Kentucky Connected Educator Day 24

Digital Citizenship Week takes us across the globe via Kentucky e-learning...

El khdar Abdelmoula

Kentucky-e-Learning Educator

Youssef Ben Tachfin High School

Khouribga, Morocco

In what way (s) are you a connected educator?

I’m always connected or looking for better ways to be connected. ‘Connected’ means that I belong to a global world. I’m connected when I establish collaborative works with other schools through virtual platforms to share and exchanges ideas and projects. I also connect when I participate in virtual professional training courses that bear tremendous effects on my teaching profession and academic pursuit.

How does being connected impact your practice? 

Being connected makes me believe that I belong to a flat world where frontiers are compressed and distances are mitigated. The power I invest in my teaching comes from the incentives that I get from the power of connection. I learn every single day that I’m not alone when I face troubles. I hear people’s stories and build on them. When I’m connected I adopt success and dispel failure. I build scaffolds for my creative ideas and usher them towards the end of the tunnel. Dreams grow into schemes and new horizons appear on the limitless sky of my universe.

One concrete example is when I took some PD courses with Kentucky Virtual School, I learnt much and invested that learning in my actual teaching. I had become better. One time we even had an online collaboration with a class from Kentucky; our students shared cultural insights regardless of distances and had much fun and importantly knew in their hearts that people can have the same dreams and aspirations regardless of their language and the ample materials they have. We all play in a field which is being leveled and we can see each other from a big distance, virtually but truly!

How does being connected impact you as a professional?

I believe in the notion of self-made man as suggested by Benjamin Franklin. The idea of being connected helps me achieve this value of independency to improve my professional life and the life of people around me.  Independency doesn’t mean I don’t interact with other people. It just means I can do whatever they can do but need much room for thinking and unconditional motivational push. I strive everyday to be better person.  I also use other models for success to build on their strengths and avoid their pitfalls. Even when I fail, it is often a good sign that I’ve really tried hard.

What advice or resources would you recommend to colleagues interested in becoming connected?

“Go for it”.  We learn when we are involved. Being connected is the shortcut to being involved. The world has changed tremendously and one needs to move beyond ones’ comfort zone. The only comfort in this busy life is when you know that there are other people just in the other corner listening to you attentively and compassionately.

Abdel was one of several Moroccan teachers who participated in online professional learning courses offered through the eLearning Ky grant. He participated in courses facilitated by Melissa Ferrell and they have stayed in touch over the years.