Collaboration

Last night I took part in the #edchatnz meets #aussieEd twitter chat.  The questions were all based around collaboration and I actually found them quite challenging to respond to because of the many facets they could be applied to.  It was the second to last question that provoked quite a lot of response from my fellow educators:

Q6 What forms of collaboration have provided the deepest learning opportunities for you? #edchatNZ #aussieED #edchatNZquestion
— Danielle Myburgh (@MissDtheTeacher) October 30, 2014

It was debated whether Twitter was simply the "fire to spark collaboration" and to make connections rather than the place to fully collaborate and be critical. Then this response got me really thinking:

A6 Deep dive discussions with respected colleagues over crunchy issues that I'm dealing with right now. Meaningful & relevant #edchatnz
— KarenMelhuishSpencer (@virtuallykaren) October 30, 2014

And to be honest I have been thinking about this all day. The key word for me in Karen's tweet was the word respected.

I have mainly been thinking about this in the context of collaboration within schools. How many of us have a lot of choice about who we are paired with? Do you get to work alongside the person you respect or do you get put with someone who isn't really that interested in collaborating?

If we truly want to collaborate for positive change and critical reflection then I think it is essential that we choose our learning partners. May they be internal or external, there is room for both. I want to be able to bounce ideas off someone I know will ask questions and give feedback but also keep the momentum going not pop the balloon.

I am very lucky to have been selected to join the Virtual Learning Professional Development Programme (VLPD) for 2015. I get to be matched with a mentor and meet a whole lot of educators who, like me, want to collaborate. I hope that this becomes a place for me to discuss those "crunchy issues" and really push myself and my practice.

As for collaboration, out of a twitter discussion and a face to face meet up at ULearn, #WellyEd  has been born. The idea is for us to have our own connected educators network here in Wellington.  Again, another chance for collaboration.

Lots of exciting possibilities in my future...