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Federal Government To Launch 'Connected Educator' Initiative at ISTE

The Office of Educational Technology in the United States Department of Education is launching a new initiative designed to "explore the potential for online communities to support professional educators."

The "connected educator" initiative will focus on online communities of practice and their value in supporting American teachers. The program will raise awareness of online professional communities and attempt to improve the "usefulness and quality of online interactions, specifically within online communities of practice," according to information released by OET Friday.

"Online communities in education support the Obama Administration's compelling vision of connected educators," said Karen Cator, OET director, in a prepared statement. "We want to support online communities of practice--one of many ways educators can connect--with dissemination of promising practices, innovation and research."

The initiative will be unveiled at the the ISTE 2011 conference, being held in Philadelphia June 26 through June 29.

In related news, the Office of Educational Technology will participate in several events at the ISTE show, including:

  • A panel moderated by Cator June 27 at 11 a.m.on the use of technology in schools;
  • A presentation by Cator focusing on the National Education Technology Plan June 27 at 12:45 p.m.; and
  • A panel that includes Steve Midgley, deputy director of OET, June 27 at 2 p.m.

ED will be in booth 3212 throughout the conference. Additional details can be found on ISTE's conference site.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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