Where Would You Like to Go Today? Exploring Google’s Mapping Tools to Promote Creation in the Classroom

One of the things I enjoy about summers as an educator is that we have a little more time to seek out new learning. For me this takes many different forms. I usually read some new books over the summer, I often take a class or two, and I attend a few conferences or workshops. I also enjoy the opportunity to facilitate sessions at conferences or workshops. Not only does this help me feel that I am contributing to the learning of others, but I always gain new knowledge and some tips and tricks from participants as well.

In the last few weeks I've had several opportunities to facilitate professional learning sessions for educators. I helped lead two workshops designed to assist teachers as they move toward implementation of Iowa's new Social Studies Standards and I've been a part of two different conferences. At each of these conferences I helped facilitate sessions on using Google's mapping tools to promote student creation in the classroom. This is a perfect fit for my interests and my dual roles as an Instructional Technology Consultant and a Social Studies Consultant. As an added bonus, my co-presenter for both of these sessions was my wife. We've both been in education for 20 years and we've presented at many conferences and professional learning sessions, but until now we had never presented together.

Our goal was to present a session to demonstrate uses of Google My Maps, Tour Builder, and Tour Creator with a focus on creation over consumption. Map skills are important for students, but we wanted to demonstrate how we can move beyond map quizzes and simple recall to get students more involved in their learning. These tools can help build mental maps as students emphasize location, place, analysis, and stories in their use of maps. We chose to focus on these Google tools because of their simplicity and due to the fact that most districts in Iowa utilize Google's G Suite for Education. We also took advantage of the immersive capabilities of Tour Creator by importing tours into Google Expeditions and viewing them with virtual reality goggles.

Our first session was at the Heart of Innovation Summer Summit. This event involved about 100 area educators and was meant to provide a free learning opportunity through Heartland AEA as well as serving as a kick-off for those who choose to take part in our webinar series and learning tracks that will be available throughout the 2019-2020 school year. This event, the process of putting it together, and our planning for a year of learning deserve more than a quick mention, so I'll plan another post to offer more explanation.

Our second session was at the Best Practices in Social Studies Institute. This is a free, two-day event hosted by Iowa's Department of Education to provide an opportunity for social studies professional learning connected to best practices with a focus on helping teachers move toward implementation of Iowa's new Social Studies Standards.

Both sessions were well attended and seemed to go very smoothly. We heard many positive comments from those in attendance and conference reflection surveys mentioned our sessions as a positive experience. We made a few tweaks between the two sessions to allow for more exploration of tools by participants and more focus on instructional uses of the mapping tools.

The slides presentation we used to facilitate these sessions is included below.

I would love to hear feedback on  our presentation as well as other ideas for using Google My Maps, Tour Builder, and Tour Creator in the classroom. Please leave comments below or connect with me on Twitter to share your thoughts on our presentation, these tools, and summer learning.

TIC-Tac-Tech -- Sharing Tech Integration Ideas at TIC Sessions

Part of my role as an Instructional Technology Consultant involves helping organize events that promote the effective integration of technology. One of the ways our agency achieves this goal is through Technology Integration and Collaboration (TIC) events. We hold nine of these sessions per year with each one focused on specific grade-levels or subject areas. The purpose of TIC sessions is to allow area teachers to share their efforts to effectively integrate technology into instruction. Attendees are able to learn from presenters while collaborating with teachers from their grade-level/subject area who share an interest in increasing the use of technology in their classes. These free events generally include 3-4 presentations that can be viewed in person (which we recommend because this allows for more collaborative learning), virtually, or by viewing recordings on YouTube.
 
Because of my background in social studies, I often take on the task of helping organize the Social Studies TIC session. This year I was excited to have 6 area teachers present 4 sessions highlighting some of their successes integrating technology into their social studies classes.
 
