Saturday, July 5, 2008

Virtual or Face-to-Face...It's all about Relationships

Those of you that know me know how much I love technology. If I have a free moment - I'm logging in to see what I can learn and to practice what I want to learn.

Over a year ago now, I stumbled across twitter and became connected with other educators around the world who have pointed me in a direction with my professional development that I couldn't ever have imagined. Those relationships have led to professional growth, personal growth and a new direction in my career (looks like I'll be full time in technology next year). I have never felt more energized and connected about what is new in my practice and how it could be implemented. I truly can attribute all of that to the educators I meet
and follow online.

When I arrived at NECC and saw how many of the people I know virtually were there literally...I wanted to try and document it visually for you and give you the way to connect with some of these amazing educators also. So here are a few I tracked down for photos.



Jeff Utecht
Formerly of Shanghai American School
Next Year will go to Bangkok
The Thinking Stick

jutecht on twitter





Stephanie Sandifer
Houston, TX
Change Agency
ssandifer on twitter


Maria Knee
Deerfield, NH
The Kinder Kids' Classroom
MariaK on twitter





David Jakes
Naperville, IL
Strength of Weak Ties
djakes on twitter


Dean Shareski
Moose Jaw, SK, Canada
Ideas and Thoughts from an Ed Tech
shareski on twitter








Kevin Jarrett
Northfield, NJ
Welcome to NCS-Tech!
kjarrett on twitter










Ginger Lewman
Kansas
Gingersnapz!
Ginger TPLC on twitter









Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
Virginia Beach, VA
21st Century Learning
snbeach on twitter









Nedra Isenberg
Holland Patent Schools, NY
My Journey into the World of Elem. Tech

hockeymom1788 on twitter










Adam Frey
Co-founder of Wikispaces


Vicki Davis
Camilla, GA
Cool Cat Teacher
coolcatteacher on twitter




Thanks to you all for being a part of my network and inspiring me on my journey. :)

** cross posted on Once Upon a Teacher

4 comments:

Ann Oro said...

Melanie:
Thanks for sharing your photos from NECC. I don't know why, but I'm shy when it comes to taking out a camera for photos at these events. I would have recognized you in an instant. I remember saying that you had a hair cut before you left, but you still look like the photo I'm used to seeing.

I'm looking forward to reading your other posts. I'm used to the Once Upon a Teacher blog. I'll have to add this one to my reader.

Ann

dayle timmons said...

After sharing an office with Suzanne Shall (also a twitterer)and spending much before and after school time listening to Suzanne and Melanie talk about all these folks that they have been following, it is so-o-o-o interesting to put a name with a face! It blows me away that you can so easily develop professional relationships with people literally all over the world. What profound implications this has for professional development! How exciting to get to meet these folks in person! This is such a powerful example of how our world is changing. It's hard to even imagine how the world of my little kindergartners will look as they grow up and even harder to imagine MY role as their guide!! I'm just glad that you have chosen to learn from some of the best and that your coat tails are long enough for me to grab on for the ride of my life!

Anonymous said...

Great post! Right on! How wonderful to meet you Melanie! Like so many others I wished for more "down" time to just relax and connect with friends. Despite my best efforts, things seemed so rushed! I know, I know, my fault. :) Hope you enjoyed NECC and I look forward to seeing you in Washington D.C. in 2009! :)

KK Cherney said...

I loved being able to be there as you walked around in awe as you connected with your virtual family physically.