Learning
July 25, 2016

Principal Spotlight: Getting Connected Changed Everything

Todd Nesloney
A man takes a selfie with a group of students

If only I had known how much becoming a “connected educator” would have changed my life, I would have done it long before my 5th year of teaching.

I still remember Troy Mooney (my Assistant Superintendent at the time) telling me I needed to be on Twitter. I needed to share my ideas online. I told him he was crazy and I wasn’t interested (politely of course).

But then I went ahead and started up an account.

My how things changed in the last 3-4 years.

My world has exploded all because I chose to take that leap and put myself out there. It wasn’t always easy, it was often scary, and many times I felt like my ideas would never measure up to the other things people were sharing.

I will always remember Angela Maiers telling me that by keeping my ideas silent I was doing a disservice to others in our field. We must share!

And now I look back over the last year or two. I went from Classroom Teacher straight to Campus Principal, because of Twitter. Because someone saw what I was doing, reached out, and convinced me to lead a campus.

I just co-authored my very first book, “Kids Deserve It!” with my friend Adam Welcome. A friend, who up until a year ago, I had never even met. Yes, we wrote and published a book (with Dave Burgess Publishing) in less than a year Oh, and we’ve only met in person about 4 or 5 times.

And now in addition to being a Campus Principal of Webb Elementary in Navasota, Texas, I get to travel the country speaking and presenting about education!

Social media is powerful. Telling your story is powerful. Walking out on a limb and sharing your successes as well as your failures is powerful.

Social media has rocked my world. It has affected not only my professional life, but my personal as well.

So what are you waiting for? Take that leap! Be Brave. Join us on social media. Because you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and I love saying I surround myself with the best people in the world. Literally.

Pick up a copy of “Kids Deserve It!” today and connect with me at @TechNinjaTodd or @KidsDeserveIt and join the conversation at #KidsDeserveIt

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