Our first presenters, Alicen Morley and Jill Thieben, shared some of their experiences integrating Google Cardboard and virtual reality tools into social studies. Alicen teaches social studies and Jill is an English teacher and Technology Coach at Boone High School. Alicen and Jill's slides are accessible here and their presentation is viewable below.

Our second presenter, Leslie Wiles, shared a number of different resources for social studies teachers as she discussed her journey from analog to digital in the classroom. Leslie is a middle school social studies teacher at West Central Valley Middle School. Leslie's presentation slides can be seen here and a video of her session is included below.

Our third presentation featured Victoria Westerly and Heather Dutrey from Interstate 35 Schools. Victoria teaches middle school social studies and Heather is an instructional coach. Victoria and Heather shared their experiences with Google Classroom. Their slides are linked here and their presentation can be seen below.

This year's TIC session concluded with a presentation by Kevin Neal and Diane Van Wyk. Kevin and Diane are high school social studies teachers at West Des Moines Valley High School. Diane and Kevin included a discussion of Quizalize, Quizziz, Quizlet, and other formative assessment tools. Kevin and Diane's presentation is included below.

I always enjoy TIC sessions. These events provide a great opportunity to learn about ways teachers are using technology in their classrooms and it is a great opportunity to collaborate with other grade-level/subject area teachers. I especially enjoy our Social Studies TIC sessions as they provide me another opportunity to stay involved with social studies.

Finding Jewels in an Oyster - Pearl Harbor Lesson Ideas

With tomorrow being the 75^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor I’ve been thinking about strategies for teaching the “day of infamy.” My goals in teaching about Pearl Harbor have always been for students to discover the reasons for the attack, to recognize the shock and fear many Americans felt as a result of the attack, and to realize that despite its devastation, this attack did not cripple American efforts, but instead united the country behind the war effort.

Alston, Charles Henry. "REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR - WORK - FIGHT- SACRIFICE!!" / "WE'LL REMEMBER - AND BY GOD, YOU WONT FORGET!!" Digital image. Wikimedia Commons. N.p., 7 Oct. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

It is essential for history teachers to include primary sources in lessons to give students a chance to experience the role of a historian. Primary source analysis provides an important opportunity for students to practice critical thinking skills and to learn how to piece together information for themselves. I’ve utilized several different approaches for teaching Pearl Harbor with primary sources, but one of my favorites is simply asking students to analyze sources to determine why Japan chose to attack the United States. This creates a sense of a mystery for students as they attempt to discover the reasons for the attack.

I have searched and compiled primary source sets in the past, but there are many pre-assembled primary source sets available on this topic. I enjoyed using the set put together by the DBQ Project as part of their Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor Mini-Q (although this does require purchase of the mini-q). I find that DBQs are an excellent way to gather primary sources for class activities. The sources in DBQs are already excerpted to a short, manageable size and can easily be adapted to a number of classroom lessons. A quick search for “Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor DBQ” yields many results with a number of valuable primary sources that can be used with the DBQs they were compiled for or for other classroom activities.

I also like to have students analyze firsthand accounts of the attack. I want my students to realize that history involves real people who aren’t all that different from them. Eyewitness accounts help to reinforce this reality. One such source is Ginger’s Diary. I like this account because it is written by a 17-year-old girl, making it something students can relate to.  Essential Pearl Harbor includes several other similar accounts, this website also has a number of other valuable resources for teaching about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Remembering Pearl Harbor includes accounts of sailors who witnessed the attack. Thanks to Richard Byrne, I just discovered The 1941 Project, which is an interactive map featuring stories of survivors of the attack.

Student analysis of these firsthand accounts may be done in a variety of ways. Depending on the dynamics of a class, I might have students simply read and discuss these sources. Other times we’ve compared and contrasted different views of the attack, and still other times, I’ve asked students to read firsthand accounts and write an entry as if they’ve just witnessed the attack. This allows them an opportunity to be creative and express feelings similar to those they’ve read about. 

