Help me create a surprise-PLN gift!
You know the excitement of GIVING a present to someone? I got this idea in my head tonight that we could team up to give a Primary teacher a really nice big surprise - a ready-made PLN on Twitter - OVERNIGHT!!!
Daniel Wearne is one of those wonderful souls that drip kindness in every direction. It's like there is a kindness-field that spreads out from him for 5 metres in every direction. I temporarily become a kinder person for a few seconds every time he walks past me! Sometimes I know he's walked past me out of my field of vision, because I suddenly get a kind impulse! ha ha!
Now, he has JUST discovered Twitter, and is champing at the bit about it!
So about an hour ago, I tweeted:
If you read no further, please follow him - www.twitter.com/d_wearne, and say hello to him, and pass word around on Twitter for others follow him too! Ask them to retweet you. Direct them to this blog post by way of explanation.
Tweet something like this:
Follow teacher and new tweeter @d_wearne. The idea is to give him a big surprise when he wakes up!! (See www.happysteve.com/blog/help-me-create-a-surprise-pln-gift.html) Please RT!!
Then, tomorrow morning, it will be like Christmas day when he checks his account! He'll find he has a ready-made cyber-PLN (personal learning network) who he can chat with, share with, collaborate with!
An hour ago Dan had 11 followers. How many will we have tomorrow when he checks Twitter again?
How will it make him feel if he suddenly has 50 colleagues in his PLN? Or 100?
How will that make him feel when he begins tweeting about what he's trying to achieve for his students?
I know he'll thrive on Twitter.
He teaches Year 1, and his heart is absolutely set on innovating, adapting, rethinking, tinkering, renovating, to help the younglings in his care engage and learn and flourish. This included a recent total-makeover of the learning space he works in.
And he's really open to new ideas, and to conversation about learning.
Now, we all know it takes time to build a PLN. You CAN'T do it over night. I know that. It takes time to get to know people, and connect properly. Twitter was never about having heaps of followers.
None of that changes this one core idea: a Primary teacher, genuinely keen to connect, wakes up tomorrow and finds that he is part of a GLOBAL STAFFROOM!
A whole world full of colleagues, happy to welcome him into the conversation!! Spread the word, let's make it happen!
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POSTSCRIPT: If you're not on Twitter and don't know what a PLN is.
I imagine some readers don't know about Twitter or PLNs! If that's you, don't worry, it's not at all too late, but I do have to inform you that you are missing out on what is simultaneously the best PD process ever, a top quality education conference that is free, fun, and runs 24/7, and on top of all that, a joyous party! PLN stands for 'personal learning network', and it means a network of fellow educators who you can genuinely connect to, exchange ideas with and learn from. Simultaneously they benefit from your thoughts, insights, ideas. Go to Twitter, get an account, and follow @d_wearne, ha ha!! You can start from there and enjoy the journey!
A PLN is a community. It's real people sharing. I can't wait to talk to Dan tomorrow and see the look on his face!