Wow! The difference in one comment and blog post. Since last night, many educators have contacted me through comments and Twitter. Thank you to each of you for your encouragement. I do believe that edu–bloggers are willing to reach out to anybody and join them in the conversation. I think that the most important word in my feelings yesterday was my PERCEPTION. I have learned that many of the people that I follow are themselves relatively new to the conversations but have just engaged others more than I have.
I specifically want to point out a post by Scott Meech in which he encourages his friends who are “experts” to get out of their comfort zones and join “newbies” in conversations at NECC. This is exactly what I am talking about happening, and I find this encouraging. I would add that I hope that they would reach out all of the time and not just at NECC. I also agree with twitter comments about setting up a more regional meeting so people can meet with their PLN f2f (face-to-face).
In re-analyzing my feelings yesterday, I think the real thing I am missing is the personal connection beyond twitter. That is what Ben Grey’s post said to me. I can “feel” the friendships that he has with his PLN by reading his tweets. The real thing that is missing for me is that I have never met anyone in my PLN f2f except for two people in my school that I helped sign up for Twitter. Basically I feel jealous of everyone at NECC because of the strengthening of their PLNs through f2f contacts.
So I am very interested in regional meeting idea because I can not afford the time or money to go to DC and I am sure that there are many more like me. I do feel that there is something very powerful in the real world conversations of a PLN beyond blogs and Twitter.
Can you go to a state conference? Would a conference in Chicago be more affordable? I know NECC was a big expense for me, and I wouldn’t advise anyone in a similar position to do it. I think you have the right idea in wanting to meet close in. I’m trying to do more locally myself. Anyway, good luck, and I’ll follow your progress on this.
Good advice. I went to MACUL, our state conference, for the first time this year. I was not on twitter and really had no connections before hand so did not make any connections while there. Now I have and look forward to meeting some of them next year f2f.
Assuming I can go as I had to beg my principal to let me go this past year.
Meeting those I’m connected to in my PLN has been a high priority for me, too. It’s been the best part of my adventure into PLN so far.
I was going to comment on your post from Thursday, until I saw your own comment that there was more today. As another one who has experienced the same as you–no responses to tweets, few if any comments on my blog–I’m learning that this whole PLN thing is a value-added enterprise. This is more about the value that I can add to others through this technology than it is about what I can get from them. If I make the time to respond to tweets and blog posts, then my value to the community increases.
I have begun to develop a few deeper connections through Twitter, my blogs, and ISTE, and while I have yet to meet any of these people face to face (a pleasure I greatly look forward to having in the future), my professional growth has been enormous already, and I’m excited about the possibilities for increasing my contributions wherever I can.
I guess this is my convoluted way of saying (1) great to connect with you, and I look forward to growing the conversation, (2) stick with it and you will absolutely find people who make a difference in your life!
As I teach in a small rural school in country Australia, I rarely used to be able to get out and attend PD sessions or conferences. My learning network was rather restricted to my own staff or to an emailing list of similar minded teachers. The advent of web2.0 has changed all that now and due to tools such as nings, wikis, blogs, global projects and above all, twitter, I have established a powerful learning network that I value very much and who have helped my on my ejourney.
I also, would have loved to attend NECC but the cost is prohibitive for me. As you say little can replace true face to face sessions and I like the fact that you wish to now go locally, as indeed I also do.