebook Tips/Tricks]

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 * // __Blogging__ //**
 * Blogging Wiki (from Jennifer Dorman)
 * RSS Wiki for aggregating Blog Feeds (from Jennifer Dorman)

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 * // __Social Bookmarking__ //**
 * Social Bookmarking Wiki (from Jennifer Dorman)
 * [|Social Bookmarking Wiki] (from Mike)

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 * // __Skype__ //**
 * [|Skype in Education from Classroom 2.0]
 * [|50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype In The Classroom]
 * [|Skype In Schools Wiki]

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 * // __Nings__ //**
 * [|A Ning Primer]
 * [|Ning in Education]