Since making an effort to become more of a “connected educator” over the past two years I have found that there are so many ways to reach out, learn and be inspired by others. By accessing community members, colleagues on Twitter, Google + groups and the like I have learned about great projects and initiatives. Two that I’ve been very excited about this fall are International Dot Day, and Global Read Aloud.
Today my class participated in International Dot Day. Dot Day is a day (or week) where children, teachers, parents and others come together to “Create Bravely”. The international event is a spin off of Peter H. Reynolds children’s book The Dot, and it is a wonderful way to introduce global projects to a class. The Dot Club website proudly boasted almost 1.8 million participants in 81 countries.
What I learned today was how fun it is to take part in a huge global initiative, but to share that experience with fellow teachers and students around the school. As teachers walked around today after school there was a buzz in the air as we looked at the amazing dots created by students and staff in the various classrooms. Though it was one simple idea, there was such diversity in the dots. It really highlighted how different and creative we all are!