Be a Connected Educator!

October is Connected Educator month!  Beginning in 2012 the U.S. Department of Education held the first ever Connected Educator Month.  Based on the success of this first event, educators requested a second event to be help this month.  The emphasis for the 2013 event will be, "helping districts promote and integrate online social learning in their formal professional development" (www.connectededucators.org). With goals and themes surrounding personalized learning, Innovating Literacy, "connecting"educators, and supporting collaboration and innovation in professional development, I immediately saw a correlation to the work being done in the Muskego-Norway Schools.
In the many resources found on the Connected Educator Month site, there are a few that are worth pointing out.  Depending on your level of interest, time, and comfort there is certainly something for everything among these resources:

• Sign up!  Fill out the form at this link and begin to get regular updates of the events including webinars, forums, collaborative projects, contests and information about what is going on.
• Download the Connected Educator Month Starter Kit - This PDF is full of a 31-day plan to becoming a more connected educator.  Filled with embedded videos, great ideas and resources to try each day, this interactive document might be something worth downloading and looking over.  Even if you just try a few of the ideas, it is very well done with the help of respected educators from all areas of the country.
• Launch the EdConnectr and create an account to find other educators across the country with similar interests with which you can build a Professional Learning Network.  This tool will ask you professional questions search the database of other educators and make suggestions for others that you might want to form connections with.  
• Calendar of events - A full calendar of events and activities are available each day.  These events are organized based on various strands, audiences and topics.  They range from personalized learning, Google Apps, Flipped Classrooms, pedagogical discussions and much more.  Check it out and dive into some great opportunities!

Finally, from the main page you will find a very diverse blog called. "Innovation Exchange" that you might find to be useful and informative.  This blog features a unique collection of authors and a very broad variety of topics that are sure to offer something for everyone in education.  I hope you find some of the resources on this site to be of interest and have a HAPPY CONNECTED EDUCATOR month!