Professional Development

Connecting Professional Learners

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach talks about her experiences with professional learners and the communities and opportunities most impacting their work in classrooms all around the world.Sheryl is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of  Powerful Learning Practice, where she works with schools and districts from across the United States and around the world to re-envision their learning cultures and communities. She also consults with governments, school districts and non-profits that are integrating online communities and networks into their professional learning initiatives, including the US Department of Education’s Future Ready Leaders initiative; Alberta, Canada Initiative for School Improvement’s (AISI) online community of practice; and Victoria, Australia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s literacy coach community. Sheryl is a sought-after presenter at national and international events, speaking on topics of 21st Century reform, teacher and educational leadership, community building, and educational issues impacting marginalized populations such as the homeless.She is an advisor to the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educators Initiative and a leader in the annual worldwide Connected Educator Month. She currently serves on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors and The National Science Foundation’s CS10K Board. Sheryl also served on the New Media Consortium’s 2012 Horizon.K12 Report Advisory Board and their 2013 Horizon Higher Education Report Advisory Board. 

Read more

Professional Learning for the Global Classroom

Interview Emily Liebtag, Ed.D talked with us about VIF International Education’s support of Connected Educator Month, the impact international educators can have here in US classrooms and how we can all get involved. If you would like to contribute your voice to the global discussion please visit What Does it Mean to be a Global Learner? Emily Liebtag, Ed.D is the Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Services at VIF International Education. Liebtag creates educational resources and professional development focused on global education. Liebtag taught in Durham Public Schools in North Carolina and has studied Elementary Education for the past 10 years. In addition to her work at VIF, she received her B.A. in Elementary Education and her M.Ed. in Science Education from UNC-Chapel Hill and is a Ed.D candidate in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia.

Read more

Using Twitter to Supercharge Your Professional Development

Something I recommend in my work with schools and districts is to leverage social media to their advantage as a professional development tool. When I ask a group of educators how many are using Twitter, either personally or professionally, I am frequently saddened by the lack of hands I see raised. Many teachers think of Twitter as something with no value in the education realm. After all, how much content can you receive in 140 characters. Just the opposite is true. Twitter might be the strongest professional development tool available – and it’s free!The secret to getting the most out of Twitter as an educator lies in knowing how to use hashtags (#) – those things we used to call the number signs last century. I would recommend educators new to Twitter do a few things to begin getting the most out of this great resource.First, if you don’t already have one, get a Twitter account. It’s fast, easy, and free. Go to www.com, click on login on the top right, and then click “New User.” Fill out just a little information and you now have a Twitter account. Be sure to complete your profile and include in that profile that you are an educator. This becomes very important when you begin building your professional learning network (PLN).Once you have an account, look for the search window on the top right next to your name. In the “Search Twitter” window, type #edchat and then return. Edchat is one of the oldest and largest education focused chats on Take a few minutes to browse the archives. Read the rich discussions that happen every week on this chat. You can also browse the archives by going to https://edchat.pbworks.com/w/page/219908/FrontPage. Every weekly Edchat conversation is archived there. Look at the listing by date and then click to read. Some of the top names in professional development are regulars on Edchat.While Edchat is it one of the largest and oldest chats on Twitter, there are scores of focused chats that might appeal to you even more. Find a chat that most appeals to you by going to https://sites.google.com/site/twittereducationchats/education-chat-calendar. This Google calendar lists all of the major chats by interest area and lets you know when they are live.Some are geographically-focused like #MOEdchat for Missouri educators or #Africaed for African educators. Others are content-focused. #ELAChat, focusing on English and Language Arts, and #Precalcchat, discussing Pre-Calculus issues, are just two examples. There are also job-alike sessions like #ElemMathChat, #SpecEdChat, and #SuptChat. At first you probably will join a chat and just watch the conversations. This is called lurking and is a perfectly acceptable way to get started in live chatting. At some point though, you will have a question or feel compelled to reply to a comment. Just compose a tweet and be sure to add the hashtag of that particular chat at the end of your tweet so it appears in the flow of conversation. That’s it!The final step in getting the most out of Twitter is to follow smart people. When you follow someone you will see his or her tweets when you log onto Most people will follow you back. The more people you follow the wider and more powerful your PLN becomes. Unlike Facebook where friending someone you really don’t know in person is frowned upon and just a bit creepy, following other educators on Twitter is widely accepted and considered smart. Start by following me @hpitler and I promise to follow you back IF you have mentioned in your profile that you are in education.Once you get involved in Twitter as a way to grow professionally, the possibilities are almost limitless. Gather research for an article or blog post by posting questions to your PLN. Receive constructive criticism on a lesson plan, presentation, or idea from other educators. Share tips and get advice on things like parent/teacher conferences and open houses. Collaborate with others to solve a specific issue at your school. Once you get started you just might become an evangelist. I know I did.Howard Pitler, Ed.D. is an author of “Classroom Instruction that Works,” 2nd ed., “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works”, and “A Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works,” 2nd ed. He has worked with teachers and administrators internationally for over a decade to improve outcomes for kids. He was named a National Distinguished Principal by NAESP and is an Apple Distinguished Educator. He can be reached at hpitler@gmail.com, on Twitter at @hpitler, or on his website, www.hpitler.com

