October is Connected Educators Month

Connected, as defined by dictionary.com:

(Please click on the image for a clearer view.)

The ease in today's world with which we can connect with each other and how simply we can empower ourselves as well as others cannot be overstated.  This is why it is more important than ever that we acknowledge and celebrate October being Connected Educators Month.

There are numerous means to be better connected as an educator.  The purpose of this post is to share just a few of the resources with you in hopes you'll find something useful and meaningful.

One, visit connectededucators.org whose mission is "Helping Educators Thrive in a Connected World."  This site is perfect for resources, ideas, and plenty more regarding the idea of being connected as an educator.

Source: https://goo.gl/2u4RXs

Two. use social media to create and build your very own personal learning network (PLN.)  We are no longer limited or tied to resources only within our schools or districts.  It is simpler than ever to find educators, ideas, strategies, and more from throughout the world which can add meaningful depth to your passion for teaching and learning.  What a time to be alive!  Related Reading: Social media is (initially) more about who you follow rather than who follows you.  Read a short post with more detail about this approach on my blog here.

Three, if you are already active on social media in a professional sense, include the hashtag #ce16 (Connected Educators 2016) in your posts.  This will help you more easily find other professionals to connect with this month.

As Will Durant said, "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."  By changing the word "excellence" to "connectedness" we can make connecting with others a habit rather than a act.  This way we can all celebrate Connected Educators Month all year long.

Again, these are just a few of the many examples of how we can celebrate Connected Educators Month.  We're excited to hear about and see all of the different ways in which you are celebrating being a connected educator.  Feel free to comment below to share what being connected means to you!

Source: https://goo.gl/RvZd0d

 

Summer Reading (That Never Ends)

Summertime.  Empty classrooms.  Empty schools.  Empty brains?  Not a chance.

With the school year coming to a close we get some much needed time to relax, reflect, decompress, and re-energize.  On the other hand, it's never too early to begin thinking about next year and beyond.  Here are some ideas which may help you think about and potentially plan next year easily, seamlessly, anytime, and anywhere.

Social media is a 24/7/365 professional learning machine.  Between Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Facebook someone can learn and reflect morning (if you're a morning person), noon (30 minutes after you eat lunch, of course), and night (only if you can't sleep.)

If you haven't looked into Twitter as a professional learning tool I highly suggest it.  Absolutely anything you're looking to add depth to can be found on Twitter.  To see that in action search Twitter here.  Between having the ability to connect with experts, colleagues, peers, etc. as well as the ever-growing list of weekly educational Twitter chats learning and growth can be a virtual guarantee.  I take life, as well as a respectable amount of my professional learning, 140 characters at a time.  Twitter (and the people I have the chance to connect with there) have made me more effective and more passionate at what I do.  That's priceless.

Something as simple as following a hashtag on Twitter during the summer can have some serious value.  For example, here's #SchoologyChat.  (Schoology's live chat is the first Tuesday of every month, but the hashtag (as most are) is fairly active between chats.)

#schoologychat Tweets

Google+ is Google's social media platform.  The key to Google+ is circles.  It's easy to create meaningful spaces so you can connect with smaller groups of friends, colleagues, peers, etc. on Google+.  I have circles (small Google+ groups) for my CCSD colleagues, out of district peers, people I've connected with as a result of our Chromebook implementation, and many more.  Another powerful Google+ feature is communities which allow for connecting and sharing with like-minded people from throughout the G+ world.

I no longer bookmark websites; I create pins and boards on Pinterest instead.  Over the past two school years I have collected 1,000+ resources that can be easily accessed by me and/or shared with colleagues.  Creating collaborative group boards (so two or more people can create collections of resources in Pinterest) is simple as well.  If I find a useful resource on Twitter, Google+, or Facebook it ends up as a pin on Pinterest.

Facebook for professional learning?  It can happen.  It, just like anything else on the social media landscape, all depends on who you choose to connect with.  Whether it's a well known expert, an author, or great organizations/pages like Edutopia, TED, or Educational Technology there is (although it may not feel like it at times) plenty more than pictures of the current weather conditions from your friend's backyards on Facebook.  By expanding the way you think about how you're using Facebook you may be surprised at what you're able to come across.




