This morning, I started off my day as I always do by reading Doug Peterson‘s daily blog post. Today’s post was in response to a challenge that Alec Couros recently issued.
It was interesting to read Doug’s last ten tweets and his reflections around them. I went to comment on his post about my last ten tweets (I may be the last person in the world that is not on Facebook 🙂 ), as I was sure that they would all be around classroom happenings. That’s when I went back to my Twitter account just to double check, and I realized that I was wrong. Here are my last ten tweets.
The interesting thing about this is that when I realized some of the tweets that would be included here, I wondered if they should count.
- What about my two-word tweet about where I bought our mixers?
- What about my short “thank you” for coming to visit yesterday?
I started to wonder if replies were valuable enough. I love when people acknowledge my tweets, and I believe that even a two word “thank you” is valuable, but as people shared excellent resources and insightful comments, I began to question the quality of my shares. I also looked at the number of tweets of Doug’s that were retweets or links to various resources. That’s when I had a very uncomfortable realization.
- While I shared one tweet from HWDSB, the majority of these ten tweets only included my own content or content created by our students. I follow 10,058 people. What message am I giving to all of these people about the value of their content if the majority of what I’m sharing is my own?
I read numerous things that other people share, and I try to comment on at least one blog post a day. What if I shared more posts though? What if I shared more resources? In Lisa Cranston‘s post on this same topic, she mentioned that she “follows a lot of smart people.” I agree with her! I’m always so impressed with the thinking and resources that people share and the blog posts that they write. I regularly wish I commented on more of them. Even if I can’t comment though, I think I need to show my appreciation for what others share by adding more voices to my Twitter stream.
I love how our student voices are reflected in the videos and learning stories that I share here, but Twitter is about sharing more than just our rooms. I know this. I believe this. But does my sharing echo these views? Starting April 1st, and for the entire month, I’m going to challenge myself to retweet, comment on, and share more resources and blog posts. I’m going to “strive for five” a day. My hope is that this will help me develop a new Twitter habit and continue to add more voices and viewpoints to my Twitter stream. Who’s with me? Thank you, Alec and Doug, for inspiring me to take an uncomfortable, but important, look at myself and my sharing habits!
Aviva
Thanks for sharing you 10, Aviva. I’m thinking that it’s a worthwhile activity to do every now and again just as a gut check.
I agree, Doug, and I appreciate your blog post as inspiration. This activity really made me think more about what I share and how I can change some of this sharing. I definitely want to increase the amount I share from others. I hope other people give this challenge a try. I’d love to read their reflections!
Aviva
I expect so much from my Twitter PLN – the round the clock opportunity to learn from my colleagues when inspiration or curiosity strikes is invaluable. I think I strive to honour the contributions of my colleagues, but I wonder, am I holding up my end of the relationship. Royan Lee and Rolland Chidiac shook this tree for me, making authentic connections in digi-hallways is not only essential for my learning practice, but also humanizes the process such that our followers become more than a paddock of waiting resources. And I find that everytime I find/feel/connect to the human on the other end of my send, I satisfy the professional and social contract of this new fluency [thanks @rchids].
Keep posting Aviva!
Thanks for the comment, Chris! An excellent point. Some days I feel as though I connect well with others, and other days, I find myself connecting less. Or I sometimes wonder if I could connect more with people I don’t connect with as often. Maybe this challenge needs to be more about connections, resource sharing, and ensuring that my tweets are not just “all about me (and our classroom).” Thanks for giving me more to contemplate!
Aviva
Hi Aviva,
Just came across this after reading another one of your blog posts. The fact that you are reflective in your practice simply means that you are doing the right thing. We are navigating new and (relatively) uncharted waters. I, like yourself, do not use Facebook and was VERY reluctant to begin using Twitter simply because I tend to overthink things. I appreciate and value the members of my Twitter PLN and the unique and individualized ways that they use Twitter. I value your use of Twitter because, for the most part, I get glimpses into your K classroom and your thoughts and insights around teaching kindergarten. I value your feed because it is not over cluttered with retweets, etc. I also value your blog posts and your passion for teaching and sharing. I’m not sure I’m a fan of the “My Ten” and “Strive for 5”. There’s a danger in judging someone else (and yourself) by such a snapshot. To truly know ourselves (and others) we need to dig deeper. I think you’ve just inspired a blog post of my own…. think I’ll call it “This Isn’t Highschool”…. Have a GREAT day!
Thanks for your comment, Peter! Even though “My 10” is just a snapshot of my Twitter feed, I’d say that what you saw here pretty much aligns with what I share and how I use Twitter. While I value these uses, I also wonder if I could use it more to share what others are doing, along with interesting posts and articles. I read many of them, but don’t always share them. I wonder what message this gives to others that follow me, and what message it sends to those authors about how I feel about their work. It doesn’t take much to share, and maybe a little extra sharing would be a good thing. Some days this may be more than 5 shares, and some days, it may be less, but maybe by being more aware of what I share, I’ll start to develop a new habit. I’m curious to read your blog post though. Thank you for helping me think this through even more.
Aviva