What does an Ed Tech Coordinator Do?

Solution to combatting lonely, isolated educators: #PLN

Feelings of isolation occur with some regularity among educators, especially those who teach in specialty areas and/or small schools. Teachers spend much of their day separated from peers in classrooms that can become silos. However, technology is providing new ways for teachers to connect with peers both near and far. In this show, listeners are invited to join BAM radio's Rae Pica for a discussion about overcoming isolation by builidng a personal learning network.

Joining Pica are four innovative educators who walk listeners through the process of getting connected. They are:

• Rob Mancabelli is co-author of Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education.
• Nicholas Provenzano is a high school English teacher who is passionate about integrating technology into the classroom.
• Erin Klein is a second grade teacher who has her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and is the technology co-chairperson for the Michigan Reading Association.
• Lisa Nielsen (that's me!) is a seasoned public school educator and administrator and author of the book Teaching Generation Text

 You can listen to the program on the BAM radio site here!

iversity 'social reading' tool enables collaborative engagement with learning materials

iversity is a blend of a social network and an online learning workspace that aims to provide a state-of-the-art alternative to the clunky course management platforms such as Blackboard and Moodle and users can sign up for free. The platform can also be used to organize research projects or study groups and it embeds a 'social reading' tool similar to Book Glutton that allows members of a group to collaboratively annotate documents and images. Using iversity's 'social reading' feature, students and their teacher can discuss reading excerpts live and online by highlighting, annotating, and responding to comments made by others in margins, right next to the content you are talking about. The pictures below show what this looks like and you can check it out at www.iversity.org.  

Social media for teachers

Illustrated by Peter Grundy

From Scholastic Instructor

SOURCES: Social media PD: Project Tomorrow, “Speak Up 2011.” Twitter: Semiocast. YouTube:  NielsenWire, “August 2012, Top U.S. Online Video Sites.” Facebook: Yahoo! Finance, “Number of Active Users at Facebook over the Years.” Pinterest: Repinly.com, “Pinterest Stats”; fastcodesign.com, “The Astounding Power of Pinterest.”

8 ways to use social media to connect and coordinate with parents

Social media can be a powerful tool to coordinate and connect with parents.  At the school level, this is important work for everyone, from the classroom teacher to the principal. Some districts even have paid school employees called parent coordinators who are responsible for engaging with and involving parents in the school community. It is their job to create a welcoming environment for parents as well as to identify and address parent and related school/community issues.

While many of us are familiar with traditional notes home in the backpack, flyers, and newsletters, social media takes our ability to create, maintain, and grow connections with parents to a whole new level.

Here are some ideas that explain how.

1) Facebook

Parent Coordinator Sara Cottone of P.S. 46 in Staten Island, N.Y., welcomes parents to “like” the Facebook page she created for them. Most recently, the page was a terrific vehicle for sharing planning and logistics information as it pertained to the bus strike. Earlier this year it was a godsend as one of the few ways parents could communicate during Superstorm Sandy. The page is also used to update parents on trips, school performances and other events like picture day. The page is interactive, too. Parents can use the page to comment, ask questions and find out information. Cottone and other parents are always on hand to respond and provide feedback.

For more information visit:  Parent Guide to Facebook.

The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog this week. Below you’ll see the top weekly posts along with the number of pageviews. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired, share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Article	Page views
7 ways to support your child in being digitally responsible... Jan 27, 2013, 1 comment	2432
Research says social media is easier to recall... Jan 29, 2013, 4 comments	1713
HOW KIDS REALLY LEARN TO WRITE Jan 30, 2013, 2 comments	1587
Mainstream television features kids growing up without school... Jan 25, 2013, 2 comments	1539
5 Cs to developing your personal learning network ... Jan 30, 2013	1506