I have been an advocate for Twitter for some time now. I have done PD sessions on Twitter in Education for the teachers my district, and am constantly talking to and encouraging teachers to get connected. I really feel that there is such a power in the Twitter education world that you really don't understand until you are in it. Being connected is something that has completely changed me as an educator. I have built relationships, celebrated my students work, and shared as well as received amazing ideas and support from my PLN. One aspect of Twitter that I feel is really worthwhile is Edu Twitter Chats. Whether I am lurking or participating, I always walk away feeling like I gained something; an idea, a resource, a connection, or an inspiration!
So about a month ago, my friend and colleague Natalie Franzi (@NatalieFranzi) was co-moderating a chat #currichat. This is an awesome chat by the way. If you have not checked it out, you should! (Wednesdays @ 8:00pm) Anyway, this sparked an idea in my head that I wanted to start a chat! A little ambitious for a noob, but regardless I was thinking it may be fun to try. So I talked about it with Natalie (she always steers me in the right direction), and she connected me with Billy Krakower (@wkrakower) about possibly helping co-mod #njed chats. (Make sure you follow Billy ASAP if you don't already. Nj educator, author, innovator- trust me, just follow him) So, Billy was on board and we immediately started brainstorming ways to make #njed even greater than it already is! However, something was missing, I needed a partner in crime and I immediately knew the perfect person. I reached out to my good friend and outstanding tech-specialist Marla Weinstein (@Miss_Weinstein), and the rest is history! We all started collaborating and came up with the idea of having a #njed summer series to kick things off, get ideas flowing and conversations rolling about the upcoming school year.
Tonight was our very first #njed chat. I was so nervous leading up to it. Are we going to do this right? What if the chat is terrible? Are our questions good enough? Will people actually come? But I must say, when push came to shove, our first summer series chat exceeded my expectations! I was so happy to see friends, colleagues, and new faces! It may not have been the overwhelming crowd, but the whole point of the summer series was to be a light chat that still facilitated great conversation and new connections, and I think it accomplished that. (Check it out here) Hopefully everyone keeps their positive Summer Zen throughout the school year! Grateful for this opportunity, excited for next weeks chat!
Thank you to my wonderful co-moderators and friends, Marla and Billy! :)
Excited for the future of #njed!
