Membership Benefits

Professional development

We are proud to be an Illinois State Board of Education approved provider for educator licensure professional development hours (PDHs). This allows us, with the help of our dedicated partners, to provide educators with a plethora of professional learning opportunities.  As an IDEA member, you will have access to all these opportunities, including member-only events. 

View PD Opportunities

MINI-GRANTS

The purpose of the Mini-Grant Program is to provide IDEA members throughout the state with funding for educational technology projects that showcase innovation and creativity and directly benefit students in PreK-12 classrooms. Apply for an IDEA mini-grant!

Learn More

SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships are available up to $1,000 for members to pursue an advanced degree, take additional for-credit college courses, or attend professional development workshops and conferences. Children of IDEA members may apply for a scholarship to pursue a degree in Education. Scholarship applications open in early April and are announced each year in mid-May.


REGIONAL CHAPTERS

There are 21 local chapters  of Illinois Digital Educators Alliance covering all counties in the state. The members of each chapter hold  meetings and events that provide an opportunity for networking and professional development on a local level.


Find Your Local Chapter

RECENT IDEA BLOGS

A New Way Forward

By Brian Lamb, CEO and Co-Founder of Swivl • 24 Apr, 2024
Students need social and emotional skills for school and daily life. Especially today, where technology can manipulate our emotions and erode our social skills unlike ever before. None of this should be controversial. Swivl thinks a new way forward is possible by making reflection a part of every learning activity, for every student, every day. We can explain this best by first explaining the reflective technology we’ve built to enable it.

Infusing Transferable Skills in PBL Projects

By Michelle Hollander, Teq • 17 Apr, 2024
For students, learning needs to feel purposeful and relevant. There are many ways to infuse transferable skills into every lesson, especially project-based learning (PBL) projects.

Reflection: the under-emphasized key to learning

By Brian Lamb with Swivl • 03 Apr, 2024
For centuries we’ve known there are two requirements for learning: engagement and reflection. Modern students experience a massive imbalance between these two requirements. Students’ lives are filled with more engagement than they can handle, and arguably less reflection than they need. The reflection that is part of their school experience is often too limited. Swivl believes a new path forward that addresses these challenges is possible by seeing reflection for what it is: a necessary tool for learning.
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