Unknown Navy Photographer. A navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons. N.p., 2 Nov. 2007. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

I also like to use activities similar to the deliberative strategies that are common in the Choices Units by Brown University. I like these activities because they generally require students to take on a role and/or a specific perspective as they view a key decision or event in history. Students must analyze and synthesize information to support a point of view. In this case, I ask students to imagine they are part of a congressional committee tasked with investigating the attack on Pearl Harbor. I divide the class into groups and assign each group a topic to investigate as they prepare to testify before the committee. Groups include a report on the attack itself (what happened), why Japan attacked, did FDR know about the attack, did Churchill know about the attack, and was the attack a success. Additionally, one group takes the role of committee members and they must develop questions to ask each group as they testify.

Today I discovered another good lesson for teaching about Pearl Harbor. In Pearl Harbor & Hawaii during World War II, students predict why Japan might have attacked, conduct research on the attack, and take part in a Google Expedition to gain background knowledge on Hawaii. Students then use My Maps to create an interactive map illustrating the attack. This is obviously a more involved and more time consuming lesson plan than some of the ones I mentioned above, but it seems to do a nice job of incorporating different skills and utilizing technology to create a student-centered lesson. I like the inclusion of Google Expeditions (Expeditions is a virtual reality app that allows users to view 360-degree panoramas, creating an immersive experience that makes users feel as if they have travelled to different locations. This app can be used with or without virtual reality headsets, such as Google Cardboard.). I also like the integration of My Maps, which I discussed in Finding Your Way - Using Google Maps in the Classroom.

Finding Your Way - Using Google Maps in the Classroom

By Arambar (Own work (sculpture and photo)) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Last month I had the privilege of presenting at the Best Practices in Social Studies Institute. I really enjoyed this opportunity to work with social studies educators from all over the state of Iowa and to learn from presenters and participants. Although I'm no longer in the classroom, I still view myself as a social studies teacher at heart, so its always nice when I get the chance to work within this subject area.

The institute offers two days of free professional development for K-12 social studies teachers. More than 220 Iowa teachers took advantage of this opportunity to further their learning around best practices in social studies instruction. I attended sessions on Teaching 21st Century Skills in Social Studies Classrooms, Student Relevance & Engagement with IPTV Digital Resources, Geography and Literacy Connections, National History Day and Primary Sources, and Population Connection: Hands-On Activities for the People and the Planet. Additionally, there was a review of the state of social studies in Iowa, including a Call to Action and a review of the process and progress of writing new social studies state standards. Closing remarks were delivered by the Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate.

I planned to present a session related to technology and mapping in social studies classrooms. After considering that attending teachers may fall anywhere within the K-12 range, may or may not have background with mapping technologies, and that I had a limited amount of time to present, I chose to focus on tools related to Google Maps rather than more in-depth tools like those available through Esri or their ArcGIS platform.

I feel that many educators are aware of Google Maps, but they may not recognize its educational potential. For this reason, I wanted to share some of the tools within and/or powered by Google Maps and ways to effectively integrate these tools into instruction. I spent much of my presentation demonstrating the capabilities and uses of these mapping tools, but I also created the slides below partly to guide my presentation, but also as a reference for teachers to refer to later.

I had to adjust some of my plans and ended up doing more demonstration and less participant use of tools due to spotty Wifi access, but I still felt that my session went very well. Participants were engaged in the content and most seemed to learn something they could apply to their instructional practices.

I was impressed with my experience at the Best Practices in Social Studies Institute. There were a number of valuable sessions and it is always good to get a chance to collaborate with other teachers. I hope to attend this event again in the future and I would encourage social studies educators in the state of Iowa to take advantage of this free learning opportunity.

Moove to a MOOC for Moore Learning

This month I jumped into a new medium to further my professional learning. I've been hearing about MOOCs for several years, but had never taken part in one. Until now.

