#TheEdCollabGathering Archives! and Final Days to Apply to Coaching Think Tanks

Our inaugural #TheEdCollabGathering was a blast! Over 1,200 educators tuned in live from countries all over the world.  It was inspiring to see the incredible turnout, read the energized tweets, and watch the inspiring sessions.

In case you feared you missed it… you didn’t!

We are happy to share the archives of all of the streaming sessions!

You can find them back on our gathering page: Gathering.TheEducatorCollaborative.com

or on our YouTube Channel: YouTube.com/TheEdCollab

A special thanks to the amazing presenters, volunteers who helped all of the technology run smoothly, and to all of you for attending (or soon to join in through the archives!).

 

Final days to apply to yearlong Coaching Think Tanks!

Also at The Educator Collaborative, we are quickly reaching the deadline for applications to our Coaching Think Tanks.  Final applications accepted through October 1st.

Coaches from all over have already joined and we invite you as well.  As long as you can access the live sessions via the internet, you are welcome to join regardless of your location.

We designed these as opportunities for Technology Coaches, Literacy Coaches, English Coaches, and Coordinators or other leaders.

We know that often coaches and coordinators are the real rocks of their school communities. We also know that in these roles we can often feel alone.   Our Coaching Think Tanks aim to create spaces for these leaders to learn together with experts from our team and also from one another.

Groups work together throughout the school year. Meeting online for sessions nearly each month, completing assignments that put conversations into action, and working together online in Forums and sharing documents.

Learn more, and apply, here: TheEducatorCollaborative.com/project/coaching-think-tanks/

Hurry though, final deadline is Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

Last Day for Early Decision Applications: @TheEdCollab #CoachingThinkTanks

I have loved reading the applications rolling in for our brand new 2014-15 Coaching Think Tanks.

It was a dream to develop these cutting-edge ways for literacy and technology coaches to learn together.  I am so honored and inspired by the motivation and vision contained in these applications from coaches from all corners. I can’t wait for our team to get to join yours.

A reminder that tomorrow, August 27th, is the deadline for early bird applications. The window closes at 5PM EST …though if you were to slide in within a few hours of that I’m sure no one would notice…

The first batch of applications will be processed and decision letters will go out starting Sept 2nd.

If you miss the August 27th deadline, no worries, we will continue to accept applications until all sections are filled or Oct 1, whichever comes first.  Though ,many popular sections are filling, so don’t wait too long if you have top choices.

About Our Coaching Think Tanks

We know that Coaches are essential to a school’s growth.  We also know–many of us from personal experience–that it can be a lonely position at times.

We are hoping our Coaching Think Tanks can be a not-too-busy, never-having-to-travel, intimate and rigorous way coaches can learn together across the school year.

They are not webinars, instead they are highly selective, small groups of coaches joining together across the year to collaborate and study.

Only 5-10 literacy and/or technology coaches will be admitted to each group. This is so no one feels lost in the crowd and groups can really become personalized support systems.

For more info here is my video announcement or you can visit our Coaching Think Tanks page.

We have just 16 New to Coaching and Advanced Coaching sessions to offer, led by me, Meenoo Rami, Kristi Mraz, Brian Sweeney, Kristin Ziemke, and more… Lots of options, but also very limited enrollment, so check it out early.

For each group, there will be

• yearlong support
• 6 live, online, sessions facilitated by one of our team members.
• Projects to work on between online sessions to extend conversations into practice.
• Private Forum Groups on our Community.TheEducatorCollaborative.com page.
• And a professional learning hours Certificate or Digital Badge at the end.

Click the image of the Flyer or download here.

 

Thanks for all you do–for kids, for each other, and for our profession.

 

 

A New Way for Coaches to Learn Together

First, a huge thank you for the amazing support and response for my new organization, The Educator Collaborative.  I’ve received tons of emails, tweets, and in-person congratulations.

It reminds me how important compliments are for everyone. I won’t lie – all the hours, meetings, emails, and programming really bogged me down at times. Having someone say “thanks” could change those clouds in an instant.

I have to remember the power of that and make a point to thank others, daily.

