Not Connected / Accepted In Your Home Town?

I teach a class through Fresno Pacific University called ET 735-Creating on the Web. This is one of the weekly devotional thoughts for that class.

Week 4: Not accepted in your home town (or at your school site)

Luke 4:22-28, NLT

Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.” When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.

There was lots of need in Israel, but God led Elijah to meet the needs of those OUTSIDE of Israel.

You may or may not be respected for your new-found expertise…others on other campuses, districts, states, countries may accept it far easier. Embrace this affirmation and acceptance. thrive within it. You are NOT disrespectful to your school-site colleagues if you do so.

This resonates with page 68 from Whittaker, et al:

She had just finished “wowing” the crowd with a powerful message which demonstrated her expertise and knowledge, providing relevant examples for audience members to learn from and take back to their respective schools. What was interesting was that no one back in her home school had ever seen her present or asked her to share her expertise with educators in her own district, yet here she was on a national stage engaging, inspiring, and empowering a roomful of educators from across the nation who did not know her personally. Here stood this teacher with a tremendously high skill set, valued, respected, and admired by her PLN and non PLN educators, yet ignored and sometimes even knocked down by her own co-workers. Connected educators lean on their PLN during these difficult times to persevere and push through. Making the decision to reach beyond the walls of your own workplace or school community to learn and grow—somewhat ironically, we think—may create feelings of resentment within some of your colleagues.

Have you ever felt this way? Leave a comment below! 

Never Tire of Giving to your PLN

I teach a class through Fresno Pacific University called ET 735-Creating on the Web. This is one of the weekly devotional thoughts for that class.

Week 5: Never tire of giving to your PLN

It was uncanny how the chapters in Whittaker’s (et al) book this week resonated with what we read in Scripture. The authors advise us to not be selfish...to give, give, give... and we will see the results when we need to “take” something from our PLN. Here are a few Scripture references that especially seem to fit:

Luke‬ ‭6:30-31, 34-35, 38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ””
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2 Corinthians‬ ‭9:6-11, 13‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.”
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Galatians‬ ‭6:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
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To the original hearers and readers, these verses obviously refer to physical, material possessions. Sharing with the materially poor and needy, etc… However, in 2015, when the information age, the attention economy, and intellectual property dominate the way our culture functions, I believe that this applies to being generous with things we can share via our PLN.

Aim high in how you present yourself

I teach a class through Fresno Pacific University called ET 735-Creating on the Web. This is one of the weekly devotional thoughts for that class.

Week 2: Be clear about who you are, and what you have to offer

The disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus who he was, and Jesus told them to report back what they had seen and heard:

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Matthew 11:2-6 NIV)

Jesus had a clear demonstration of who he was and what he had to offer. What he said about himself is certainly a topic worthy of lots of time and focus. In this passage, though, he points to his actions, and the results of his actions.

We want our online presence to be accessible, organized, and professional-looking. We can tell people all day long that we are organized and professional, but if our online presence does not reflect that, then our potential audience will not believe it, and won't stick around for long.

For our online presence to attract the kind of rich conversation and high-quality educational professionals that we would like to have in our PLN, we need to think very strategically about how we present ourselves online.

Who you are will be clear by what you do and share.