#connectededucator

"Alone we are smart but together we are brilliant." - Steve Anderson

Rob Furman, elementary school principal and author, dreams of connected classrooms where students have “virtual book talks with a class in England via video conferencing,” use tablet apps to create model spaceships based on the science they’re learning, and go on virtual field trips to foreign lands via Google Earth.

“This is the type of day our students should be having," Furman says. "This is the type of day our students are expecting to experience in today's classrooms. These possibilities exist today and should be used now. It does not have to be a dream. The connected classroom can be a reality.”

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Open Badges has teamed up with Connected Educators to create a badge system dedicated to supporting educators learning and collaborating through online communities and social networks during the second annual Connected Educator Month this October. Educators can earn a variety of badges throughout the month, including Connected Educator Month Starter Kit badges, badges to show off commitments to being a connected educator, and even badges to award to other peer educators. We just launched the new badge system on October 1, 2013 with the kick-off of Connected Educator Month, and are very excited to be part of the initiative. The badge system includes approximately 25 badges that educators can earn to start, and then over 100s of event and participation badges will be added and continue to be issued throughout October. As with other Open Badges, educators will be able to share their CEM badges through their online communities and social networks. They can also customize their own Mozilla Backpack as a means to collect, store and share their badges.

Nearly 200 organizations are participating nationwide in events designed to enhance professional development through online collaboration.

Participating organizations will provide a variety of interactive online professional learning opportunities, such as webinars, live chats, open houses, book clubs, contests, projects, and digital badges for connected educators to earn.

We have created the CEM badges using similar tools to those used in this summer’s citywide badge system for the Chicago Summer of Learning. As educators connect with online communities and social networks, they can personalize their learning experiences and earn Connected Educator Badges through activities and projects that interest them. There are special badges from the Connected Educator Month Starter Kit, as well as badges that can be awarded to their peer educators.

“One of the most important things we can do to support teachers and students is to put modern tools in their hands, and give them access to the limitless knowledge and connections that the Internet makes possible,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan in video remarks shown on the Connected Educators website, where he invited “every educator across the country” to participate.

Last year, the event reached over 4 million people around the nation and the world. This year, Connected Educator Month seeks to encourage districts, as well as individual educators, to promote outcomes-based professional learning and recognition through digital tools. To that end, as well as the Connected Educator Starter Kit - full of tips, tutorials, and ideas for educators’ professional learning journeys - there is also a CEM 2013 District Toolkit geared toward district-level decision-makers and educators.

Online communities and learning networks help hundreds of thousands of educators share effective strategies, reduce isolation, and provide immediate access to a diverse range of knowledge and expertise. In many communities, however, there are educators not yet taking advantage - or even aware - of all the benefits of connected learning.

“Participating in Connected Educator Month is a way schools, districts, and states can dramatically enhance their professional development efforts,” said Darren Cambridge, a principal consultant at AIR and project director of Connected Educators. “They can integrate learning through online communities and social networks into their formal professional development and teacher quality efforts.”

Activities and events will range from a design challenge, in which educators will develop strategies for helping kids develop creative confidence, to a webinar earlier this week in which five U.S. organizations teamed up with UNESCO to share insights about mobile learning around the globe. State and locally-focused activities will also engage communities of educators across the nation.

In honor of Connected Educator Month the White House will host a “Champions of Change” event to celebrate local leaders in education, whose creative approaches in using technology to enhance learning serve as examples of what we should strive for in every classroom, for every child. These community-nominated leaders will be invited to the White House to celebrate their accomplishments and showcase their actions to support more connected schools and students.

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Want to get involved? Here's how:

Get Started with these 5 Easy Steps from the EduBlogger

Check out these 5 Free EdTech Webinars For Connected Educator Month

The Connected Educator Month Calendar can be found at http://www.ConnectedEducators.org/events/

The Connected Educator Month Newsletter will be published daily through the month of October (and weekly thereafter.) Sign up here.

You can also follow the conversation on Twitter using the #CE13 hashtag

Find other related Twitter conversations through Connected Principals chats using the #cpchat hashtag

Like CEM on Facebook

Edutopia has some great CEM resources

The Huffington Post has a series of articles by Frank Islam and Ed Crego exploring connected education: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-islam/education-making-the-conn_b_4031539.html and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-islam/charter-schools-cure-or-c_b_4066245.html (2 more to come)

About AIR: