Is Sharing Optional for Educators?

Sharing Online Resources

Sometimes I tell my students, and even my grandsons, that I’m an education geek. Yes, they do roll their eyes. After all, they are adolescents, and I am talking about school in the middle of summer vacation in Maine! Regardless of their reactions, I really love to stay connected with other educators. I get excited about new ideas, research, and practices and am eager to share them. 

When I think about what to post on this blog, I often have to stop and check myself. Too often, I mistakenly think I should be sharing something totally new, creative, and innovative. Then I am reminded of Picasso’s quote: “Good artists, copy. Great artists, steal.” Even Picasso recognized, as do all good teachers, that we all “steal” ideas from each other.  "Steal" may be a harsh word to use...perhaps "share" would be more accurate.

After I watched Dean Shareski’s “Moral Imperative” YouTube video about sharing resources online, my thoughts were validated. I felt redeemed. He states that, in today’s technological world, sharing online is no longer an option…it is an “ethical responsibility.” Shareski explains why this statement from Ewan Mcintosh resonates with him: “Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in addition to the work of an educator. It is the work.”   

Do you agree with Shareski and Mcintosh? How do you share online resources with others? How does your school? Your district?

Michael Lamoureux, the technology integrator in MSAD #15 where I work, sent me the article, “Distracted by Tech? Address the Problem, Not the Symptom”.  Written by Lydia Leimbach, the tech integrator at Hall Dale High School in RSU #2, it was included in the June 2014 edition of Electronic Educator. She asserts that when students install proxies, hide websites, or download non-educational apps, it is another manifestation of the age-old problem of students being distracted and disengaged from learning. She writes: “Distraction, procrastination, defiance—they are all symptoms of the same problem. Disengagement. It’s our job as teachers to figure out WHY. It’s not about ‘who’s fault’ it is. It’s about finding solutions. Forward motion in the goal.”

Leimbach lists a variety of suggestions about how to limit distractions and hold students accountable. Check them here.  Do they make sense to you? What works for you in your classroom?

Here’s to sharing!