I have always had the desire to grow and continue to learn. I had depleted my collection of educational books. I was caught up on all the blogs, chats, and newsletters. I needed a new topic to scour the internet for literature about, or a book about some new technique to help students be as successful as possible, or whatever.

I had seen a book advertised on Twitter called The Four O'clock Faculty. It's about going rogue with your professional development. It seemed like what I had been waiting for!

Right about the same time, my edu-nerd friend, Elizabeth Merce told me about this app that she had started using. She said there was a group on it and they were doing a book study on the very same book. So what the heck! The app was free after all.

Little did I know how life changing this one little app would be for me. The people in the group are diverse in almost every aspect from location and position in education to their background and where they are in their life. The one constant is that every single one of us is our desire to grow and continue to learn.

We exhausted every topic presented in the book and all that grew from our discussions. We shared literature to delve deeper into some topics. We inspire one another.

That I had depleted my collection of educational books and decided to give it a try. was in January of 2018. Now, almost a year later, I have transformed from a teacher who was thinking about expanding her knowledge of best practices into an educator who seeks out topics to explore, conferences to attend, and All The Things!

I have broadened my horizon and connected with so many diverse educators across the continent. From that little book study, we have grown into a family of educators who seek knowledge, opinions, and expertise from the members of the #4ocfpln.

I hope we are proving that the original 4 o'clock faculty is proud of what we have cultivated over the past year. It was entirely organic how it happened.

In retrospect, we have all wondered whether it was it the members who made this group so cohesive? Or was it the book itself that drew us to linger in a book study that had ended?

We may never know. And, truth be told, it may never happen again or be replicated. No matter what, I am so glad I attended the CoffeeEdu with Elizabeth Merce early in the morning over winter break.

I will always remember the moment when she told me to download the app and join the group. It was a life changing moment that I do not regret. Actually I am extremely grateful that I jumped feet first into Voxer and the #4ocfpln.

#LifeChangingMoments