What is a connected educator? How does being a connected educator affect your classroom? Will being a connected educator help your students? These are all important questions when reflecting on the connectivity of your classroom and teaching style. Being connected has been major priority at my high school over the past few years, and the teachers that have embraced it have seemed to enjoy the benefits of being connected.
First of all, being a connected educator could mean many different things, but at the heart of the topic is leaving your classroom open to the influence of others around you. This could be colleagues, administrators, other classrooms, or content experts. You can better connect your classroom by visiting others, bringing people into your classroom, or incorporating new techniques you learn from others into your classroom. An article called “The Loneliness of Teaching” (https://www.weareteachers.com/loneliness-of-teaching/), author David Webb details many different ideas to help teachers get connected to others in order to let that connectivity positively affect the teachers’ classroom. Many of his ideas are as simple as going to activities to show support of students and getting together with other staff members outside of school. These small things can help build a better in class community that has a positive impact on the teacher and the classroom. Using social media to promote your classroom and connect to other educators is another way to get connected. According to a Joshua Bolkan ( https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/09/02/research-9-in-10-teachers-dont-use-social-media-in-the-classroom.aspx), 87% of teachers are not using social media in the class room. This is a very easy way that many teachers could increase their connectivity.
Having a connected classroom and teacher can greatly benefit students. As I mentioned earlier, this has been a big push at my school. Teachers are encouraged to spend time in other classes, we have in the lounge to share what great things we are trying out in our classrooms, and teachers invite other classes to watch presentations that they have going on. I have seen all of these things bring excitement to my students and on days with these things happening I have noticed less behavioral issues.
What are some things you or other teachers do to get and stay connected? What benefits or negatives have you noticed from being connected?
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