Find Your Room

Over my career I have always been searching for different ways to push my professional learning.  I have read many books, read countless numbers articles, attended professional development sessions year after year. 

Over the past 3 years or so I have been focusing on developing my #PLN which stands for both professional learning network and personal learning network.  How you use your #PLN is up to you!  I have learned that along with reading books, articles, and attending professional conferences that I need two other forms of professional learning.  The first is daily doses of professional learning from Twitter and Voxer.  The second is more sustained professional learning conversations with fellow educators.

Do you seek professional learning on a daily basis?

Twitter is my go to place to connect with educators and see what thought leaders have to share regarding the world of education.  If you are looking for some education minded tweeps to follow please leave a comment below and I will be happy to send you several outstanding names.  All of these educators will share differing thoughts, opinions, ideas, learning strategies, and so much more that will really push your thinking.

Voxer has been gaining momentum in education circles recently because educators are learning their connections with others can go into more of a conversational realm through the use of technology.  I am a part of three different conversations on Voxer that all push my thinking in different ways.  One conversation is a world wide group that brings in so many different thoughts, opinions, struggles, ideas, and successes around common themes discussed on a weekly basis.  A second conversation I am a part of is with a local group of educators.  In this group we discuss and share what is occurring on a more local level as well as encourage, support, and celebrate our day to day work.  The third conversation I am a part of is with a fellow principal in a neighboring district.  We are learning from each other through our conversations and I have actually taken teachers to his school to see the excellent work he and his staff are doing for kids.  

Voxer is way better than talk radio for your drive to and from campus.

Perhaps the greatest addition to my professional learning has been working on "The Visioning Document" through sessions lead by @N2Learning and with @TASANet.

To read more about the visioning document please click here. 

In short the visioning document was written by a small group of Texas superintendents that saw a need to change the current direction of public education in Texas.  The thinking, conversations, and outcomes from this type of work are extremely powerful!

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the conversation since becoming a principal and it has really shifted my thinking as to what we should be doing in our schools.  I have connected with many different education thought leaders from across Texas and I have learned so much from being in the room with those leaders.  The thinking and learning I have done with these educators has shaped the work I do at my campus and in my district.

I challenge all educators, regardless of position, to really be intentional in your own professional learning.  Find your longer view professional learning options AND find your day to day professional learning options.  You will be amazed at how this shift in personal learning will change you and your daily work.

I will be more than willing and happy to help you learn more about anything posted here.  Just leave me a comment below!

Think.  Achieve.  Succeed.

Jeff