One of Iowa’s “Claims to Fame” is the movie Field of Dreams
A famous line in the movie comes from the voices Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, hears voices coming from the cornfields … “If you build it, he will come.” Ray continues hearing the voice before finally seeing a vision of a baseball diamond in his cornfield. The field is still a tourist attraction in Iowa 25+ years later. Visit the Field of Dreams movie site here. I have first hand experience of running the bases at Dyersville! Quite a thrill.
Last night I witnessed a “Build it and they will come” moment. In 2011 a vision to build an ongoing support area for instructional coaches on Twitter was developed by Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz and myself. Each of us had a keen passion for coaching. We knew the power of a strong PLN on Twitter. We knew of other successful Twitter chats that brought people together in areas of interest. We have chatted weekly since the summer of 2011. Join us each Wednesday at 9:00 PM CST.
A chat with three moderators helps when schedules get busy. Each of us pitching in when someone can’t be there. Unfortunately last night our schedules got the best of us. Neither Jessica, Shira or I could be at the chat. We discovered the mix up late and a cancelation tweet was sent. We have had to cancel before, but last night was special.
About 9:30 I happened to check my Twitter stream while on a break. I noticed questions being asked and answered with the #educoach hashtag. The participants who had planned to attend the chat decided to hold it without the moderators. I was THRILLED. I’ve known before that educators who attend #educoach or use the hashtag to share resources value the community. The chat was developed for the coaches! It is a place for them to share resources, reflect, and ask questions. Seeing the participants stepping up and chatting at the regular time warmed my heart. I was smiling ear to ear watching it unfold.
Thank you #educoachers for making #educoach what it is today! A vibrant community of support!
If you build it, (they) will come.
Most of our chats are achieved on our Wiki. Check the wiki out here. Here is a link to last night’s participant lead chat.
Here is an infographic I made for an earlier post titled New Learning: Inforgraphics … now what?
What a great tribute to the community you created!
An inspiring piece! I am an instructional coach. I would love to check out this great resource. Thanks for sharing.
Join us every Wednesday evening at 9:00 PM CST! #educoach is a great community for instructional coaches.
Kathy
Your passion for coaching is truly bearing fruit when none of you can be there and the chat still happens! Job well done!
Thanks, Jaana. It was fun to see! 🙂
Kathy
That’s gotta feel good! I love the threaded connection to the movie line. It backs your story with powerful imagery and gave me insight into just how monumental this was for you and your colleagues. Way to go!
Thanks, Morgan. I appreciate your comments. It was a nice to watch it all unfold!
Kathy