Social Media & PLN's - Why being online changes the game.

I'm not much for complication.  I believe things should be simple.  Still, there is a struggle there.  Too much stuff to think about, too many ideas and in the end, not enough collaboration with like minds.


What I have found to be perhaps the biggest learning experience this year is that I can collaborate with folks I believe in.  People that seem to be pushing forward in similar ways than I am.

I keep tabs of several educators, principals, edtech folks and of course keep tabs on school fundraising as well as non-profit trends.  Although I know plenty of folks, they may not know me and that's O.K.

That's because my PNL - personal learning network is a group of people that I keep track of and gather insight from on various social media, blog, ning and video sites.   Basically, my PLN is comprised of whomever I want to gain insight from at any moment.

It's all at my fingertips when I'm on the grid.

Do some folks know about me online?  Sure!  But they may not realize that I am the VP of a fundraising company that is not satisfied with the way funding in schools is working tirelessly to change it.  They may not understand just how many boundaries I've pushed to help schools raise more less often while offering quality and value.  I may just be in favor of the paperless classroom and technology in the classroom more then many of the folks in my PLN are.

I may just be the perfect resource for them now or in the future BUT they just haven't realized I would be good for their PLN yet.  Again, it's O.K.!

Some have even blocked me.  Yes!  I have been blocked by some folks on twitter where I have nearly 4,600 followers (Believe Kids on twitter).  I think it's because they think I promote my company online, but I don't and never have.

What I know is that I am a better person as a result of the knowledge and resources Social Media such as twitter and facebook have provided as well as the ability for me to share my ideas on thefundraisingpln.com and my personal elementary school fundraising blog.

I'm a member of The educators pln as well and if you are in education, you should be too!

It's ok that most folks aren't hip to the resources I count on daily or offer up daily.  I believe that with the help of other PLN fans and educators that are pushing the limits, great changes are underfoot!  Education is the key even for educators if that makes sense and parent groups can use insight as to how to effectively fundraise even if they want to do their own thing.

In the end, it's all good.  I enjoy the collaboration, learning, teamwork and like-mindedness I run into daily using easy and free tools that are always there just waiting for me to learn from!  

Here's to the future of Social Media and PLN's!

Take a look at the SlideCast: 7 Easy Ways to Create Your Very Own PLN