Bahahaha.  I am not trying to be contrary, I totally think this is a great annual theme for educators.  But my last few days have pointed out to me I may do better to limit myself to some quality connections versus stockpiling them like a cold war arms race.

This past weekend I signed up for Project24’s “Digital Learning Transitions” MOOC-Ed for first semester.  Why yes, how sweet of you to remind me that I dropped out of Blended Schools Network’s MOOC last spring after 2 of the 5 modules.  But this time will be different.  I hope.  Did I also mention I signed up for Kennesaw State University’s K-12 Blended & Online Learning MOOC for second semester?  But I *know* I’ll finish that one, it is for PLUs.  And *everyone* knows that is what truly motivates all teachers.

Yesterday morning I started by knowing I should set a good example (who knows for whom) and try to connect in a new way.  I read Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s tweet on Screen Shot 2013-09-25 at 8.58.30 AMedConnectr which prompted me to register at another site where I connect with other  educators , to gain/offer assistance/expertise.  Because look a that tweet?  Who doesn’t want to join that?  P.S. I don’t read whole books lately, so I don’t know why the one about the book club spoke to me.

That got me thinking about the community I had joined last Spring, edWeb.  I looked through the groups I had joined, but not really participated in with a bit of remorse.  I paged through some educators in my state and found someone with a job which totally intrigued me.  We have now connected via Google+ and Twitter.

Before dinner I took a call from a teacher friend looking for feedback on a class visitation today.  He also asked me to look into a ed tech tool: yudu.com  Screen Shot 2013-09-25 at 6.17.41 PM  Sure, I can look at that sometime.  So I wrote it down on a post-it note and stuck it my my work badge – where is still is the next day until I have to remove it to give a tour to “professionals” – which I assume don’t have to resorting to sticking things to themselves to accomplish tasks.

After dinner I was reading Twitter and saw an upcoming chat which sounded interesting – #makered.  Encouraged by a colleague, I started following the hashtag.  I introduced myself as a lurker, but then was immediately engaged by four of the participants.  I think they maybe have felt they were the anti-#edchat group with their time slot.  So now I have great supplemental reading from my new twitter friends on Maker-Stuff, a lot of resources, which I now have/want to make the time to consume.  Within this chat window I found Airplay on the new iOS7 for my son (hiding in plain sight), changed an epic diaper blow-out for my other son and did the dishes.

Whew.

The next morning I went for a walk and the only thing I could get to work on my iPhone was the pedometer.  Podcastomatic, my usual workout fix of edtech items wasn’t working.  I could not raise the podcasts in iTunes either.  Pandora couldn’t play either.

Geez, I felt a bit naked without some media telling me something.

It was quiet.  I could hear my own breath, I could hear the rain sneak up behind me gently. I was quiet.

Aside from revealing to you my wandering mind, don’t you think this is just too much for any one person? I am already connected. I may be trying to sustain a pace which is only the induction phase of connectedness, and that is too steep to for me.