IDEAs to Connect your Classroom

Teaching is based upon relationships. The relationships you build with your students; the relationships you build with your colleagues; and, the relationships you build with other educators. With the integration of technology into today’s classrooms, these relationships are now able to extend far beyond our four walls. We are able to develop relationships in new ways and connect with educators and classrooms around the world. Connections allow us to engage, collaborate, share, and learn globally benefitting both ourselves and our students. In 2019, Illinois Digital Educators Alliance (IDEA) invited its members to share stories about how they connected with other educators and classrooms around the world. Inside you will find a compilation of these stories. Stories about developing an online professional learning network; stories about encouraging collaborative professional development; and, stories about using technology to enhance learning in the classroom, just to name a few. You will see how the connections that these educators have made both in and outside of the classroom have influenced their practice and their students. As you enjoy these stories, consider new ways you can connect professionally and engage your students in new connections as well.