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OMG, CEM! I need an extension. (And what were/are the librarians doing?)
We’re nearing the end of October, the month the US Department of Education declared Connected Educator Month or #ce13.
With more than 500 events, the celebration has been overwhelmingly successful, and it has been seriously overwhelming.
I am afraid I failed as a volunteer and a leader.
You see, instead of leading, my head was spinning. When I could get away from weekend conference travel, deadlines, and the day-to-day work routine, I found myself drawn deep into hundreds of lovely, deep rabbit holes.
Lost in a labyrinth of presentations and discussions, as an observer and participant. I developed a mile-long to-learn list that now plagues my sleep.
In case you blinked, here are some highlights of a very interconnected schedule just from the library lens. (To avoid this suggested myopia, make sure you explore the sessions and conversations presented by other brilliant educators , as well.)
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The archive of the K12Online Conference and the upcoming events, feature our own Shannon Miller’s inspiring pre-conference keynote: Transforming Learning–One Voice at a Time, about the importance of stopping to really listen to our learners. (OMG, girlfriend, I thought I was connected!) There’s so much on the menu here. Don’t miss the other fabulous speakers in the line up. Another personal favorite is primary teacher Kathy Cassidy who discussed Connecting Classrooms: It’s About Learning.
The archive of Library 2.013 includes a wealth of powerful sessions, including Barb Stripling’s Libraries Change Lives: Declaring Our Right to Libraries.
October 14th was Connected Librarians Day. Among the provocative conversations that day was the panel: Leading the Charge to Connect the Library, Classroom, and Curriculum: A View from Library Leadership, featuring 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year, Mark Ray, AASL President, Gail Dickinson – AASL President, and former President, Susan Ballard.
In Libraries and Communities, Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, shared the latest Pew research on the role libraries play in their communities and how the use of technology impacts library users and libraries.
TL News Night for October featured the Texas School Library Association and the motto “lead out loud.”
Gwyneth Jones and I joined Steve Hargadon in the Connected Café on October 17th. Check out the full schedule of these informal conversations masterfully hosted and driven by Steve’s probing questions. So, this is where I really got lost. I so loved listening to the more casual, and often more passionate, voices of my connected colleagues and friends from a platform far more intimate than the conference podium.
There’s another full week of official connecteded goodness–bookclubs, a Monday night #edtechchat twitterchat with @arneduncan, unhangouts at tomorrow’s EdCampOnline, etc.
I am so grateful for the folks who created the vision and truly led this month.
Among the many: Steve Hargadon and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach who did so much of the heavy lifting and are largely responsible for all of us getting that extension well beyond the month of October.
Filed under: Connected Educator Month, Connected Educators
About Joyce Valenza
Joyce is an Assistant Professor of Teaching at Rutgers University School of Information and Communication, a technology writer, speaker, blogger and learner. Follow her on Twitter: @joycevalenza
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