At #Aste17, I started a list of all the Alaska Educators I
could find on twitter. (Bill had a great list, which he had started on #Aste16,
which I borrowed greatly from) At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, I tried
to map out who was tweeting and what they were tweeting about.
2016-2017: There were about 15 districts that I consistently saw tweets from*
I followed some new Alaskan Educators who were attending #ISTE and as the 2017-2018 school year started up, the Alaska Cross Culture Conference revealed some new educators, the Alaska Principals Conference, #EDET628 and #SEACCR chat, RTI Conference, #Northtothefuture, #Akedchallenge and finally #ASTE18 and the #AKLA Conference. My list swelled from around 400 to almost 700.
I followed some new Alaskan Educators who were attending #ISTE and as the 2017-2018 school year started up, the Alaska Cross Culture Conference revealed some new educators, the Alaska Principals Conference, #EDET628 and #SEACCR chat, RTI Conference, #Northtothefuture, #Akedchallenge and finally #ASTE18 and the #AKLA Conference. My list swelled from around 400 to almost 700.
Every day, I would check this list and so I was able to read
almost every tweet that was sent out by Alaskan educators this year… I
dedicated my feed to retweeting the great things that were going on across the
state. I started to add sublists with a group for just librarians, ECE... one day when I have time, I'd love to organize into a group of admins too...
It became clear that we weren’t twitter shy, there were
several of us who were sharing the amazing things that were going on in Alaska
Classrooms. It was getting people organized, interacting, and collaborating…I tried to engage people through feedback and inviting them
to the #Akedchat, but it seemed people would show up here and there without any
real consistency. Others just blocked me from tagging them in my photo
invitations. I met up with the groups of educators in person, trying to build
that face-to-face and online connection.
Twitter has become an invaluable resource to me because it
shows me what is going on in the classrooms. The hopes, the fears, and the
excitement… People constantly share what they think are good ideas and so, I
learned to listen. The more people post, the more I see what they value or are
interested in. I try to connect and share resources based on what they share. It has shaped me immensely. Being connected is amazing.
I’m excited for the 2018-2019 School Year, Alaska is just
getting started!
2017-2018: There were about 21 districts that I consistently saw tweets from**This isn't scientific. Some Alaskan tweeters, don't have their location. In a nutshell, what did I learn this year? I am so excited about the things around student edcamps that are coming out of Valdez and Nikiski.... - I love the care and passion that comes out of Brevig Mission in the Bering Strait School Distict...
- If I were to take math, I'd want to do it in Kodiak with all the amazing math teachers sharing their incredible and innovative lessons....
- I love the amazing culturally responsive things that are coming out of North Slope...
- I love the blend of place-based learning and #mysteryskype coming from Wrangell...
- #MinecraftEdu in Dillingham and Petersburg...
- I love wonderful positive culture that exudes from the Copper River district...
- I love All the exciting things around personalized learning from Kenai...
- I love that the STEM expert in Anchorage loves her robots and gardening!
- I LOVE that Yukon Kuskokwim developed wonderful flex books...
- I now know digital orchestra exists thanks to the wonderful music teacher out of Kodiak...
- I love that a teacher out of Denali who got to be a fulbright to Finland and shares her wonderful insights...
- I love the passionate librarians who have set-up makerspaces, such as the one at Tanana...
- I love the work of the tudor librarian who is setting up global activities...
- Did you know we have 2 amazing PBS digital innovative teachers? There are also 2 MIE and countless other Apple certified educators...
- We have an incredible principal out of Tanana who does an amzing podcast where he interviews amazing educators from all over the world...
The
- We have a wonderful organization (ASTE!) where its incredible volunteers put together an amazing yearly conference to showcase innovative and disruptive ideas!
- The passionately positive principal out of Whaley...
The joy coming out of the Joy School... - ...and Esports are coming to Alaska!
My life is made better from knowing all of this is out there and I really encourage you to take the challenge and listen... and then share! We have so many amazing things happening, let others know!!
