Connected Educator Month 2014: Helping Educators Thrive in a Connected World

October 2014 is Connected Educator Month (CEM), a global education celebration offering highly distributed, diverse, and engaging online and blended professional learning activities to educators at all levels. During this month, educators will be able network with peers 24/7 to address a variety of education issues, build new connections, and strengthen existing professional relationships.

AIR is a core partner in convening CEM 2014, which involves over 200 organizations, countries, states, districts, and schools. Originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education and its partners as part of the Connected Educators initiative,[1] CEM 2014’s goals are:

• Helping educators raise their social media proficiency to improve their practice
• Deepening and sustaining learning among educators who have already established peer connections
• Assisting schools with credentialing and integrating connected learning into their formal professional development efforts
• Stimulating and supporting innovations in the field

This year’s CEM themes include:

• Blended learning
• Collaboration and capacity building
• Diversity, inclusiveness, and global education
• Educator professional development and learning
• Leadership for change
• Student agency, student voice, and the “Maker Movement”
• Whole community engagement (parents, teachers, students, community members)

During CEM 2014, educators and education stakeholders will have access to a wide variety of free resources through the Connected Educators website. The CEM calendar provides access to over 700 free events and activities geared towards educators and education stakeholders, with more added each day. A social media service, edConnectr, uses maps and tags to help educators find like-minded peers for collaboration opportunities. BAM radio station connects educators from around the globe to the latest developments on connected educator initiatives worldwide, while a blog shares innovative ideas and tips.

• Connected Educator Month Starter Kit
• Ways to Get Involved (organizations, individuals)
• Calendar - Connected Educator Month 2014
• Blog – Connected Educator Month 2014
• Official Video - Connected Educator Month 2014
• Themes - Connected Educator Month 2014