For those that may be unfamiliar with MOOCs, this refers to a Massive Open Online Course.
Basically, this means it is a free online learning opportunity that is open to anyone who would like to be a part of it. Some colleges and universities have jumped on the MOOC bandwagon while others are produced by individuals, groups, or organizations. Although there is some debate about the effectiveness of MOOCs (driven largely by low completion rates), they seem to offer a good opportunity for free online learning.

Recently I enrolled in the #EdTech30 Course to further my professional learning related to educational technology. I was not sure what to expect, but so far this course has been a good experience. I have learned a few new tech tools and I've taken the time to stop and explore a few other tools I knew of, but had not really played around with.

Today I was going through the portion of this course that deals with blogging. The instructor (Seth Dimbert) provided an explanation of blogs and a few tools for creating blogs. One of the things I like about learning through a structured course is that it forces us to stop and think about things. In this case, I know what blogging is, I know some reasons to blog, I know some of the tools that can be used for blogging, but its been a while since I stopped and really thought about it.

As I begin to reflect on blogging, my first thought is that I need to post more often. I often come up with ideas for posts or even begin writing, but don't get it published. This is partly due to a busy schedule, partly due to procrastination, and partly due to the fact that thinking through topics and beginning to write about them accomplishes one of the purposes of blogging, even if the post is never finished. I believe that one of the primary benefits of a blog is that it allows us to reflect on a topic and to think about it in different ways. Ideally we will put these thoughts out there for others and our posts will result in a discussion, but the process of thinking about a post helps us to reflect, even if that post never makes to the world. This was one of the primary reasons I began this blog back in 2013 (To Blog or Not to Blog. . .). I wanted an opportunity to reflect upon my lessons and experiences in the classroom and to share my thoughts, ideas, and resources with other teachers.

Although I have not done much blogging with students, I think it affords them many of the same benefits. As educators we strive to become reflective practitioners, we should aim to instill this same practice in our students. Blogging offers students the opportunity to contemplate their learning and experiences while giving them voice. As teachers we need to consider the best medium for this practice. In some cases a full-featured, public blog makes sense, other times it might be better to use a simpler, closed environment that is not accessible to the entire world. It is also important to consider the structure of the blogging experience. Will topics be chosen by the teacher, by students, or some of each? Will posts be more informative or more reflective? Will students or the public be able to comment on blogs? Will you monitor posts and/or comments?

I'm going to cut myself off before this post becomes merely a list of questions, but you get the point that there are a lot of considerations before having students blog. I am certainly no expert on this topic, however, there are many people out there that are much more experienced with blogging than I am and I would encourage you to seek out their hints, tips, and advice for student and professional blogging. One good starting point is Pernille Ripp's 14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging.

Despite the potential pitfalls and numerous details that need to be thought through, I think blogging has a lot of value for students and teachers and I would encourage everyone to give it a try.

Give me an I! Give me an S! Give me a T! Give me an E! What’s that Spell!? ISTE!!!

I was lucky to attend my first ISTE conference last week. ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) is the premier ed tech conference in the world. With more than 21,000 attendees and over 1000 learning sessions it was nearly impossible not to take some valuable information away from this conference. I learned many new things and was exposed to many great ideas, but to me the most valuable part of attending any conference is the inspiration I draw from the speakers and other attendees. Being around so many passionate educators always energizes me and causes me to reflect upon my own practices. I think this is the true value of attending conferences. Sure, it's great to learn something new and to get a few lessons or tools you can turn around and use, but the greatest benefit is that it causes us to look within ourselves. This reflection helps us to keep our passion and to continue changing and growing as educators. As George Couros said in a session I attended, “Change is an opportunity to do something amazing.”

Building on this point, George pointed out that innovation is not the same for everyone. My journey from point A to point B is likely different from yours. Not only do we each implement our own strategies for change, but we each have different starting and ending points. The importance lies not necessarily in where you start or where you end, but in that you are progressing from one point to another. The goal is continual improvement, not reaching a specific end point. This is nothing new, most of us have always wanted to keep getting better, but this really resonated with me as I thought about how it applies to our reflection as educators. It is essential that we reflect upon where we are and how we can continue to grow. This not only improves our professional practices, but it also models reflective practice for our students. This was a key point that Will Richardson brought up at another session I attended; we as modern educators must model modern learning for our students.

The emphasis on students was a consistent theme at most of the sessions I attended. I know this seems like an obvious point (I mean it is an education conference, right?), but often our learning loses its focus. As Scott McLeod pointed out, conference sessions sometimes get sidetracked by highlighting tools or other information rather than focusing on student learning. I think educators need to learn about new tools, but many presenters at ISTE pointed out that in today’s world the importance must be on learning rather than the tools used to achieve learning. George Couros reminded us that the process of learning is much more important than the product created by students. Will Richardson emphasized the importance of providing opportunities for students to learn continuously, adapt, and solve problems. Educators must recognize that the content or skills from our curriculum are not as important as helping students learn how to learn. Will stressed that flexibility, problem solving, and creativity will be the most important skills moving forward. Alan November challenged us to teach kids to ask questions and allow them to find the answers. This motivates and engages students while often resulting in more complex problems than those designed by teachers for a class. George Couros reinforced this point as he reminded us that power is not in the consumption of information, but the creation of it.

As I’ve tried to summarize my thoughts from ISTE (a technology conference), tech is conspicuously absent from my reflections. I saw many new tech products in the vendor’s area, I learned about a few new tools in sessions I attended, and I heard conversations among attendees about new technologies. Some of these tools sound great. I will probably use some products I learned about at ISTE. However, I think the bigger theme was emphasized by Alan November when he said, “Technology makes no difference unless you change the work students do.” He went on to stress that we need to take the focus off technology and put the focus on the learning that can occur when technology is used effectively. Will Richardson shared a similar sentiment as he explained that transformative education is student organized with depth and complexity, but it does not require technology. When used effectively, tech can amplify powerful learning, but it is not a necessity. As George Couros said, “Technology in the hands of a great teacher can be transformational.” But, it is essential that teaching and learning are placed ahead of the technology.

George Couros proposed one simple step to promote change within schools. He urged teachers to tweet one thing a day they did in their classroom to a school hashtag and then take five minutes a day to read each other’s tweets. I think George rightly predicted that this would have an enormous impact upon learning and school culture. This opens up the confines of each classroom and challenges all teachers to create an engaging, stimulating classroom environment. Sharing and collaboration are invaluable in our journey of continuous improvement.

I may not have shared a lot of specific, concrete things I learned at ISTE, but this conference’s affect on me is more conceptual. I began this post by reiterating the value of reflection for educators. I believe this is the most important takeaway from any educational conference. Many sessions advertise resources, ideas, or lessons that you can use on Monday, but the things that truly change our educational practices are not so tangible. To create powerful learning we must constantly be challenged to reflect, refine, and improve our educational practices. The speakers and attendees at ISTE challenged and inspired me, causing me to reflect upon my own beliefs and practices. This is the true value of educational conferences and this is why I would like to see opportunities expanded for all educators to attend more conferences. I think this would help to energize, enthuse and reignite our passions for education.

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, Here I am at . . . EdCampOmaha - Learning at an "Unconfernce"

After my experience at EdCamp Iowa, I decided to attend EdCamp Omaha.  Prior to attending an EdCamp, I was a little skeptical.  I was afraid that the "unconference" idea would result in unorganized sessions with a few people dominating the discussion by bragging about everything they do with little helpful advice for others or that it would become a gripe session with a small number of outspoken individuals complaining about all the problems they have to overcome.  I can be a bit of an introvert at times, especially if I don't have a predetermined role, so this idea was a little intimidating to me.  However, my qualms have proven unfounded as my experiences with EdCamps have been very positive.  The people I have met are passionate educators who love what they do and although many of them are already innovators, they continue to seek the input of other people without any preconceived notions of who is worth listening to.  Despite my hesitation, I have found myself speaking up and becoming a part of the conversation and it has been very rewarding.  I have met a lot of educators with whom I will continue to connect and who will further my ability to be an effective teacher.

I began EdCamp Omaha by attending a session on Twitter for educators.  A good chunk of this session focused on the benefits Twitter can offer educators and how to maximize these benefits. Although I have some experience using Twitter for professional learning, it was nice to hear some different ideas about using social media to form an effective PLN.  This session allowed me to expand my PLN while learning of some new hashtags to follow and new ed chats that I plan to check out.  I also learned of several new tools for managing Twitter feeds.  I have not played with these yet, but based on descriptions in this session, they seem to have promise.  IFTTT allows users to automatically have favorited tweets saved to Evernote, creating a system for bookmarking from Twitter.  Topsy is a tool for searching Twitter.  Echofon, Twitterrific, and Tweetbot are tools for managing tweets.

The second session I attended was about connected learning environments.  This session consisted of small group discussions on several different topics then we shared takeaways with the large group. There were some very informative, thought-provoking discussions about what connected learning looks like, instructional strategies that promote connected learning, necessary elements (devices, support, etc.) that allow for connected learning, and how to overcome potential obstacles.  One of the best things about this session was having the chance to discuss what others are doing and how different educators view connected learning.  I enjoyed the structure, which allowed for smaller, intimate discussions, while still providing an opportunity to hear from those in other groups.  My group also discussed the importance of teaching digital citizenship so students learn how to interact with others online.  I feel pretty strongly about the possibilities offered by connected learning and the benefits it can offer students and I enjoyed discussing how to move everyone (district/building leadership, teachers, students, and parents) toward this mindset.

After lunch I attended a session on game-based learning.  Much of the discussion in this session focused on ways to gamify a class, even without the use of technology.  Attendees shared ways of using badges (both digital and paper) as a reward system, methods to frame competency-based activities as levels, and student-created board games.  There was also a brief discussion of the use of Minecraft as an instructional tool.  There were some good discussions in this session and I did take a few ideas away that I can apply to my classroom, but I felt that much of the discussion was focused toward younger students than I see in high school.

The final session I attended dealt with creating global connections for students.  Once again, many of the examples and ideas from this session might be more relatable for younger students, however, there were definitely some things I can apply and/or adapt to meet my instructional needs.  I have heard of mystery Skyping, but had never talked to anyone who has done it with their class, so that was definitely interesting.  I also enjoyed hearing the various ways educators have promoted collaboration and sharing by connecting their students to other classes or experts around the globe. Participants shared ideas about using Skype in the Classroom, EduHangout, blogs, read alouds, and passion/genius hour projects.  The idea of creating a more globally connected classroom is something that I have been wanting to incorporate into my teaching, so it was good to hear some ideas of how other educators have implemented plans to do so.

Overall, I felt like my day at EdCamp Omaha was a very rewarding day.  I learned a lot, met a number of innovative, enthusiastic teachers, and I left feeling very energized about implementing new ideas within my classroom.  I have had great experiences attending EdCamps and I plan to attend more in the future.  And, as an added bonus, I won two boxes of golf balls, a golf towel, and an EdCamp Omaha t-shirt in the drawing at the end (this might have been a little more exciting if I was a golfer!).

I’ll trade you 2 Hitlers for 1 Churchill - Creating Trading Cards of WWII Leaders

As we begin studying World War II, I like to ensure that my students are familiar with the major world leaders.  This allows them to recognize the trend toward totalitarian governments and how this was a contributing factor in the outbreak of World War II.  It also familiarizes students with names and forms of government that will come up again over the course of our study of World War II

  

Over the years I have used several different lesson ideas to allow students to investigate these world leaders.  This year I decided to have students create trading cards to illustrate key concepts related to each leader.  Students were assigned a leader to investigate and determine how they came to power, the form of government each utilized (including a brief explanation of how it worked), ways they helped their country, how they abused their power, and the role they played in World War II.

