The Relevant Educator: How Connectedness Empowers Learning
Pros: Well-Organized, Informative and practical uses included, Easy to read and apply, Information is connected to personal experiences.
Cons: No major cons... Look forward to and hope that future editions will keep up with the rapid advancements in this field. Also would love examples from a new person in the field to hear some of their experiences with becoming and staying relevant.
The Relevant Educator: How Connectedness Empowers Learning is a quick and action-packed read specific to becoming and continuing as a relevant educator. As an educator and technology specialist, a lot of what I do is connecting with others to continually grow professionally. I purchased this book in order to read with the intent to share with colleagues and peers that are looking to become more connected and relevant. It is a new world for some people, but so vital in this current educational landscape. Even as more of an advanced user of social media and connecting tools, I learned new tips and resources as well. I enjoyed this book very much and want to share my experience with it in hopes that it can be useful to you as well. Several threads you will find useful and informative in this book include:
Universal Appeal and Application
The authors do a wonderful job going through what relevancy means, talk about their journeys, and also appeal to both new and experienced educators in this area. They are able to get the reader excited right from the beginning when mentioning on p.5 (kindle) “Imagine if we had the ability to converse with people like John Dewey, the American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, or Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist who made contributions to the classification of educational objectives and to the theory of mastery-learning.” They relate this to the connected world we live in now and that we DO have the ability to connect with virtually anyone that we want to. As briefly mentioned, the authors take us on their journey as well and that A-HA moment when they realized the power of being relevant and connected. Although it can be daunting at first, they emphasize starting small and growing from there…and how to make meaningful and lasting connections. They also say that if we expect our students to connect and learn, we must be good models of lifelong learning as well and that it is time to change the negative and sometimes evil views/culture that are associated with technology at times.
Explanation of Terminology
After laying the groundwork, the authors do a good job of going through different forms of connecting. From blogs to Twitter, RSS feeds to PLN, a lot of terminology is covered. Each time something new is covered, it is not only defined but also explained as to potential uses and benefits. They go into a great deal of depth when covering Twitter, one of the most popular ways of maintaining relevancy and connecting. The last chapter of the book is dedicated to “Additional Resources and Connected Educator Vocabulary Chapter Reference Guide”. This is a valuable piece of the book where one can go and look up a term that they need defined or even share as a resource to others. The authors even add in popular Twitter hashtags and links to certain sites they mention in various chapters.
Ample Resources and Action Plan Ideas
As stated, the book talked about the importance of relevancy, but also offers many linked resources to get started. They also dedicate two chapters to “getting started” and being “The Connected Educator”. These chapters offer even the newest person in this area a foundation on which to start growing. Again, they relate their personal experiences to this which draws the reader in. It is almost like a call to action placed at the end of a very informative book. Even as a more experienced user, I took away several new resources as well as ways I can continually hone what I do to make it a more meaningful and powerful experience.
Conclusion
I found my 5-star rating in line with other reviews of this book that speak to similar points of being a resource to start and even “up our existing game”. The Relevant Educator: How Connectedness Empowers Learning appeals to a diverse audience and is an essential resource to read and share with others. It is to the point and moves from ideas to action. It is very invigorating and a quick recharge for any educator that is looking to fire up their passion and continue learning. I look forward to sharing this resource with others and connecting with them as welI. Administrators could even use this book for a staff meeting or as part of professional development in a school. I could see this as part of a summer or fall staff day, getting educators excited for the upcoming school year and laying the foundation for lifelong learning. Whitby and Anderson are relatable, positive, energizing, passionate, and thorough. I look forward to seeing future versions of this book and continuing to use the ideas and resources within to connect with others and continue being a lifelong learner. We are at an amazing point in educational history. It is nice to have this spark of passion being spread, invigorating us all to become lifelong learners, which will directly relate to the success of our students (and hopefully encourage them to be lifelong learners as well)!
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