As with many words, the word “connected “ can be used for many things. At one point in time “being connected” implied a criminal connection to some sort of organized crime. Being connected has also meant having ties to the higher ups in an organization for the purpose of favors and perks. The word connection, simply stated, means to be united, or linked.
At one point in history for people to connect with each other they had to be face to face. That changed when writing letters was introduced and used on a greater scale to connect many more people. Communications took another leap with the telephone being used to connect people in even greater numbers. Cell phones have taken all of this to another dimension. Yes, we have had connections and connected people from the beginning of humanity.
As to the quality of connections, that varies, depending on how connected people really want to be. When people work on their connections, they do evolve into relationships. For the record here, we are limiting this to intellectual relationships. There are many professions in which success is based on successful connections, or relationships between the professional and another individual, be it a patient, client, student, or colleague. Of all the existing, or potential connections that people have, or may have, they all vary in degrees of success in terms of relationships from poor to great.
Now let’s jump to a 21st Century model of education in a Tech-driven culture. A model within a society that is dependent on computers in almost every industry and service in order to function. A population where a work force at all levels increasingly needs to be digitally literate for employment. A population in this computer-driven society is enduring change, which is occurring at a pace never before experienced in history. Information and content change, or are created in an instant every day in the year. An education system, designed for a world two centuries prior to this, is trying to, at the very least, cope and at best, effectively deal with the new dynamics. Educators either reject, struggle, work at moving forward, or are comfortable with the new literacy required to deal with this new dynamic.
The term “connected educator” in this context refers to educators who are exploring or embracing the development of collegial sources and access to all sources through connections made using technology. They are not abandoning their face-to-face connections. They are still maintaining relationships with colleagues in their buildings and district, and they still maintain connections with students and parents. They are expanding their reach however to global connections made possible through technology. They are taking advantage of the ability to connect with a vast array of education experts in order to improve their own expertise in education. They are connecting with authors, thought leaders and lead learners around the world in order to achieve this. We call these collaborative innovators, “connected educators”. Their number is growing and we call this a “connected community”.
Individuals in this “connected community” of educators are directing their own learning to meet their needs. They are exploring experiences of other educators to build on their own innovation. They are being exposed to new ideas and innovation from other connected educators daily. They are each developing Personalized Learning Networks to improve their personal skills and abilities to advance their profession. They are creating a relevant and meaningful environment in which their students may learn. These educators are modeling the mindset and tools of a 21st Century learner to the very people who will grow up and need to thrive in that Century.
In discussions of the “connected educator” in various blog posts, we should not need to redefine it time and again. It is an established term and it should be recognized after years of being used. We need not be reminded that there are other forms of connectedness. We need not hear how there is more to life than technology. We are probably all in agreement on all of those points. Do not diminish what educators are trying to do to advance their profession and our kids’ educations by using technology to learn, communicate, and create. Connected educators are a growing community in a continually, rapidly changing world. It is a world where once Tech was a choice for educators, but now Tech has become a large part of learning through collaboration and creation. Digital Literacy is still a choice for many educators, but it has never been a choice for their students. This is not a debate. Digital literacy is essential for educators. Being a connected educator is being a relevant educator. If we are to better educate our kids, we must first better educate their educators. Welcome to the 21st Century educators!
[…] As with many words, the word “connected “ can be used for many things. At one point in time “being connected” implied a criminal connection to some sort of organized crime. Being connected has also meant having ties to the higher ups in an organization for the purpose of favors and perks. The word connection, simply stated, means to be united, or linked. […]
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Tom, I love the Princess Bride pic you’ve used to accompany this post! It really speaks to the notion of how we might share a word but not its definition. I find this often on Twitter chats: individuals talking about the same word but from different vantage points based on divergent understandings of that term.
The other things that resonated were the use of ‘connected’ in the sense of intellectual connection rather than useful-for-power-or-career-progress-progression connection; and also the importance of being connected in our own contexts as well as within our online PLNs.
There is a kind of connected continuum with which educators engage, a kind of parallel sliding scale in both physical and online worlds.
Deb
I would agree 100% that as educators we need to be connected to develop our personal and professional learning networks. I have grown much as an educator since I have become connected more via social media on a work basis.
Now the problem goes the other way, many people in my generation have the problem of becoming disconnected. I often struggle to put my phone down when I hear it ping or feel it buzz. This again come back to my last comment during one of the previous posts of balance. Something, I am definitely working on. How do we connect more educators, while keeping people balanced in face to face real time conversation without looking at their phone?
Again, I leave this post with more questions than answers, but I guess that is perhaps the sign of a successful blog. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you Tom.
There are terrific reminders and clarifications here. You know from our conversations that I believe connectedness enhances almost every facet of our lives, especially our learning. Like Ben, I have asked how to achieve balance with our connected interactions. As awareness grows, and connectivism becomes a mainstreamed educational topic, my assumption is that etiquette and norms will be established to guide our connecting behaviors. My elaboration on this can be found on my recent post on connecting and connectedness; http://goo.gl/nUUgmj
Thank you for providing this forum, and keeping the conversation about connectedness alive. Bob
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[…] How is “Connected” Connected? | My Island View “There are discussions of the “connected educator” in various blog posts. In 21st century model of education the term “connected educator” in this context refers to educators who are exploring or embracing the development of collegial sources and access to all sources through connections made using technology. They are still maintaining relationships with colleagues in their buildings and district, and they still maintain connections with students and parents. They are expanding their reach however to global connections made possible through technology. .” […]
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