Summer.  It's a time for rest, but, once again, it can also be the perfect time to get excited about the possibilities that come with a brand new school year.  Social media provides the anytime/anywhere platform.  The rest is up to you.

Happy summer learning everyone!

By the way, our department will be available to to support you during the summer if you need anything.  Please fill out our Technology and Learning Coach Request Form (found here) and we will be in touch!

The Twelve Tools of December: Padlet

During the weekdays of December, we're sharing one tool per day as part of our Twelve Tools of December series.  Some of these tools are designed to be used instructionally, some can help you be more productive, and some are just fun.

Today is our last day and we're sharing about Padlet.  

What is it?

Padlet is a website that is an online bulletin board. It is also a Chrome web app and Padlet Mini is an extension in Chrome. Padlet makes it easy for you to collaborate and share your thoughts and ideas without having to create accounts! Your audience just needs to click on the board to add an idea. You can even drag files to the board to go with the comments.  

Why would I use it?  What does it do?

Padlet is a great tool for teachers and students. You can use it as a back channel for classroom discussions, feedback and Q&As, group responses, feedback, etc. All your students or colleagues need to do is click on the Padlet screen to add their note. Check out the Privacy Policy for using Padlet with students under the age of 13.

Where can I learn more?

Check out the review of Padlet on Graphite to see what teachers think of it and how they're using it in their classrooms. Padlet has a Gallery where you can see samples that others are using for inspiration, as well as the Frequently Asked Questions page where you can get your questions answered. You can also find Padlet samples in their Gallery page.

http://padlet.com/gallery

Check out this education sample from the Padlet Gallery:

Created with Padlet

We hope you've enjoyed out Twelve Tools of December posts!  Check back with us in January for our Tuesday Tech Tips!

Personalized Professional Learning

Personalized Professional Learning

Standards---yes, we use them to guide our teaching but did you know that there are standards for professional learning too? Learning Forward is an organization devoted to professional learning.  They state that:

“The standards make explicit that the purpose of professional learning is for educators to develop the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions they need to help students perform at higher levels. The standards are not a prescription for how education leaders and public officials should address all the challenges related to improving the performance of educators and their students. Instead, the standards focus on one critical issue -- professional learning.”  

Indeed, you have been a part of professional development or learning in the past.  Many times the PD or PL includes an outside source telling you what you should learn or develop. I am sure that you can reflect on times when the PD was “great” or “just what you needed”.

Likewise, there have certainly been occasions when the time that you spent being developed fell short.  What if you took some control over what you learned?  This is not to suggest that you ditch the next PD session you are invited to.  Instead, this is to remind you that you have options.  

Below are some things to think about as you take more control over your learning!  

• Visit this guide from EdSurge for Brewing your Own Professional Development

• Consider using Twitter to create a Professional Learning Network or PLN.  Check out this post on the topic.  You do not have to be an expert or even know how to tweet.  Set up an account and start searching for topics that you are interested in.  Soon you will find yourself following others and learning from them.  When you are ready, you might just start to find your voice in 140 characters or less.  For a little more wisdom on twitter, look at this blog.

• Visit Connected Educators.  This is a site dedicated to help educators thrive in a connected world.  Bet you did not know that this is Connected Educators Month?  

• Participate in a webinar- Many companies have free webinars that you can sign up for.  Being part of an actual webinar is exciting as you have an opportunity to ask and hear questions in real time.  Can’t make the specified time?  Don’t worry. Often times if you have signed up to be a participant you can watch an archived version at a later date.  
• Here are a few to check out: 
• EdWeek
• The Center for Learning
• ASCD
• Learning Forward

The challenge is up to you.  Decide.  What do you want to learn about.  Take charge and investigate.  You will thank yourself.  

What Works for Me on Twitter: Lists

Does your Twitter timeline tend to overwhelm you from time to time?  Is someone posting random tweets that keep you from accessing the useful information you joined Twitter for?  Do you have a group of people that post tweets regarding a similar topic most of the time?  If any, some, or all of the above situations apply to you it's time to begin setting up some Twitter lists.

