10 ways to become a connected educator

prevent summer slide! 

Check out these tips to help you stay digitally connected to learning, while expanding your personal learning network.

1. Attend a Conference

Innovate@BVSD, June 8th and 9th
Aurora Public Schools Digital Badge Summit June 24th
ISTE 2016 (Denver)
GAFE Summit July 19th and 20th, (Colorado Springs)

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2. Join google+

Find communities to share ideas and experiences around a common topic. Did you know there are Colorado GAFE communities?  Global Ed Tech communities you can join?  Ask a question - you will receive an answer!

3. Tweet

It's never too late to join the Twitter party. Twitter is an excellent tool for connected learning.
Twitter in 60 Seconds
Hashtags in 60 Seconds

4. Schoology groups

Check out a new Schoology group such as "Blended Learning" or "Flipped Classrooms".

5. read professional literature

Check out these titles:

• What Connected Educators Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, Jimmy Cass, and Jeffery Zoul
• The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros
• Uncommon Learning: Creating Schools that Work for Kids by Eric C. Sheniger

6. Curate the internet

Curation is the art of collecting relevant resources. Use tools like Pocket, Evernote, Flipboard, or Pinterest as your digital filing cabinet. Try to use a uniform tagging system to tag resources to find later. Diigo 

7. Follow a blog

Following blogs is a way to get new ideas and look at different perspectives.  Check out Teach 100 , for some of the top rated blogs.

8. Subscribe to Digital Newsletters

Make your learning come to you. Subscribe to news feeds or have newsletters, such as Technology and Learning, Fractus Learning, Practical Ed Tech (Richard Byrne) come directly to your inbox.

9. Watch a webinar or hangout on air

Check Google Plus, ISTE, or Simple K-12 for Ed Tech webinars to view.

10. start your own blog

​Take time to reflect and learn.  Blogging can be a powerful tool for becoming a connected educator. Create and contribute rather than just consume.

No matter how you start, keep in mind that becoming a connected educator is a process.  It doesn't happen overnight. Try one new way to connect and it will open a pathway to self-directed learning, giving you what you need, when you need it, empowering you and your students.