Read more

Connected Educator: CUE Up Professional Development

Mike Lawrence, CEO of CUE, talks with Dr. Berger about professional development and the role CUE plays in advancing technology and learning. Lawrence discusses CUE’s role with Connected Educator Month including the CEM Cafe and Twitter chats that will be happening all month!IntervieweeMike Lawrence has been impacting education as a teacher, administrator, technology coordinator and non-profit leader for twenty years. He is a respected presenter, at national conferences and events and was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2003. He assisted in the development and launch of the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) and co-founded the Google Certified Teacher program.  He currently serves as CEO of CUE (CUE.org). Each year, thousands of educators attend CUE’s conference events and professional learning opportunities, making it the premier Educational Technology association.Interviewer featured on the edCircuit,  in EdTech Review India, Scholastic’s District Administrator and on RFD TV’s Rural Education Special. As an industry personality Dr. Berger has interviewed Ministers of Education, leading voices like Sir Ken Robinson, U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan, AFT President Randi Weingarten and other global thought leaders. Dr. Berger is a guest lecturer at Vanderbilt University and resides with his wife and two children in Nashville.

Read more

Helping Educators Take the Mystery out of Twitter

If I told you there was a global network of passionate educators available to converse with you — on any subject and at any time — would you be interested? What if I told you this amazing worldwide network was also free? Would that peak your interest?by John PadulaIf you think such an environment can’t possibly exist, it can and it does — right on Now, I’m not talking about the “What did Kim Kardashian have for breakfast?” I’m talking about a facet of Twitter that doesn’t get enough exposure in the media. Every day, every minute, thousands of educators are conversing on Within those brief 140-character messages, lesson plans are being swapped, strategies are being discussed, issues are being raised, and passionate educators, mainly those in the trenches, are responding with expertise, thoughtfulness, and compassion.Let me share my Twitter story:Four years ago, I reached a crossroads in my teaching career. As I finished my fifth year in Boston teaching Social Studies, I was informed that next year I was going to be the only Social Studies teacher in our middle school. Up to this point, I had been solely responsible for seventh and eighth grade Social Studies. Now, I would be taking on grade six as well. In essence, I was going to be the entire middle school Social Studies “department” for the foreseeable future. I felt like I was being marooned on an island without a Friday to keep me company. In past years, I had tried connecting with other teachers in the district, but there was always something that prevented any sustained discussions on lessons, resources, or ideas. Now, with a third curriculum to teach, I was going to be that much more isolated from teachers who might help me plan and strategize.In the midst of this upheaval, I attended a two-day seminar on educational technology, which included a segment on We dutifully signed up for an account during the class and our instructor walked us through some simple activities within Twitter: We read messages, sent our first message (called a ‘Tweet”) and replied to each other — all in all, nothing very spectacular. Then, we were introduced to the concept of a hashtag, and my perspective on Twitter changed forever.For those that may have heard the word “hashtag” and wondered what all the fuss is about, let me explain. Twitter messages get sent out mainly as broadcasts. If you log into Twitter and just watch your incoming message window, you can see just about any message that gets sent. Twitter realized that this was way too much information to take in (and who would really want to see so much stuff?), so they allow users to label their messages by including a descriptive tag. This tag can be any combination of letters and numbers, but it has to be preceded by a “#” (or hash) symbol. The “#”, together with the tag that follows, is called a “hashtag” by Twitter users.So, why bother with a hashtag? It’s just a way to label your message so that other users know what it’s about. Consider the following messages that a history teacher might