Luck doesn't usually happen without preparation. In my case, today, luck comes from a year and a half of building a community, from the experience of writing for a chat each week, and from twenty years of teaching.
I was having trouble coming up with a chat topic for the #2PencilChat this week. I had ideas, but then I realized that it was going to be Valentine's Day, and I thought, "I should probably do a love chat." We did one after the Orlando shootings last year. But that was a different type of love chat. That was about using love in the classroom and in your career. Our Valentine's Chat was going to be a letter to the things we love.
It felt kind of hack to me. Like, yeah, duh, easy. But the thing is, the #2PencilChat - even with its somewhat rotating cast list - has consistently been a weekly meeting of big-hearted and creative souls. In a year and a half, I don't think that's wavered. I'm really happy about that. The only credit I can take for this is that I've been able to come up with decent enough questions each week to keep these awesome people interested. Even so, it makes me feel super good each week.
But again, list your favorite this, list your favorite that, it felt hacky to me. But the crew came through, as ALWAYS. By the end of the evening, it was very clear that we had a valuable resource. The people we love (Q1)? What a great resource for WHO to follow on Twitter. My favorite peoples' favorite people? Amazing. And the same happened with other questions. We have the best companies for teachers to engage, the best project ideas, the best quotes, the best sources of inspiration, it was an amazing night.
I was gonna compile it, but one of my favorite resources makes it so I don't have to. Participate has a great tool for creating chat transcripts, and it's embed-able.
Check it out, just click on the Questions and Answers tab to get to the meat of the chat:
I was having trouble coming up with a chat topic for the #2PencilChat this week. I had ideas, but then I realized that it was going to be Valentine's Day, and I thought, "I should probably do a love chat." We did one after the Orlando shootings last year. But that was a different type of love chat. That was about using love in the classroom and in your career. Our Valentine's Chat was going to be a letter to the things we love.
It felt kind of hack to me. Like, yeah, duh, easy. But the thing is, the #2PencilChat - even with its somewhat rotating cast list - has consistently been a weekly meeting of big-hearted and creative souls. In a year and a half, I don't think that's wavered. I'm really happy about that. The only credit I can take for this is that I've been able to come up with decent enough questions each week to keep these awesome people interested. Even so, it makes me feel super good each week.
But again, list your favorite this, list your favorite that, it felt hacky to me. But the crew came through, as ALWAYS. By the end of the evening, it was very clear that we had a valuable resource. The people we love (Q1)? What a great resource for WHO to follow on Twitter. My favorite peoples' favorite people? Amazing. And the same happened with other questions. We have the best companies for teachers to engage, the best project ideas, the best quotes, the best sources of inspiration, it was an amazing night.
I was gonna compile it, but one of my favorite resources makes it so I don't have to. Participate has a great tool for creating chat transcripts, and it's embed-able.
Check it out, just click on the Questions and Answers tab to get to the meat of the chat:
