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Online communities and learning networks are helping hundreds of thousands of educators learn, reducing isolation and providing “just in time” access to knowledge and opportunities for collaboration. However, many educators are not yet participating and others aren’t realizing the full benefits. In many cases, schools, districts, and states also are not recognizing and rewarding this essential professional learning. For these reasons, the U.S. Department of Education’s Connected Educators initiative is launching Connected Educator Month in August 2012. Throughout August, there will be coordinated opportunities to participate in events and activities in dozens of online locations to develop skills and enhance one’s personal learning network.

An intensive, two-day online conference on transforming teaching and learning—featuring senior Department of Education officials and education thought leaders—will kick off the month. Plans are under way for opportunities such as: Month-long forums on key topics, such as personalizing learning and the future of the teaching profession, which will be moderated by noted education leaders and consist of online discussions, interviews, webinars, chats, and more. Guided tours and real-time community open houses, which will connect educators with communities, answering questions such as: Who can help me solve challenges I’m facing in my classroom and how do I best connect with them? How can I help change my profession for the better? Contests for addressing community challenges, developing innovative ideas, and creating compelling video demonstrations. Inauguration of a new series of open badges for connected educators as well as online communities. All events and activities will be archived and synthesized into multimedia “proceedings” that will serve as a permanent resource to educators and community sponsors.

The U.S. Department of Education has declared August Connected Educator Month, and since we’d be nothing without the teachers we’ve connected with over the years, we’re enthusiastically on board.To celebrate, we asked every educator who has written a guest post for us, been featured in a Reader Idea, or collaborated on one of our features to answer two simple questions:What is one important thing you’ve learned from someone in your Personal Learning Network (P.L.N.), however you define that network?What one person, group or organization would you recommend every educator add to his or her P.L.N.?Reading their responses, below, is a crash course in how to be a “connected educator.” By our count, together they’ve recommended more than 100 people, organizations, sites and other resources you can learn from right now, as well as shared insights on how to learn from them.

Twitter can be an effective and easy way to provide real-time information to any interested member of your community with Internet access. You've connected. And believe it or not, that connection can help you build credibility with your community.

Whoa! Wait! We hear your protests. My community is not wired, you say. Not all my parents speak English. I don't have time. I've already sent out the newsletter—and that has all the news. Although it may be true that not everyone in your community has Internet access, you might be surprised at how much access your community has. Take a look at what the Pew Foundation has found out about Americans and technology today

This may sound silly, but there's an art to Twitter. Creating a useful message of 140 characters, spaces included, takes practice. Your long-term success on Twitter is closely tied to the quality of your tweets. The more specific your tweet is and the more it is tailored to a particular audience, the more compelling it will be.

Twitter chats are a great resource for learning and networking, allowing academics from all over the world to come together on a regular basis to talk about what’s important in education. They’re also ideal for gaining authority and visibility in your field. Better yet, they’re happening all the time. Check out our list to find 50 of the best Twitter chats in academia (shared in no particular ranking), offering a great way to get connected and stay informed in the world of education. These are our picks for excellent education chats on Twitter.