send on Twitter:“Anyone have a good explanation of the US Constitution’s fifth amendment for a third grader?”and“Anyone have a good explanation of the US Constitution’s fifth amendment for a third grader? #Civics”In both examples, the message is broadcast to the Twitter universe, and it asks the same question. However, the second message includes a “#Civics” hashtag to alert Twitter users that this message pertains to civics.Hashtags become powerful because users can filter the Twitter messages they see and one type of filter involves hashtags. As a civics teacher, I am always on the lookout for anything interesting related to civics. Rather than read every Twitter message and try to pick out the ones that involve civics, I simply ask Twitter to only show me messages that include the hashtag “#Civics”. I do this by entering “#Civics” in the Twitter search bar. This lets me skip so much of the social media-type messages that are flying around on Twitter and allows me to concentrate on just what interests me.When I searched on “#Civics” today, here’s just a sampling of what filled my screen in about 5 seconds:a link to an article on state-mandated civics testsa mention of civics requirements for third graders in Alabamaan exchange on what a ’filibuster’ isa link to a new online civics activitymention of a new study guide for the AP US Government examCan you imagine what you might find if you searched on “#ELA”, or “#Geometry”, or “#ESL”, or “#AmericanHistory”? Beyond the rich content that would certainly appear, the real magic of Twitter comes from coming into contact with educators who share your interests, who want to share their ideas, and who will often lend an ear to issues you might raise.From that one technology seminar, I began to devote 20-30 minutes a few evenings a week to exploring Twitter: Searching, reading and, over time, even responding to questions raised by other educators. I found hundreds of Social Studies teachers who were willing to share their knowledge, expertise and common sense with me. Over time, I built up a network of educators that I converse with — some from as far away as Australia. Their insights and ideas continue to make me a better teacher today.What can you do? If you’re not already on Twitter, consider creating an account today. Think about what topics are most important to you and come up with a few hashtags to explore. (If you want to see a list of about a thousand well-known educational hashtags, visit Jerry Blumengarten’s hashtag page.)Once you’ve found a few tags that resonate with you, try a few searches and see what appears. You will be amazed at how many of those Tweets — and those educators — are relevant to your teaching world. Reach out to them and get the full impact of When you share ideas with other passionate educator, your own drive and enthusiasm will be recharged, and we could all use a lot more of that!If you get stuck or need help, or would like to let me know what happens with your own adventures in Twitter – feel free to contact me at @PadulaJohn (on Twitter, of course!)The opinions expressed here are solely those of John Padula.John Padula is an Educational Technology Specialist in the Brookline Public Schools. He transitioned to EdTech after teaching middle school Social Studies for seven years in the Boston Public Schools.  Prior to teaching, John spent over 20 years in a variety of positions in the software engineering industry.     

Read more

CoffeEd: Professional Development Redefined as Professional Learning

Ann Cunningham-Morris, ASCD Director of Professional Learning, talks about educational leadership and to redefine traditional PD as “Professional Learning.”Cunningham-Morris is presently a director of professional development for ASCD and a member of the ASCD Faculty.She has been a district-level instructional administrator; director of staff development; high school, middle school, and elementary principal; classroom teacher; special education resource leader, and job development specialist in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, California, and Virginia. During her 30-year career, she has also been an adjunct professor for several universities.Cunningham-Morris has also served as an educational consultant to many school systems throughout the world in the areas of curriculum development, effective professional development program design, instructional leadership, assessment literacy, instructional best practices, and supporting high academic achievement for diverse student populations.

Read more