Programs like WISE empower seniors to explore passions, develop life skills, and transition from classroom learning to purpose-driven adulthood.

The touch-and-swipe interface of the digital marketplace makes it feel so easy. Looking for an app to teach your 5-year-old how to read? Flick your finger over to the education aisles of the App Store (or Google Play, or the Amazon Appstore), and press “buy.”

Photo Credit: WonderlaneBy Matt PicklesWhen considering the effects of the debt crisis on Greece, most people probably think of long queues outside banks and protests in the streets.A less visible but perhaps further reaching outcome is that Greece’s education system has become one of the most unequal in the developed world.Read the rest of the story at BBC.com.

InterviewDigital citizenship continues to become a part of the everyday vernacular in education. Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran takes a deeper dive into the subject following her recent op-ed in edCircuit. Curran shares upcoming events tying Connected Educator Month with the DigcitSummit and provides educators resources for weekly Twitter chats

Frank Gallagher, VP of Education at Cable Impacts Foundation, talks with Dr. Berger about his experience in education and best practices for integrating solutions into schools and communities.Led by Cable Impacts Foundation: How do you make a school “future ready?” What combination of infrastructure and devices, pedagogy and professional development, curriculum and content, leadership and culture will enable schools to effectively prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s challenges in college, career or civic life?

Join in on Connected Educator Month this October..Getting StartedFive Ways to ConnectDo-It-Yourself Professional DevelopmentMore Resources From EdutopiaAdditional Resources on the WebConnected Educator Month (CEM) is a celebration of online communities of practice originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education with partners. As with previous years, October 2015 includes an array of rich opportunities for informal professional development, both for educators with established professional learning networks (PLNs) and for those just getting started. Whether you participate formally in the month or not, consider using some of the resources below to engage in do-it-yourself professional development all year long.Getting StartedVisit CEM: Getting Started and consider downloading the Connected Educator Starter Kit by Powerful Learning Practice, a guide with 31 days of online activities — including relevant tips, tutorials, and ideas — that will help you along your professional-learning journey, no matter where you’re starting from. As you build your PLN, make sure to click the +Follow button on Edutopia’s Personal Learning Network page to receive email updates about additional guidance and tips. Linked from that page, “My Journey Into Connectedness,” by Rafranz Davis, and “How Do I Get a PLN?” by Tom Whitby, are two great places to start.Visit the CEM calendar to pick and choose among the events that are most meaningful for you. In addition, you might want to consider attending an edcamp. Why? In “Why Edcamp?” Kristen Swanson discusses how these educator-driven “unconferences” present invaluable opportunities for learning, growing, connecting, and sharing. You can find the complete edcamp calendar on the edcamp website or on Edutopia’s events page, updated weekly.If you miss one of the hundreds of events during CEM 2015, visit the CEM Archives for access to recordings, transcripts, and other professional-development resources from October. The archived events are searchable by audience, event type, and topic. The Connected Educators website also maintains a showcase of opportunities for sustained professional development in the form of courses, classes, and clubs.