Community Families

Let’s get down to business! School is in full swing now and I am starting to get into this regular writing idea. There are so many people that I draw inspiration from, my former Waukegan Lighthouse Lead Learners, my Discovery Education family, my ISTE friends, my Googley friends and of course my own amazing family. I am the educator that I am today due to all of these experiences, so I wanted to take a moment and tell you how to get involved with some of these incredible life changing groups.

1. Discovery Education - If your school uses any Discovery Ed paid products then you ARE already a DEN member. Now if you jump through just a few hoops, you can become a DEN STAR! Once you become a DEN STAR a whole new world of professional learning opportunities become available for you to participate in, including the DEN Summer Institute. I could write a book on how much I learned during each institute! If your school is not a Discovery school there are still incredible learning opportunities like virtual field trips, new instructional strategies, and a variety of other resources under Teacher >> Free Resources . The DEN Community is like none other that I have been a part of.  Thanks for the last 10 years Discovery Education!

2. My Google community is huge! I was lucky enough to be in one the earlier Google Certified Teacher Academies Chicago 2008. These academies are now called Google Certified Innovator Academies. They open up randomly throughout the year and in all different locations. This is another great opportunity to below to an amazing group of educators. If the GCI doesn’t interest you, another group to connect with is the Google Certified Trainers. This is a group whose ranks I hope to join soon. Check out the brand “new” requirements to be a trainer. It is a great educational experience and I learned so much! Excellent resources and wonderful educators to connect and learn with!

My point is, that you are not alone! There are so many educator and educator communities out there for you to join and connect with! I hope some of my readers can add their favorites in the comments. Find a group, join and participate. You will be amazed at how much your professional and personal mindset will grow.