It's All About Who You Know

The other day, as I was cruising around one of the winding country curves near my house, a man came running up the street at me flailing his arms and screaming for me to slow down. I slammed on the brakes and tried to size up the situation.  I mean, any man willing to play a game of chicken with a car had to be a little crazy.  Before he had a chance to even say a word, I saw the issue, which was also headed straight toward me.  It seems this man's pig had decided to take a leisurely stroll right down the middle of this two-lane road. To fully understand the situation, let me divulge a few details:

1- There are no shoulders on country roads. Most often there are ditches or trees that reach out onto the road.

2- I am referring to a pig that is a country pig. I mean, 700 pounds of bacon slowly ambling up the road.

3- There's no way either one of us (me or the pig) are getting by each other.

To add to the chaos, there was another man trying to coax this creature into submission. He was begging, holding up food, and even using his full body-weight to try to push the swine toward the edge of the road and presumably home. It was like watching a cartoon-or watching a ground hog try to derail an NFL tackle. Not happening. The pig could not have cared less- and wasn't breaking his lethargic stride.

I just sat there in the car for a bit. This was not the first time (nor would it be the last) I was running late due to animal-intervention. I have been held hostage on a dirt road by a flock of turkeys that was running in circles. My cars have been accosted by deer too many times to count. I have sat patiently while a line of alpaca decided to s-l-o-w-l-y cross the road in front of me. I even followed behind a cow for miles once because it simply would not get out of my lane (I was in a no-passing zone...it just felt wrong).  Such is life in rural Virginia- there are some huge upsides to country living, but there are some unpredictable deterrents.

Teaching in rural Virginia also presented some unique opportunities, but also obstacles.  One of my biggest frustrations was feeling isolated professionally. Often I was the only teacher in the district that taught the classes I taught. I had no one to share ideas with and generate plans. I didn't know where to go for collaboration and often felt stuck with the ideas in my head.  I could go to conferences and pick up ideas, but then would stagnate. I was truly stuck to my own devices once I headed home, which presented a very real problem when I wanted to try to flip my classroom or teach the on-line Senior Project course. I realized, too, that my students were victims of operating in my cutoff classroom.  I knew there were other classes and educators out there that must feel the same as me, but I struggled to find them. Enter My Big Campus...

Connecting with other educators was effortless with all of the site features on My Big Campus that foster collaboration, building relationships, and linking people together.

My first stop was EduTalk:

EduTalk is a news feed (that can also be integrated with Twitter) specifically for educators. Reading the current trends and finding educators that share my interests and passions was simple through keyword searches and hashtags.  I can go on the general feed to make new connections and see the latest trends there. I even created my own personal feed to streamline the people I interact with most.

Speaking of personalizing my learning, I also started Following people:

By following others, their posts and insights showed up on my Activity Feed.  I could keep current with their on-line happenings and use them to generate ideas of my own.  I could also Message them to collaborate or create a think-tank. I have met incredible educators with innovative ideas and strategies through these connections.

Looking for more ways to connect? Try the Library:

                

In the Library, once you find quality resources posted by other educators, you can see who added the items as well as their other contributions.  I made dozens of connections exchanging resources with other teachers who shared my preps and interests.  My Big Campus made it easy to put me in touch with classroom leaders I had so much in common with- but would never have found otherwise!  Finally, I was truly collaborating and exchanging ideas!

Next, I discovered Topics:

Topics are global spaces for any non-student users to view/post resources, start/join discussions, meet other educators with the same interests, and expand their professional networks. Search around the Topic repository and you will surely find some relevant to you and your interests! Whether you are seeking subject-matter expertise, want to read up on 1:1 initiatives, crave some iPad collaboration, or even just need cool bulletin board ideas, we have Topics for you!

Speaking of...check out this Topic made just for educators seeking connections:

Campus to Campus

Go ahead and click and join! This new Topic is already populated with educators itching to reach out and connect with you!  Whether you want to video chat with a classroom in another region, pair students up with e-pals, or get creative in lesson-design by collaborating with other campuses, this is a one-stop shop made just for MBC users!

So, having alleviated many of my rural-teaching woes, I am still stuck with a few chagrins of country life. The pig eventually took a detour off the main road (maybe due to its owner's pleas, but I think mostly it just got bored with the terrain) and I eventually got home.  Sometimes I struggle with what to make for dinner, but it was an easy choice that night- and those pork chops were delicious!