#CAMHOOBIZ - A Student Collaboration Project (and One of the Reasons Twitter is Kinda Awesome)

This school year,  I decided to fire up my Twitter account.  I was one of those people who joined Twitter back in '09 when it seemed like the only people who really used it were celebrities. I'd pop in every once in a while and tweet during a professional development session or field trip, but never consistently.  Until one day at the beginning of this school year, I noticed how many educators were on Twitter talking about best practices and instructional technology. More importantly, they were challenging each other as educators. I was floored. These people had it going on.  I knew I could no longer pretend this community didn't exist. I decided I would no longer miss out, so I joined the party.

I immediately connected with a group where I would fit right in:  the #BusEdu community.  And boy did I "meet" some cool people. I eventually branched out and connected with teachers, administrators, tech specialists, counselors, and business people from all backgrounds who challenged me with their ideas and experiences. That is EXACTLY what a PLN is supposed to do, so I am grateful.

One of those individuals is Jordan, a business teacher from Regina, Saskatchewan. He was one of the first people I made direct contact with on Twitter. I can't remember exactly how it happened (I'm sure it was Jordan's idea), but we decided it would be great to let our students collaborate. We Skyped a couple of times, planned, collaborated, and came up with an opportunity for our students to discuss their local economies, social media, and personal branding.

The students collaborated through Google Docs, blogging, and Twitter, and it was a pretty cool experience. Our students were able to discuss relevant issues with students miles away in a different country. There were times when differences were present, but more often, there were similarities. It was a great experience, and a great discussion from their perspective on social media and personal branding. I am glad to have "met" Jordan and his students, and look forward to future opportunities like these.

Campbell Biz image: Jordan McFarlen

Check out some of the discussions: #camhoobiz.