Beyond the Dream Lies the Reality

Yesterday, Twitter surfing was a fascinating venture of finding just the right links to gain knowledge and broaden my educational perspective. Continuing with my #nerdlution to grow as a learner, one tweet led to another, then to a blog, and so on - a continual cycle of learning. Facts and thoughts for future blogs, tweets, or training sessions became my treasure, while last minute links to multi-modal tools for young writers rounded off the experience. 

 

The word, dream, surfaced several times during the afternoon, allowing me time to ponder on that one little word. I was intrigued to note that January 13th was “Make Your Dream Come True Day.” Although I never heard of this event, I thought of those who have looked beyond their dreams for opportunities and open doors. Albert Einstein once said, "Nothing happens unless first we dream." Thinking back on Monday night’s experience as a co-moderator for #nyedchat, I reflected on the amazing conversations among educators from around New York State and Connecticut that led to the realization of a dream, to make NYEDChat a linked community of practitioners on Twitter and the voice of New York State educators. For me, this act of connecting with like-minded people to hone my craft as an educator became the benefit of joining the NYEDChat professional learning network. 

As with any fast-paced, engaging chat, tweeters popped in regularly while newbies slowly made their move into the threaded conversation led by co-moderator, Blanca Duarte, and me. Retweeting and greetings were handled by the moderating team of Bill Brennan, Tony Sinanis, and Starr Sackstein. It appeared that everyone enjoyed the new activity created for the chat, tagging one more voice to join the conversation. This hook became the highlight of the night when Tom Whitby and Chris Lehman, both recognizable names in the Twitter world of education, came into the house. The choir of many voices and the desire to link with others brought the vision of a connected community to life. At the end of the chat, the last NYEDChat moderator, Vicki Day, returning from a lengthy Board meeting, spent time post-convo archiving the chat with Storify so that all the tweeters could remember the event that rocked New York State ed world conversations. Needless to say, this chat broadened our membership to include more than the original dozen or so voices. 

On Monday night, the NYEDChat moderators found that beyond the dream lies the reality of New York educators freely conversing on educational topics, regardless of regional boundaries.

When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream.

When we are dreaming with others it is the beginning of reality.

Dom Heller Camara

As we move into 2014, consider joining #nyedchat every other Monday night at 8:30 pm (or designated time for that session) to link with colleagues as we become the voice of New York State Educators. I, along with the other moderators, invite you to look beyond the original dream to the endless possibilities that await us, for in the horizon lies the reality of a connected educational community in New York State.