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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Kentucky Connected Educator Leanna Prater



In what ways are you a connected educator?
I am a connected educator because I seek out people and information to build my personal woven network for learning. I’m connect to educators, coworkers, researchers and community members, including some that I have never met in person.  My personal learning network is just a tweet, email, text or post away and available 24/7.  Being connected is a two-way street, while I love to get ideas from others it is just as important that I share as well.

How does being connected impact your practice in schools/classroom?
My classroom is really teachers, since I provide professional development and support to them and their students.  In technology, the tools are constantly changing so being able to ask questions to experts or share new ideas with others in a quick manner is important to me.  I remember how isolated I felt when I first began teaching, before the internet had made its way into our homes and classrooms. My only means of contact with other educators, parents or students outside of school was by the “old school technologies” of telephone, paper/pencil or face to face.  I really noticed the impact of being connected when I became interested in new technologies such as robotics.  My need to know how to use LEGO Mindstorms with my students drove my quest for finding a more knowledgeable other.  I relied on contacts I had made at conferences, local professors and other educators to help me understand the power of this tool.  My students benefited from the knowledge of people I had connected with over the years. Now, if I have a question or struggling with a solution, I have a large group of contacts that I can reach out to for advice and ideas.  By navigating the waters of social media, unconferences and online educational communities for professional use, I’ve been able to share those experiences with other teachers and help them begin their own journey towards being a connected educator.

How does being connected impact you as a professional?
Before the ability to connect easily with others, my professional growth as an educator was limited to only a few choices due to budgets, location or professional development offerings in my school or district. Being a connect educator has allowed me to grow as professional in ways that were difficult before.  One of my favorite things to do is attend free educational unconferences like meetups and edcamps. These organic gatherings allow me to tap into the expertise of those in attendance, ask my own questions and share with others things I learn best by talking with others!   I typically continue those conversations with people I’ve connected with face to face through Twitter chats.  Last spring, I spent some time following teachers chatting in WV on twitter and learned about an edcamp in my hometown.  I was so excited to be able to connect with some teachers in our neighboring state and share work that we are doing here as well as learn about the great work they are doing, too!


What advice or resources would you recommend to colleagues interested in becoming connected?
As for resources, I really enjoy Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and edWeb.  They are very different and allow me to connect to others in different ways. For example, I use Pinterest to follow group resources posted by organizations and other educators on topics like digital citizenship or STEM.  I use Twitter for both Twitter chats (scheduled conversations on topics grouped by hashtags) and to follow educators with similar interests as well as researchers and authors I enjoy.  For conversations over time on topics like game based learning and educational technology, I use edWeb.  Facebook is more personal but it allows me to keep in touch with friends who are teachers.
I would find something you feel comfortable with and try it out. Most importantly, remember you have a voice!  You are doing great things in your classroom that others would love to know about, too.

Bio:Leanna Prater, M.A. Ed. is a as a District Technology Resource Teacher for Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, KY where she conducts professional development and provides supports to educators in the area of instructional technology, including game authoring software like Scratch and LEGO Robotics! She is also doctoral candidate in Instructional Systems Design in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Kentucky, College of Education.  Her research interests include digital game-based learning, play, new forms of  authentic assessment and computational thinking.  Outside of work and graduate school, she enjoys spending time with her family, baking and making things!

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