CUE Keynote: Connected Educator Month

Last weekend, I was the keynote speaker at the San Luis Obispo CUE conference! CUE stands for Computer Using Educators.

Since October is Connected Educator Month, the subject of my keynote was connecting. Connecting my classroom to learning opportunities via technology is a priority for me, and I am always looking for new ways to connect and learn.

Photo by John Miller

The first connections I made were through blogging. In my keynote, I chronicled how one connection with Australian blogger, Kathleen Morris, lead to numerous global projects for my students. Read about some of our global projects here. Kathleen and I met face-to-face after two years of collaboration when we presented  Flattening the Classroom Walls through Blogging at ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Here is my Educational Blogging wiki with resources and ideas for starting a classroom blog.

Connecting our students has never been more important. Here is a link to a great post called Digital Writing and Common Core by Joe Wood. Publishing, interacting, and collaborating digitally are Anchor Standards for writing. Below is a document put together by Joe Wood. He highlights some anchor standards over four grade levels (Kindergarten, 4th, 8th, and 12th). Check out what will be happening in kindergarten!

click to enlarge

Graphic by Joe Wood

I also encouraged educators to connect and learn with one another through Twitter.

Here is a presentation about using Twitter to build your PLN!
 (Personal Learning Network) 

According to Rodd Lucier, there are seven degrees of connectedness. Here are his Seven Degrees of Connectedness in an infographic put together by Silvia Tolisano.

Click to enlarge. 

Teachers, what are some ways that you've connected your classroom? Can you offer some advice to other teachers?

Parents, how has your child benefited from connecting and publishing online? 

Students, what do you like about publishing and collaborating online?