Connected Educator Profile (Day 5) - Tom Murray - Bucks County, PA

The United State Department of Education has declared the month of October Connected Educator Month. According to ConnectedEducators.org,  the website set up to support this event, the Mission of Connected Educator Month is to  promote educators learning and collaborating through online communities of practice and social networks.With this in mind I reached out to my Personal Learning Network (PLN) via Twitter, my favorite resource for connecting, and tweeted the following:

As is normally the case, my network came through! When I have a question on an educational topic or want some feedback for one of my crazy ideas, I have a network of amazing educators at my fingertips that never cease to amaze me. Being a "Connected Educator" is awesome!

Today's Connected Educator Profile

Tom Murray, Director of Technology and Cyber Education
Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Why do you choose to be a connected educator?

Simply put, being a connected educator allows me to learn from a global network, from people of all walks, position titles, etc., who challenge my thinking, encourage my initiatives, and force me to be better tomorrow than I was today. My PLN has inspired my work and pushed me to be the very best that I can be....for kids.

Where can other educators connect with you online?  

Twitter - @thomascmurray  

Follow Tom on Google+  

Friend Tom on Facebook

Tom's Website -  http://www.thomascmurray.com/

Related articles

• Connected Educator Profile (Day 4) - Scot Wright - Ore City, Texas (patrickmlarkin.com)
• Connected Educator Profile (Day 3) - Mark Engstrom - Sao Paolo, Brazil (patrickmlarkin.com)
• Connected Educator Profile (Day 2) - Alan Stange - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (patrickmlarkin.com)
• Connected Educator Profile (Day 1) - Kathy Schrock - Cape Cod, MA (patrickmlarkin.com)

Growing Your PLN Video

I had the chance to spend some time in a Google Hangout tonight to discuss how educators can grow their Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) using Twitter.  It was a privilege to be included in this discussion with an impressive group of educator. The discussion included Nick Provenzano (an high school English Teacher from Michigan), Lisa Dabbs  (a former Principal, blogger for Edutopia, and currently an Education Consultant), Lyn Hilt (a former Elementary Principal and current tech. integration coach in PA), and the organizer of the session Tom Murray (Director of Technology and Cyber Education in Bucks County, PA).

The discussion referenced the following questions:

  What’s a personal learning network and why should educators be connected?

• How have you used Twitter to make connections and grow professionally?  
• What’s your connected educator story?
• How can educators get started?  Where do they even begin?
• How can educators increase the size of their learning network?
• How can Twitter be used for Professional development?
• What other advice do you have for people looking to get started?