Taking risks and moving beyond 140 characters

Every week, I try to participate in a discussion on twitter with other social studies educators called #sstlap. This is always such a great discussion with amazing educators. I have gained many resources and ideas.  This group has pushed my thinking way beyond the silo at my school.

During a discussion last week, I took a risk and reached out to +Benjamin Brazeau @braz74. I wanted to discuss a way to amp up the professional learning by having a Google Hangout (he wanted to do one in the summer).  We discussed bringing in special guests to take the learning beyond 140 characters and letting teachers elaborate on great lessons. We immediately thought of having +Matthew Barry @mrbarry628 and +Chuck Taft @chufttaft  join in on the discussion.  They are social studies gurus and true pirates. We ended up bringing in a couple of other teachers @stlinok + @spotsjaws into the discussion.   We had a uncanny amount of educators who wanted to partake and share ideas.

My first reaction was a little disappointing as I wanted to have more teacher voice in the hangout. As I reflected; I realized we took a risk.  We did something different and now have a recipe for success. The discussion was lively and productive. The main group of 4 kept the discussion moving and shared great ideas. As we move forward with other live events, we can bring in more teachers and more ideas.   In the end, the kids are the true beneficiaries.  I truly believe "together we are better." If you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to share your ideas to help make the live events even better.

How can this be used in a classroom? Connecting with classes, debating issues, collaborating on projects and connecting with experts. The possibilities are endless.

A special thanks to @braz74 for running with the idea.