Shift to the Future

I know, a bit of a harsh title for this post but I got your attention…  Seriously though, networking has for the most part always been important to being successful in whatever you pursue.  I think technology though has significantly amplified the importance of networking.  I believe that increasingly, in our rapidly evolving digital work and learning places, those that figure out and embrace the new forms of networking will succeed at what they do more so than those that don’t.  If you’re not on the path to networking yet, maybe now’s the time to take the first step. Friday was my last day with Coquitlam School Board and Monday will be my first with Vancouver.  I didn’t realize how many social networks I had an identity in until I started to change them for this move.  I had used my Coquitlam email address for most so I had to update all the digital spaces I participate in.  My advice after this task is that you consider using your personal email ad...

I received an email a few months ago from Twitter saying that I was four years old.  I signed up for Twitter way back in March 2007.  At the time I didn’t really have a clue what to do with the prompt “What’s happening?” and mostly forgot about Twitter until sometime in 2009.  A few colleagues had started to really use and benefit from Twitter and they kept nudging me to get on board.  I did and the rest is history… There are many different tools for various modes of networking around media and medium for video, bookmarking / tagging, blogging, socializing, sharing, business connecting, presenting, etc.  People often join social networking sites like Twitter as part of a workshop or learning series only to rarely or never return.  In my experience, the sign-up numbers vs active users are quite different.  Twitter is definitely growing though as evident in this 2010 graph: I just gave a talk and hands-on session at the BC ASBO annual meeting in...

I wrote my first blog post Feb. 8, 2007 “ my43, a place to learn and work ” (a pretty lame first post I might add) using our District’s portal (my43).  I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to write about per se but knew I had to figure out this blogging thing if I was to be able speak about it authentically.  My blog didn’t have an interesting name, it was just “Brian Kuhn’s Blog”.  I wrote about whatever I felt like, periodically, and related to my work or interests.  I wasn’t highly engaged in my blog and it wasn’t a priority for me. In late December 2009 I decided to make a change.  I signed up for a Google blog (blogger/blogspot) and called my blog “Shift to the Future” and focused on technology, education, and futuristics.  I committed to writing weekly and purposefully – my first new post, written Dec. 29, 2009 was Disruption is coming .  Why do I blog now?  Here are they key reasons: to think out loud and transparently about novel or...

I was in a lunch & learn session today with the management group in our District.  We were chatting about doing some professional growth planning and I suggested that the group look at the new ways.  Well, after a brief conceptual overview of building a personal / professional learning network (PLN), I got the job of sharing at the next lunch & learn to show how digital tools are used by professionals around the world for that very purpose.  This blog post (and a second one ) materialized for me while running on the treadmill at the gym after work and will serve as the outline and guide for the lunch & learn.  I hope that I write this in such a way that it is useful to teachers, principals, and other professionals wanting to embrace the new ways of building a PLN.  My definition for a PLN is: “a group of people who know stuff that I need to know and who might benefit from knowing stuff that I know” So, essentially a PLN forms through people you fi...