Comments on: A Cocktail Party Filled With Educators

By: Neil Sullivan

Neil Sullivan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:51:42 +0000

Getting with the times and becoming more tech savvy is a professional necessity in education. Albeit, with the real-life risks associated with social-networking sites on the web. Many of my colleagues refuse to entertain the thought of web-based social networking sites due to the negative publicity that too many educators have faced over the past decade. Although there is no clear correlation between the “cocktail party” outlined above and other, less reputable websites, there is still that stigma that prevents people from maximizing the internet’s immense possibilities. Yet, can someone help to alleviate that fear of social networking sites, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc., for professional educators? How can they be made to feel safe and protected online?

By: SCI Texas

SCI Texas — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:16:59 +0000

Very interesting article. I had no idea about the social web of educators. I am definitely going to continue to reference your site and look into participating in this social web.

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By: Amanda D. Brown

Amanda D. Brown — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:01:01 +0000

Educators do need to get with the times. We need to become more tech savvy and in-the-know of media that our students are utilizing (i.e.; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc…) to better reach and connect with them.
In the article, I like how they perceive Twitter. It’s like an ever-constant Professional Development taking place right at our finger tips and we have access to the best of the best Professionals within our field without having to be the best to be a part of the action ourself. Twitter is fascinating and offers a lot. It was not until reading this article that I feel that I finally understand what all the rave has been about.
I am still growing accustomed to blogging and using social media as a means to getting answers, but the more I do it, the more efficient I become and I do enjoy getting assistance from my students when my knowledge falls short. I love what it does for their self esteem. I’m an educator aren’t I? And, isn’t strengthening and heightening students’ self-esteem and self-confidence a part of my job description

By: Thing 7a - Blog Reflection | What is Web 2.0 all about?

Thing 7a - Blog Reflection | What is Web 2.0 all about? — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:29:35 +0000

[...] found a comment on Will Richardson’s A Cocktail Party Filled with Educators really resonate with me at this point in my Web 2.0 journey. Here’s the question posed by the [...]

By: Robin Heyden

Robin Heyden — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:34:23 +0000

Thanks for this flight of fantasy, Will. It felt so good reading and imaging it to be true. I particularly like the section that answered the question “what have you stopped doing that you used to do in order to…” Not enough hours in the day, how can I fit it in, and what will I stop doing to make room for this new thing – those are the comments/questions I hear most often when talking with educators about participatory media. Your ficticious administrator had just the right response. It’s worth saying again… “Any educator who says they don’t have time to do these things is working on the wrong things.” Pitch perfect.

By: Salamah

Salamah — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:25:27 +0000

I think this is awesome! It would be like an all day professional development. We can learn a lot from our students/childrens behavior–they may be able to tell you what is currently going with new updated iPods, their favorite rapper/athlete–because they follow them on social networking sites or twitter. We could have constant collaboration, we could have instant feedback with how to carry out lessons–instantly share what we learned at conference. You could be instantly informed or you could instantly share any “a-ha” moments.

I could see it

By: Chris Lehmann

Chris Lehmann — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:53:35 +0000

It could happen.

By: Sharon Harper

Sharon Harper — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:33:58 +0000

Thanks for this Will, I have shared it with my principal who is actually very keen and very willing to become participatory, and who is starting to ‘see the light’

By: David Muir

David Muir — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:48:51 +0000

A “Cocktail Party Filled With Educators”? Sounds like a TeachMeet to me.

Interestingly, at a recent TeachMeet for student teachers, one of the presenters explained that he’d been taken to task by one of the people in charge of training probationary (that is newly qualified) teachers who felt that the TeachMeet model was “unprofessional”. This person seemed particularly annoyed that we would have a continuing professional development session where there was beer and that we’d be encouraging people to go online and to use Twitter during the event. It has to be said that we laughed at this viewpoint and carried on with a fantastically useful event anyway.

By: Julie Parsons

Julie Parsons — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:23:11 +0000

This is beautiful.

Coming at the close of a school year when so many educators have lost their jobs due to budget cuts, it is so important to say exactly this…that we should be thinking about the future and trying new things and doing all we can to evolve and adapt our education system to better serve the needs of the student.

I’m glad that there are those out there who are saying these things, and I’m glad that (through social networking) these words are available for anyone to read.

By: Remainders: Help for teachers whose schools are closing | GothamSchools

Remainders: Help for teachers whose schools are closing | GothamSchools — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:05:12 +0000

[...] Will Richardson says schools can be saved in the same way newspapers can. [...]

By: Shelly

Shelly — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:19:09 +0000

Hi Gardner,

You’re wrong.

best,
Shelly, an educator

see:

http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/05/best-practices-in-twitter-enhanced-high.html

By: Gardner

Gardner — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:27:53 +0000

As Radiohead sings, “Nice dream.”

Seriously, it would be wonderful. I hope it happens. But the words here make painfully clear just how unlikely it would be that an educator would be ready to say such things.

I hope I’m wrong.