T&L 2900: VIR: Connected Educators: Harnessing the Power of Social Media for Professional Development
The Internet and social media have greatly impacted the way our students read, write, express themselves, communicate, share, research, and learn. In order to prepare students to meet the demands of a digitally connected world, teachers must experience learning and connecting as students do through online communities and social networks. We call this "connected learning." In this course, participants will discover how current educators are connecting online with colleagues around the world through Blogs, Twitter, Twitter chats, Facebook groups, webinars, online conferences and MOOCs to exchange resources, support, and mentorship. Participants will also use connected technologies, web tools, and apps to build a Professional Learning Network (PLN) that is relevant, flexible, dynamic and personalized to support them with their current and future instructional needs. Participants will also analyze the digital learning theories and approaches behind connected learning and PLNs in order to help their learners focus on the human connection of digital learning. The course is designed with connected learning principles in mind and provides an online community for participants to collaborate and meet with their colleagues virtually to exchange lessons, strategies, resources, and ideas. The course instructor is the co-founder of #Edchat, the first Twitter chat for educators, and the organizer of several webinars, MOOCs, and online educator conferences.
Course ResourcesED Tech - Register for 'Connected Educators' Here