The Connected Educator

Create a connected learning community through social media and rediscover the power of being a learner first. After uncovering the theories and research behind the significance of learning through collaboration with other educators, the authors show you how to take advantage of technology to improve your own learning and ultimately the learning of your students.

Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas are widely acclaimed experts on teaching and leading and are pioneers in the education twitterverse, and now they are sharing their best practices! In What Connected Educators Do Differently, they show how being a connected educator—by using social media to connect with peers across the country and even across the globe—will greatly enhance your own learning and your success in a school or classroom. You’ll find out how to create a personal and professional learning network to share resources and ideas, gain support, and make an impact on others. By customizing your professional development in this way, you’ll be able to learn what you want, how you want, when you want. Best of all, you’ll become energized and inspired by all the great ideas out there and how you can contribute, benefiting both you and your students. Whether you are a teacher or school leader, you will come away from this book with step-by-step advice and fresh ideas to try immediately. Being a connected educator has never been easier or more important than it is right now!

Blogging, social media, and PLN’s made easy! Collectively, we’re all smarter than we are individually. In this expert guide, EdTech leaders help you harness the power of connected collaboration using the Internet and social media. You’ll easily leverage Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and beyond for profound professional growth. Use real-world tips and tools to: Master and adapt to 21st Century teaching methodologies Build ongoing technology literacy for you and your students Connect and collaborate with education leaders across the globe Get connected. Get engaged. Use this inspiring, step-by-step manual to expand your personal and professional network today! The Corwin Connected Educators series is your key to unlocking the greatest resource available to all educators: other educators. Being a Connected Educator is more than a set of actions: it’s a belief in the potential of technology to fuel lifelong learning. "The successful educator is a connected educator. Quite simply, this book is a manual to stay relevant and energized in a rapidly changing profession. I highly recommend this as the definitive guidebook on building connections for the modern educator." Vicki Davis, Author "Reinventing Writing" Tom Whitby has brought together a who′s who list any educator would want to be connected with and learn from! His latest book shares great ideas on how teachers can use online strategies as one way to look and learn beyond our all-too-often isolated classrooms. Larry Ferlazzo, Award-Winning Teacher, Blogger, and Author Helping Students Motivate Themselves

Professional growth and social media savvy at your fingertips! This information-packed resource from digital experts Anderson and Whitby makes it easy to build a thriving professional network using social media. Easy-to-implement ideas, essential tools, and real-life vignettes help teachers learn to: Find and choose the best social media tools, products, and communities Start and grow a collaborative, high-quality PLN using Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn, and more Use social media to enhance 21st Century education Engage in authentic personal and professional learning Includes invaluable resources and an in-depth analysis of the social media landscape. Collaboration has never been easier with this must-have guide!

Help your students find and keep the joy in learning! When creative use of technology meets outstanding teaching, incredible learning happens. In this inspiring guide, digital educator and principal Robert Dillon shows readers how to: Use student engagement to promote authentic learning Learn from 16 innovative contributing educators Implement new technology resources and strategies for all classrooms and grade levels Help students build critical thinking skills and gain confidence in their own unique voices

Is it possible to bring university research and student education into a more connected, more symbiotic relationship? If so, can we develop programmes of study that enable faculty, students and ‘real world’ communities to connect in new ways? In this accessible book, Dilly Fung argues that it is not only possible but also potentially transformational to develop new forms of research-based education. Presenting the Connected Curriculum framework already adopted by UCL, she opens windows onto new initiatives related to, for example, research-based education, internationalisation, the global classroom, interdisciplinarity and public engagement. A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education is, however, not just about developing engaging programmes of study. Drawing on the field of philosophical hermeneutics, Fung argues how the Connected Curriculum framework can help to create spaces for critical dialogue about educational values, both within and across existing research groups, teaching departments and learning communities. Drawing on vignettes of practice from around the world, she argues that developing the synergies between research and education can empower faculty members and students from all backgrounds to contribute to the global common good.

Blogging, social media, and PLN’s made easy! Collectively, we’re all smarter than we are individually. In this expert guide, EdTech leaders help you harness the power of connected collaboration using the Internet and social media. You’ll easily leverage Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and beyond for profound professional growth. Use real-world tips and tools to: Master and adapt to 21st Century teaching methodologies Build ongoing technology literacy for you and your students Connect and collaborate with education leaders across the globe Get connected. Get engaged. Use this inspiring, step-by-step manual to expand your personal and professional network today!

Bring communities together for involvement that makes a difference! Impact your students in a positive way and join the leagues of educators who are learning to engage with students, parents, and communities using social media and Web 2.0 technologies. Featuring practical strategies that you’ll want to put to use right away, plus a dedicated series website for additional resources, this short and easy-to-follow book will show you: How smartphones and tablets can work for your goals The secret to getting—and keeping—parents involved How to inform, engage, and empower stakeholders How tools like Skype can connect the community at large