Virtual Communities: Collaborating to Build a Better Classroom

Online message boards and virtual worlds have open the door to infinite possibilities in the field of education. It allows educators from all over the world to communicate and share lesson plans, ideas, thought, and tips for how to effective run a classroom. I find this to be especially helpful as a first year teacher. I've chosen to join two online communities to guide me through my first year of teaching, and the many years to come.

The first community I joined is Kappa Delta Pi Global. This is directly related to Education, but not necessarily technology integration. However, it offers a search function that allows you to search for technology or social media in education. I believe this community will be of high value to me because it is an organization of successful teachers that have a passion for their field. I cannot wait to see what I can learn from this community.

Kappa Delta Pi Global has already proved valuable and shared a website that I would like to pass along to my fellow classmate about integrating technology as a new teacher.

http://www.edutopia.org/article/new-teachers-technology-integration-resources


This led me to the second community I joined, Edutopia. This website has served a resource for me many times in my classroom. Once again, this isn't a technology or social media based, but based on education. However, I believe this will give me real insight to the integration of technology in the classroom. This resource allows you to follow topics such as social media, or technology. This keeps you up to date on the latest developments in this area of the education field. I believe this website will meet my needs and exceed my expectations tenfold. I'm excited to begin sharing with you what I learn on these sites.

I hope you consider joining me in my exploration of these resources! I think they will be useful to any teacher at any point in their career.

Enjoy, and happy learning!
Rachel