Participating vs. Listening

This morning I took time to read some of the blog posts of amazing Educators I follow on Twitter.  Here were the posts I was reading bright and early on a Sunday morning: 
- Doug Pete
- Donna Miller

Throughout reading the posts I had an opportunity to reflect on my participation in such a great network of Educators.  Since ECOO 2013, I have taken a big leap in my professional network as well as my own professional development.  I have taken time out of my day to reflect in blogs, read other blog posts and to check out the resources and tweets on Twitter.  I was surprised with the amount of amazing   

But I feel that my learning has been limited.  I have read a ton and learned something from each thing I have read.  I have tried out some of the ideas I have read about, but I still feel that something was missing. 

I figured it out today; I was taking in the information but I was not able to talk about, evaluate it, reflect on it and create those deeper discussions.  I was able to see it but not make that strong connection.  This is what I was missing.   I was missing this opportunity because the learning was very "one way."  I was reading the information but did not choose to interact and develop the material I was learning.  I choose not to participate in those conversations which affected my ability to make the connections. 

When realizing this, I also realized that it is the same in the classroom.  As a math teacher, there is a ton of opportunity for "teacher talk" but that is not what gives students the deep understanding.  Class conversations, group/paired work, investigations and trial-and-error, provide the students with a stronger understanding.  Sharing ideas and thoughts, evaluating them, making and correcting mistakes and learning from these mistakes allow students to gain an understanding that can be transferred and adapted.  

I promote this way of learning in my classroom, but I was not embracing it.  This brings me to my challenge for this week.  I need to break out of my shell and start interacting with those great ideas and the sharers of the great ideas.  My goal is to reply with my thoughts or questions to at least 8 tweets/blog posts throughout this week.  

This is personally out of my comfort zone.  I am an outgoing lady, and in person, when collaborating, I have tons of input, but it seems that once online, and with people I do not know, I am very more reserved.  Maybe it is because I am unsure on how to start (or continue) those great conversations.  Maybe it is because I am a new teacher and not sure what is "acceptable."  But these are all feelings that we went through in school and I overcame them once, so I will be able to do them again. 

What are your thoughts on participating in conversations within your online professional network?  How do you start the conversations?   How did you feel when you first started?