"Bring Your Own (BYO)" Webinar

The Impact on Pedagogy and Professional Development

December 8, 2011

1:00 EST

Sponsored by: ClassLink

 Bring Your Own technology initiatives are top of mind with school administrators everywhere this year. Whether big or small, schools across the nation want to leverage the benefits of student and teacher owned technology devices in the classroom. Specifically, schools expect BYO to improve learning and better prepare 21st century citizens. When surveyed, schools that had successfully implemented BYO programs universally agree that improvement to classroom instruction (pedagogy) is an "essential element" for success.

Learn from the panelists on how the BYO movement is transforming classroom instruction and professional development.

Elliot Soloway, University of Michigan

Cathleen Norris, University of North Texas

Cary Harrod,  Forest Hills Local Schools

Berj Akian, CEO, ClassLink

To learn more and/or to register for this free webinar, click this link:  http://www.classlink.com/eml/final/leadership/leadership28.html

Teachers Using Twitter for Professional Development

Teachers are increasingly using Twitter for professional development and collaboration, according to the New York Times blog post by Kathleen Schulten. Each week, thousands of teachers participate in scheduled Twitter “chats” around a particular subject area or type of student. Math teachers meet on Mondays, for instance, while science discussions happen on Tuesdays, new teachers gather on Wednesdays and teachers working with sixth graders meet Thursdays. (Jerry Blumengarten, Twitter’s @cybraryman1, posts this helpful list of educational chats.)

By using hashtags — that is, words or phrases preceded by the # symbol, like “#Scichat” for science educators — users can organize, search and find messages on a particular topic all in one place.

Anyone can participate, and joining is easy: just go to Twitter, search for the hashtag of the chat that appeals to you, and start to read the stream of messages. When you’re ready to add your own thoughts or share resources, just append that same hashtag to your Twitter message. (For more tips, visit The Times' “Nuts and Bolts” and “Resources” lists.)

The blog post also features an interview with the founders of the Edchat, SSchat and Engchat Twitter streams, who talk about the power of the medium.