The Educator's Guide to Creating Connections

Tom Whitby has presented at many national, statewide, and local education conferences as well as Edcamps. He has contributed to the WISE Conference in Doha, Qatar, an International Education Conference, for the last two years. He served as a social media consultant for SmartBrief and a contributing Editor for SmartBlog on Education for SmartBrief. Tom is a retired Adjunct Professor of Education at St Joseph's College in New York, having taught for 6 years. He came to that position after 34 years as a secondary English teacher in the Public School system. He was also a leader in the New York State United Teacher Locals for 30 years. He has founded a number of Educational Groups on Linkedin including Technology Using Professors Group. He has been recognized with an Edublog Award for the most Influential Educational Twitter Series, Edchat, which he founded. Additionally, Tom hosts The Edchat Radio Show for the BAM Network, which is available as free podcasts from K-12 education at the Apple iStore. He blogs at My Island View and has contributed articles to several education journals and has been a guest blogger with contributions to The Royal Treatment and Teacher's Reboot Camp. He created the Ning site, The Educator's PLN: http://edupln.ning.com/. Follow him on Twitter @tomwhitby.

Personalized Learning - Tom Whitby Digitally Enhanced Leadership - Kyle Pace Empowered Professional Learning - Kristen Swanson Authentic Learning - Steven W. Anderson Blogging - George Couros Giving Our Students A Voice Through Global Connections - Shannon Miller Student Personal Learning Networks - Lisa Nielsen Digital Learning Tools - Adam Bellow Putting the Horse Before the Cart: Contemporary Learning and Practice as Policy Drivers - Pam Moran

"The successful educator is a connected educator. Quite simply, this book is a manual to stay relevant and energized in a rapidly changing profession. I highly recommend the Educator's Guide to Connections as the definitive guidebook on building connections for the modern educator." -- Vicki Davis, Author "Reinventing Writing" "Tom Whitby, who is just about THE most connected educator out there, has brought together a who's who list any educator would want to be connected with and learn from! His latest book shares great ideas on how teachers can use online strategies as one way to look and learn beyond our all-too-often isolated classrooms." -- Larry Ferlazzo, Award-Winning Teacher, Blogger, and Author "Change is accelerating exponentially. What this means for educators is that to be effective, it's critical they be able to make connections for learning, both for themselves and for their students. "The Educator's Guide to Creating Connections" assembles perspectives from today's top thought leaders and change agents. Tom and his contributors "drill down" and give specific rational, strategies, and techniques for leveraging technology to connect learners. Their beliefs of giving students voice, empowers kids and enhances learning. Through connections, creativity, and imagination, educators and learners are no longer isolated in siloed classrooms. "The Educator's Guide to Creating Connections" is a valuable read for shaping thinking and taking action." -- John Carver "As of now there are about 20 books in the Corwin Connected Educator Series, a seemingly ever-growing set of titles masterminded by Peter DeWitt and Corwin Press. Each book is short enough to be read in one sitting, which makes the collection ideal for book studies and professional development, both during the summer and throughout the school year. Also, each paperback is authored by one or two educators who speak (and blog, tweet, etc.) with a credible voice in the world of connected education. Some of the topics include: Flipped leadership Tools for connecting educators, parents, and communities Blogging for educators Best practices for establishing a makerspace Tools to connect and empower teachers Finally, all of the authors are active on social media, and they regularly present at local conferences, which helps in bringing to life the contents of these books." -- Ross Cooper, Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12