There is Value in Collaboration

When Jarrod asked me to co-author this blog I was extremely flattered. Why would a teacher from southern Australia think I would have something to contribute to his educational network? Yes, we did contribute to each others blogs through the book "Holes", but really what can we tell each other that is helpful considering we literally live on the other side of the world from each other?

When I started my class blog ,Mr. C's Class Blog, I had intended it to be a way for me and my students to communicate with each other that would leave a record. As I noticed visits from different countries popping up on our Cluster map I became excited. It was amazing that people from all over the world were looking at what we were doing. This changed my perspective about the purpose of my class blog. Instead of using it to communicate with each other, we began to use it to communicate with others outside our classroom, even outside our state. I began to understand the power of the internet for my students' learning.



I had read a tweet by Alec Couros on Twitter that pointed me to a vlog on Kim's Blog. In the vlog she describes how uncomfortable it was for her to create a video of herself. This led me to think how important it is to model reflections I expect my students to do. I have been emphasizing that skill to them for several weeks.When I responded to Dr. Couros about my "light bulb" he responded:


This brings me to my point. We all have something to contribute to each other. Without the advantage of my PLN (personal learning network) I might never have made the connection between reflection and modeling. That is why I am contributing to this blog.

Wm. Chamberlain