How do you connect?

Week 6 of the #youredustory challenge brings a topic I have worked on personally over the past 3-4 years.  The prompt is "What is connected learning and WIIFM?"  Now honestly, I saw this and my first thought was - what in the world is WIIFM?  I thought maybe it was a game of some sort, you know, because of WII.  But upon further investigation I found that is stands for "What's In It For Me?"

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I was a connected educator I would have told you yes!  I met with colleges, went to district PD (even days I didn't have to attend) and I was part of a science grant that gave me a larger group for my "connected-ness".   So yes, I thought I was connected and doing a great job.  Or was I?

In 2011 I started using Twitter (it took me a year or so to realize the power of  Twitter) and I realized I was able to connect with people around the country from my computer.  I started following other science teachers and sharing ideas, getting new lessons and discovering what others were doing in their classrooms.  Now I was connected for sure!  Or was I?

Someone introduced me to Google+ and truthfully it was not my favorite to start.  It took some time for me to find the power of G+, but once I found the communities I fell in love.  I was able to reach out to more educators who had my exact same interests, questions and passion.  We could share links, pics and ideas.  Finally - I was a connected educator!  Or was I?

Conferences - now that's the ticket!  To be connected I had to meet these people face to face and really get to know them.  I attended my local CUE event and went to annual CUE.  I became an #edcamp junkie.  I had FOMO (fear of missing out) and started signing up for webinars left and right.  I felt like I had to learn everything and be able to share what I learned with everyone.  I became a #GCT and went to Google this past summer!  So now I felt like I was connected - part of the secret family after all these years.  Or was I?

Voxer, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram - new ways to connect!  I'll spare you the details, but they are not the silver bullet either.

None of those things singularly are what makes me a connected educator.  A connected educator is someone who can find what they need when they need it.  They share what they have learned so others can learn with them.  Being connected isn't done through a website, an app or in a conference room - it is all of those things put together.  I don't like to think of WIIFM when being connected, I like to believe in the #bettertogether concept so we can all do awesome things.

So yes, get on Twitter, Google+, Voxer, attend conferences and watch webinars - but don't do it to "be connected", do it to be a better educator for the students in your room, at your school or in your district.  Being connected is no longer something we can put off...it is a necessity for all educators (teachers, admin, counselors, coordinators, directors, superintendents) if we want to make our schools the best place for our students.