Many users aren't aware of this, but you are a mere few clicks away from way more control over what you see and when on Twitter.  Simply click on your settings wheel in the upper right hand corner of your Twitter home page and you're on your way to a less complicated and more valuable experience with Twitter.

The main Twitter list "pane" looks like this.

Click on the "Create list" button to get started.  Here are the options to choose from:

Give the list a name.  Add a description if it will help you or your audience know what information and/or who is included in the list.  Also be aware that the list you create can be private only to you or be shared with others.  Pro Tip: Explore the public lists of the people you enjoy following most to find other Twitter members you may like to follow as well.

If you ever want to go back to a list, rename it, edit the description, or make a private list public or vice versa, simply go to the list and click on the "Edit" button here:

 
Also, clicking the "Member of" button here,

will allow you to see which public lists other Twitter users have placed you on.  See who may be stalking you because you're awesome!

As seen in the images, I have two lists associated with the Twitter account I use professionally.  One list, titled "IT Team" is there to make sure that I don't miss any tweets the colleagues on my team posts.  I follow them in the traditional way, but if I'm not on my timeline at the right time I could miss an important tweet of theirs and I don't want that to happen.  The other list I created is simply titled "List."  I have reserved this list for a few people that I really want to follow, but they just post too much during the day.  This way I can still see their tweets, but now I see their tweets when I want to see them instead of when they post them.

There are many reasons to create a list on Twitter.  I was speaking from experience in my examples earlier.  Your reasons may be different than mine, but one thing we can agree on is that having a little more control over when you see particular tweets from particular people is a positive thing.

So this should hopefully get you started with lists.  Enjoy the new control you have over your timeline and let your more personal Twitter experience work better for you.

(For further information about the creation and use of lists on Twitter the great people at Edudemic have you covered.  Click here for a post about how to create Twitter lists and click here for some perspective on how to manage information from your PLN via Twitter lists.)

Note: This is a cross post from my CCSD blog, also under our district Google domain.  A link to my blog is here if you're interested in reading a little more about various topics.  Find me on Twitter here and visit and follow one, some, or all of my boards on Pinterest here.  Let's get connected! 

Professional Learning, Anytime and Anywhere

Early to an appointment at a school?  Potential for professional learning.

Waiting to get my haircut?  Potential for professional learning.

Waiting in line at the grocery store?  Potential for professional learning.

Anytime I have access to my phone, iPad, and the Internet in general I have almost direct access to professional learning sources.  How is that?

I am putting this out there because I truly believe it (and I'll even type it in bold font to show that I'm totally serious): There is no better place for asynchronous/self-paced professional learning than Twitter and Twitter helps me be more effective at what I do.  Period.

October is Connected Educators Month and I wanted share the tool that continues to shape my passion for what I do while, at the same time, allowing me the potential to connect, talk, and share with people across our school district, our state, the United States, and potentially the world.

It's a fact that Twitter itself has useless things on it.  There isn't much on the Internet, especially social media, today that doesn't.  Twitter though, along with many other places, allows users to filter the "noise" by providing the chance to follow and highlight who you want.  Also, with Twitter lists, users can control when they see tweets from other Twitter users while potentially making sure that tweets about like subjects can be found all in one place.  Weekly Twitter hashtag chats allow users to tweet about like topics during particular days and times with people who have similar interests and passions from around the world.  Twitter can very easily be leveraged as a one-way tool as well.  Users don't need to or have to post personal tweets.  Just follow users that share information that's useful to you and that can be it.  These are just a few of the many benefits of using Twitter professionally in some way, shape, or form.

Quite frankly, and in my humble opinion, the excuses for educators/educational leadership for not being a participant on Twitter for professional learning are beginning to dwindle.

I am planning a post series entitled "What Works for Me on Twitter" in the near future that will help you get started and going on Twitter.  I simply wanted to set the stage as a whole with this post.

Stay tuned...

Note: This is a cross post from my CCSD blog, also under our district Google domain.  A link to my blog is here if you're interested in reading a little more about various topics.  Find me on Twitter here and visit and follow one, some, or all of my boards on Pinterest here.  Let's get connected!