Why is it important to stay connected? I ask myself this all of the time, especially when I am perusing the latest in ed.tech and NOT doing other activities with my time. I admit, it would be easy to sit back and do the minimum, not helping fellow teachers with their websites after giving a training on it. It would be easy to just give assignments to my students and not post lesson plans and homework on my website every day. But why do you attend professional development sessions? Why do you go to conferences? If your answer is  “because I am required to” then let me thank you for visiting Wired Wednesday, but you are excused now… nothing that follows will be of any interest to you. Have a nice day!

However, if your answer is that you strongly believe in improving your teaching and having a positive effect on your students, and you are indeed interested in staying on the cutting edge of education, then THAT is why you stay “connected”. Being connected is how I refer to the act of reading professional journals, attending conferences and actively participating, networking with other professionals, or even reading some great blogs by educational professionals across the country and world. Also, staying connected means that you are always open and on the lookout for new and better ways to teach and be productive.

For instance, I cannot think of any reason why someone would not want to use a website for their class. Today’s options include so many websites that are free and soooo easy, that any other way that a teacher would use for delivering assignments, communicating with students and parents, and delivering class notes would be considered more time consuming. Wouldn’t you want to learn about tools that make your job easier, more effective and productive? Teaching isn’t about collecting a paycheck, if you went into teaching for the money then you delusional…. especially if you live in Florida. Nothing has revitalized my teaching more in the last ten years than using technology in the classroom. Searching for the latest and greatest way to tell a story (I am a History teacher) has been a godsend for me. Let it be for you too.

That is why it is important to stay connected.