This month of October, many educators around the world will be celebrating Connected Educator Month.

This is a month full of activities to establish or deepen our online connections with others. Many of us have found that being “connected” has made our teaching and learning practices deeper and more rewarding, and that’s what this month is all about.

If you are new to Connected Educator Month, how can you participate? Here are a few ways.

• Sign up for the CEM newsletter.
• Check out the Connected Educator Starter Kit.
• If you know a teacher or administrator who isn’t yet “connected,” help them take one small step to get started.
• If you aren’t on Twitter, join!
• Watch the CEM calendar for lots of great events, and take part in a few that resonate with you.

However you participate, make sure to share with others in your personal or professional networks. In particular, think about sharing the benefits of being connected with someone who may not have already experienced them! That will make learning richer for all of us.

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I consider myself “connected” — I’m on Twitter often; I use other social media tools to collaborate with others; I love online participatory learning. When I have a puzzling problem or a great discovery, I turn immediately to my PLN. Connected Educator month made me reflect on how important these connections are to me and to many others.

But perhaps more importantly, Connected Educator month made me realize what a great disadvantage teachers who are not connected face. I think this is becoming an equity issue for teachers. If you aren’t a part of a strong PLN, you simply don’t have the edge in your professional learning.

I think that professional organizations, state policymakers, and district and building leadership should be pushing this issue. Our teachers and our learners deserve it.

So the challenge for me has been thinking about how I can help more teachers get connected.

One thing I’m doing is helping coordinate a Teacher Boot Camp (hopefully, the first of many) with the specific aim of getting teachers connected. This day is for teachers who aren’t on Twitter, haven’t set up a collaborative Google Doc, don’t know what G+ is, and just haven’t gotten around to setting up a PLN.

This day will be in Portland, Oregon on February 27 and is a part of the NCCE “Make Your Future” summits.

If you know a teacher who might benefit from this, please let them know about it. (We’ve tried to keep the price low at $100 per person.)

And if you’d like to host an event like this in your own community, please do (either yourself or in conjunction with me or others)!

I think that getting more teachers actively connected is one of the most important things we can do.

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