#cebc #ce12 Book Club: The Connected Educator

I just stumbled on the Connected Educators Book Club. The first live webinar was last night, but the archives are posted. Plus, there is a Ning for discussing the books. Being a Ning, I had to create a user name/password, so the discussions are semi-private. After the amazing learning via #cyberPD, I figured I would jump into this one. For more information go to the Club's website:

http://connectededucators.org/cem/book-club/

The first book in the book club is Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s The Connected Educator (co-authored with Lani Ritter Hall), “which compellingly lays out a step-by-step path to using online connected communities to become a connected learner engaged in do-it- yourself professional development” according to the website. I checked our university library and will be picking up the book this afternoon, but the first chapter is available at Solution Tree. Bill Boyd has a nice overview at his site, The Literacy Adviser.

Nussbaum-Beach's introduction says that the purpose of the book is to address teachers as learners first and educators second. In other words, the book is to help readers/users learn how to create and maintain personal learning networks (PLN) and communities (PLC), which will then help educators envision how to use them in the classroom. I've been involved in Twitter and the ECNing for a while, but I know I could be more organized and more strategic with my PLN.

One statement that resonated with me immediately was the recognition of the traditional solo learner.  Nussbaum-Beach says, “Yet in most schools, still, the assumptions are that learning is an individual process, that learning has a beginning and an end, that learning happens in schools separately from the rest of life’s activities, and that learning is the result of teaching. Technology is beginning to shift those assumptions and change the way, we, as educators, learn” (p. 10). As I've mentioned before, I struggle with creating “group” projects that require interdependence between students because, being American, I've grown up in a culture of Me-cracy and individual competition. As my mom has often told me, I was a stubborn child and would stamp my feet and say, “I'll do it myself” while she watched in frustration as simple tasks took much longer than necessary. Guess I ignored Vygotsky's theory of learning via the zone of proximal development (ZDP) and the more knowledgeable other (MKO)! I know I need to break my own habits of working alone and create spaces and opportunities for my students (and their parents) to learn how a community of learners is more powerful than learning alone.

I had the great fortune of having a computer-savvy husband/teacher, who took me to the NECC conference for many years, which is now the International Society of Technology in Education conference. Through that experience, I started this blog (see first post) and have been posting intermittently and connecting to others through this blog. Nussbaum-Beach highlights the importance of participating in the cyberworld, which makes sense to me because just being a lurker doesn't provide long-term learning and change. She says, “Becoming a connected, do-it-yourself learner begins with your willingness to be a findable, clickable, searchable-on-Google person who shares openly and transparently. From there we can form a connection, a conversation, a relationship and begin to collaborate” (p. 11).

I find the “Do-it-yourself learner” term to be quite intriguing. I've been listening to Daniel Pink's Drive:The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and am currently on the chapter on Mastery and Flow. The do-it-yourself learning reminds me of the importance of autonomy and choice. Pink states, “While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it’s a lousy one for personal fulfillment. Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night” (p. 112). So much of schooling – professional development for teachers and daily classes for students are about compliance. However, when learners get to CHOOSE what and how they want to learn, they become ENGAGED and enter a state of FLOW. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (in Finding Flow) identified nine elements of flow:

1. There are clear goals every step of the way.
2. There is immediate feedback to one’s actions.
3. There is a balance between challenges and skills.
4. Action and awareness are merged.
5. Distractions are excluded from consciousness.
6. There is no worry of failure.
7. Self-consciousness disappears.
8. The sense of time becomes distorted.
9. The activity becomes “autotelic” (an end in itself, done for it’s own sake).

Dr. Steven Wright has a nice overview of Csíkszentmihályi's Finding Flow and other works.

When I am working with others – talking with student teachers, collaborating with teachers, facilitating a classroom lesson, giving a workshop – I find my flow. Again, that is the power of learning together, rather than learning alone! Nussbaum-Beach says, “The simple truth is that there is a limit to how much we can learn if we keep to ourselves (Fullan & Hargreaves, 1991). By deepening our connectedness to the level of true collaboration, we can best meet the needs of today's students” (p. 12).

I've read many technology for teacher books that insist that they are “interactive” but I have to say, this one is impressive so far. The authors have provided many active links at the publisher's website, plus have “Get Connected” activities at the end of each chapter.