  

After students gather this information, they are ready to create their trading cards.  Over the years I have used a number of different tools for this activity.  The first time I had students create trading cards, I made a template in Microsoft Word for them to use.  Other times I have used My Trading Cards or ReadWriteThink’s Trading Card Creator.  This year I decided to use Big Huge Lab’s Trading Cards because I felt like its layout was the easiest for students to include the required information.

  

This lesson went very well.  With a little guidance, students did a nice job locating the necessary information and they seemed to enjoy the task of creating trading cards.  It allowed some freedom and creativity of expression while still achieving my goals for the lesson.  Depending on the level of the class, the amount of time available for the lesson, and access to resources, the teacher may want to provide selected readings or primary sources for students to use to investigate their assigned leaders.

  

This is an activity that is adaptable to many different topics.  At different times, I have used similar lessons to allow students to investigate the Founding Fathers, Progressive Era reformers, 1920s cultural personalities, and civil rights leaders.  This activity can be used for any lesson where the desired outcome is familiarization with individuals who played an important role in history.

  

   

   

Connect the Dots . . . Er, the Educators – Become a Part of Connected Educators Month

  

October is Connected Educators Month.  Being a connected educator can mean many things.  It could mean discussing strategies for working with a challenging student with a teacher down the hall, collaborating on lesson plans with a teacher in another school in your district, or corresponding with someone you met at a conference about instructional strategies.  As illustrated in these examples, connected educators are nothing new; however, today’s digital world offers endless possibilities for teachers looking to collaborate.  

  

Online tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, webinars, blogs, forums, etc. offer today’s connected educators an unprecedented opportunity to further the field of education within their classroom, school, district, and nation.  The establishment of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) provides teachers with a form of personalized professional development that cannot be matched by any inservice or workshop.  A PLN provides educators with personalized, just-in-time access to lessons, advice, resources, research, and, perhaps most importantly, inspiration.

  

It is also important to remember that today’s learners live in a connected world.  They spend countless hours viewing pictures on Instagram, creating videos on Vine, sharing on Twitter, watching videos on YouTube, etc.  Today’s students have technology embedded in nearly every aspect of their life.  This digital world necessitates an evaluation of how we, as educators, approach learning.  The creative, collaborative process students use daily, can also benefit teachers.  By becoming connected, teachers are able to deepen their understanding of students’ lives and to access the collective resources, creativity, and wisdom of the world’s educators.

 

  

I encourage all teachers to check the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educators website.  This site offers a number of valuable resources including a Starter Kit, a calendar of events, edConnectr, and many more.  Many teachers have already discovered that Twitter provides a valuable tool for connected educators to collaborate.  Connected Educators Month discussions can be found at #CE13.  #SSChat also offers valuable tools for any social studies teacher.  Connected Educators Month organizers also maintain a Facebook page and Google+ community to share resources and promoted discussions.  A simple search will reveal many other sources related to Connected Educators Month.  Regardless of what tools we use, all educators owe it to our students to become more connected.

  

In the spirit of connectivity, I would like to share some online sources that I frequent:   

• Free Technology for Teachers (Twitter - @rmbyrne) is a good source to learn about technology tools and possible applications for education.  
•  Dangerously Irrelevant (Twitter - @mcleod) provides insights into educational trends and issues.   
• Edutopia (Twitter - @edutopia) promotes innovative instructional strategies and offers many valuable resources for teachers.   
• The Stanford History Education Group website (Twitter - @SHEG_Stanford) includes a number of good lesson ideas for history teachers.  
•  Teachinghistory.org  (Twitter @teachinghistory) contains many resources of value to a history teacher.    

This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but rather a starting point.  I encourage everyone to share some of their favorite sources with another teacher.
 

As a connected educator, I would like to expand my PLN by connecting with passionate educators who want to collaborate for the benefit of all our students.  Connect with me via Twitter or LinkedIn.