The best way I learn about being a better teacher is through connecting with other educators. Whether locally or through networking and social media collaborations, I have discovered so many educators who inspire me to be a better teacher every day; not as an end goal, but as a continuum that never ends.

Some of the connections I have made involve my own reading and research. I have invested time in increasing my own library of pedagogical resource books and manuals to increase the resources I can lean on in discovering new and useful ways to facilitate and guide the learning of others. I keep my eyes open and my ear to the ground for pedagogical books and authors. My new favourites include George Couros (The Innovator's Mindset, Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering learners through UDL), Katie Martin (Evolving Education), Michael Fullen (Deep Learning: Engage the World, Change the World) and Elena Aguilar (Onwards: Cultivating emotional resilience in educators). Educators in my school district have even created a book club I am thankful to be part of. This is a collaboration where teachers like me can share in reading and discussing and listening to stand-out ideas over the duration of weekly google meets and then reflect together over slow Twitter chats; this type of grass-roots professional development has been more beneficial in my daily practice than any high-cost two-day school closeout. The reason, I believe, is I have control of my own professional learning. I decide the content I will participate in and the direction I take it. It is more long-term as opposed to a few hours over a few days. I am able to make connections daily between my learning and my practice. And this has been the best PL I will ever receive.

Other important connections involve the network of educators I follow on Twitter and Facebook. Engaging with ideas from all over the world has helped broaden my view of what is possible in schools. It helps me feel connected to the profession of education; its challenges and its successes, its realities and its desires. The possibility to network in this way prevents me from feeling the practices I use are outdated or not in tune with 21st Century demands of current students and society. I can make discoveries about educational research in real-time, not relying on district-led initiatives but, instead, my own. Knowing the students I work with, I can find ideas and methods that I think can meet the needs they present in the classroom. Say what you will about the plights of social media, I have found many good inspirations that have had a positive impact on my practices and philosophies in the classroom. It allows me a sense of autonomy in my learning to be a better teacher.

Click below to learn more about some of the resources and educators who continue to have an impact on my growth as a teacher and my inspirations as a learner.