Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit - Sat, Dec. 21 - Wed, Jan. 8

The Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit is a FREE online conference for teachers, starting on Sat, Dec. 21 and closing on Wed, Jan. 8, 2020.

It brings together some of the brightest minds in education to discuss technology, pedagogy and more.

Watch helpful, inspiring videos with top-notch educators. Generate FREE certificates for professional development credits. 

Here are the official details:

• The summit opens on Friday, December 21
• New videos will be released daily (except on December 24 and 25)
• All new videos will be available by Monday, December 31
• All previous years' videos will be available through the whole summit
• Videos will become unavailable on Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Register here: ditchsummit.com

EduTwitter- Search for Educators on Twitter

I recently ran across this awesome list of educators on Twitter - EduTwitter.org! You can search by specialism (like subject area) and by the number of followers or tweets. I recommend you take a look and see if there's someone in your area that you could be following to expand your PLN!

40 Teacher Facebook Pages You Should Follow Today

This post "40 Teacher Facebook Pages You Should Follow Today" was updated in June. Check out the list and see who is worth following in your content area!

Teacher Appreciation Week from TCEA

From May 6–10, 2019, you can get a one-year membership to TCEA absolutely FREE!

What is TCEA and why should you join? It’s a Texas-based, global nonprofit; a member-based organization that supports the use of technology in education, provides top-notch professional development, and hosts world-class events, including the TCEA Convention & Exposition. Since 1980, TCEA has worked to develop digital learning knowledge and access in PreK-16 education. 

TCEA advocates for the smart use of technology in education based on the interests of its thousands of members: teachers, administrators, librarians, CTOs and technologists, and ed tech aficionados. As a member, you can get 24/7 access to webinars and gain CPE credit, join an online community sharing best practices, and become a leader on your campus or in your district.

For more about the benefits of your free membership, and to sign up, check out https://tcea.org/teacher-appreciation/.

In addition, you can now join one, some, or all of TCEA’s SIGs (Special Interest Groups) free as well. The SIGs are special communities of educators who share a common job role (librarian, CTO/technology director, instructional/technology coach) or Ed tech interest, such as robotics or virtual learning or Technology Applications. You can find out more at https://tcea.org/membership/sigs/. 

Take advantage of this free way to up your teaching, learning, and leading game today!

Educational Hashtags

Recently I ran across this list of 12 Great Hashtags All Educators Should Be Exploring. If you're new to Twitter or have been using it for years, this list is worth looking through. If you find something of interest, retweet, like, or save for future reference! Great educators share/steal great things! Read more.

Birdville ISD's FREE online Digital Summit -- going on NOW!

Birdville ISD's BirdNest (Digital Learning) is hosting a #12DaySummit right now. Each day, Dec. 3 - 18, a new guest speaker video is emailed out to participants for you to view at your convenience. Videos are available through early January. Read more and sign-up.

Today's guest speaker was @jmattmiller from Ditch That Textbook. I recommend you check it out!

Common Sense Education's Best Professional Development Resources

Common Sense Education put together this list of their Best Professional Development Websites and PLNs for Teachers. I recommend taking a look at the list to see what might be a good fit for you. 

Teacher Pages to Follow on Facebook

I just ran across this list of 30 Teacher Facebook Pages You Should Follow Today. If you use Facebook, take a look at the list and see who is a good fit for your PLN (Personal Learning Network).

Education Blogs 2018

When you have some down-time this summer, take a look through the 2018 Honor Roll: Ed-tech's Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs. If you find something you like, look for subscription information. On most sites you can sign up for email notifications or RSS feeds.  There's some good stuff out there! 

If what you learn is in line with your T-TESS goals, keep track of what you do and that can be documented as professional learning through Strive.