Six ways to engage in Connected Educator Month

School leaders can make a concerted effort to engage their staff in Connected Educator Month

During Connected Educator Month, it’s important to realize that the skills, information, and resources shared among school leaders and teachers should be used and applied all year long for the most impactful teaching and learning.

Here, Patrick Larkin, the Assistant Superintendent for Learning for Burlington Public Schools in Massachusetts, outlines some key steps school leaders can take to support Connected Educator Month in October, and all year long:

A few years ago, I was leading a conversation on the topic of getting more school leaders “connected” at a conference in Philadelphia with my friend George Couros, a school administrator from Edmonton, Alberta.

As we talked about all of the reasons why it was important for school leaders to use digital tools to connect with other school leaders and be role models for their school communities, we were searching for ways to get more of our colleagues on board. That is when Jon Becker, a professor from Virginia Commonwealth University, put his hand up in the back of the room and reminded us that we could tweet and blog all we want about how great being connected is, but to really reach people, we need to meet them where they are.

Heading into Connected Educator Month, I was reminded of this as I began to think of ways that I could help   educators connect and build their Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s).  Here are six easy ways that educators  can support their colleagues, both in their district and beyond, during the month of October (and all year):

(Next page: Larkin’s 6 tips for Connected Educator Month)