Keep the Conversation & Learning Going

Monday, April 22 was a system-wide non-instructional day at the Calgary Board of Education. Whether you were at the EdcampYYC un-conference or part of the multitude of professional development experiences taking place at schools all across the district, the questions often asked afterwards are:

• How do I find time to connect, learn, and share outside of these days?
• How do I find others who are passionate about the same topics as I am?
• How can I maintain and grow the connections I made? 
• How can I build on the momentum from today and extend it for my ongoing professional learning?

We believe that networks are a crucial part of the answer to these common questions. Through a networked professional learning approach, educators can take charge of their own learning by accessing it on an ongoing basis whenever and wherever it is convenient for them while focussing on topics of interest, relevance, and importance to them. Networked learning also supports a culture of openness and sharing. In networks people are generous with their support, ideas, resources, and solutions. We are free to ask questions, wonder about, and wrestle with the challenges we face, and through the process of opening this up to others in a network we benefit from the rich lived experiences and collective knowledge of others. 

To support networked learning and the fostering of connections, Innovation and Learning Technology is hosting 4 face-to-face professional learning sessions in April and May:

• Cancelled April 30: Lester B. Pearson School (4:30-6:00) 
• May 8: Harold Panabaker School (4:30-6:00)
• Cancelled May 12: Nose Creek School (4:30-6:00)
• May 27: Tom Baines School (4:30-6:00)

At these sessions you will have time to:

• connect with your colleagues and grow your existing network
• explore your questions, wonderings, challenges, experiments and ideas around leveraging educational technology for learning
• share resources, ideas, strategies, tips and sources of inspiration
• learn with and from each other
• explore your next steps: How can ILT support your work? What questions do you have for the networks? How can you stay connected to your network?

Register here for one or more of these sessions. We look forward to connecting with you!

In addition to networking face-to-face, there are a variety of ways to connect and learn with other educators any time and any place. Choose the one that works for you!

Follow ILT on Twitter @cbeilt where we share resources, ideas and professional learning opportunities and where countless other educators are sharing, learning and exploring together.

Join the ILT Google+ Community www.bit.ly/googleilt where over 150 educators (and growing!) come together in an online space to ask questions, explore options, discuss ed tech topics from mobile learning to GAFE to design thinking and beyond, share examples of ed tech in action in their schools and classrooms, and much more.

Follow this ILT blog cbeilt.blogspot.ca. We'd love to have you share your ed tech in action stories on the ILT blog. Please fill out the quick form on the right hand widget in this blog and blog with us!

Like us on Facebook www.bit.ly/iltfbook where you will receive all our tweets, blog posts, and more on your Facebook wall.

Follow CORE on Twitter @core4learning and the CORE blog for CORE updates, professional learning opportunities, resource highlights,  and more.

Tannis Emann, Specialist
on behalf of the Innovation and Learning Technology team