Now the News: Coaching Think Tanks

Now the fun to share!

Just yesterday we announced our new Coaching Think Tanks for 2014-15.

We know that Coaches are essential to a school’s growth.  We also know–many of us from personal experience–that it can be a lonely position at times.

We are hoping our Coaching Think Tanks can be a not-too-busy, never-having-to-travel, intimate and rigorous way coaches can learn together across the school year.

They are not webinars, instead they are highly selective, small groups of coaches joining together across the year to collaborate and study.

Only 5-10 literacy and/or technology coaches will be admitted to each group. This is so no one feels lost in the crowd and groups can really become personalized support systems.

For more info here is my video announcement or you can visit our Coaching Think Tanks page.

We have just 16 New to Coaching and Advanced Coaching sessions to offer, led by me, Meenoo Rami, Kristi Mraz, Brian Sweeney, Kristin Ziemke, and more… Lots of options, but also very limited enrollment, so check it out early.

For each group, there will be

• yearlong support
• 6 live, online, sessions facilitated by one of our team members.
• Projects to work on between online sessions to extend conversations into practice.
• Private Forum Groups on our Community.TheEducatorCollaborative.com page.
• And a professional learning hours Certificate or Digital Badge at the end.

 

Click the image of the Flyer to download or grab one on our Coaching Think Tanks page.

Applications Live (Very) Soon

• Members of The Educator Collaborative mailing list will have a Priority Application period starting Friday! August 15-19th.

• The general public can apply starting August 20th.

• Admittance decisions will be sent starting Sept 2 and rolling through Oct 1st.

I am excited to watch these groups grow. My hope is that we can continue to innovate ways we all learn and connect.

 

And Lastly…. (Psst…)

Keep Saturday, September 20th open on your calendar. Something great is coming on that day…

 

Thanks for all you do–for kids, for each other, and for our profession.

 

 

The BIG News: I Founded A New Organization!

Thanks to all of you for making the launch day of the “Big News” feel so amazing.

As many of you now know, yesterday I publicly announced the new organization that I founded and direct. We’re called The Educator Collaborative.

 

We are a think tank and consulting organization working to innovate the ways educators learn together.

Our motto:

Collaboration Creates Opportunity.

 

This has really been a hands-on, labor of love for me.  You can read more about this at my Welcome message I posted yesterday.

Our Consultants are my dream team. I nervously asked each one and I was delighted when they said yes. Each is an amazing educator in his/her own right and we are even stronger together. The Educator Collaborative is happy to arrange their, or my, consulting services or speaking engagements with your school or organization.

We have two online homes that I built from scratch (picture me in front of the computer screen for hours learning how to use website plugins and code), I hope you love them as much as I do.

The first is our main professional site.  Here you’ll get to know us, our services – both in person and online, sign-up for our mailing list, and when our online offerings open up you can access registration here as well.

TheEducatorCollaborative.com

The second, sister site, is our exciting new social and networking website for teachers.  Called The Educator Collaborative Community, it is a place to collaborate with teachers from across the world on education topics. Within one day of launching our membership on that site is already nearing 100 and continues to rise.  People are posting questions, sharing answers, and forming discussion groups.

We intend to go beyond a typical online forum… innovation is what we do after all… Part of vision is to help educators use online tools for collaboration in newer, more personal ways.  In this instance, we are launching soon a monthly series where we will take some of the most popular topics, groups, and people from the Community and bring them to a broadcast collaboration space.  Sometimes it will be through a live broadcast hangout, sometimes through a virtual conference call, or other ways we hope to discover.  We will take the hottest topics and bring our experts, experts from the field, and some of you on to discuss them live.

It is our free gift to the education community.

Community.TheEducatorCollaborative.com

Naturally, you can find us on twitter (I mean, it’s me you’re talking about): @TheEdCollab and you can use the hashtag #TheEdCollab.  We’d love to have you follow.

I am so touched by the positive responses over the last 24 hours. I know there are many places you go to learn, connect, and share, and we hope The Educator Collaborative will be one of those places for you.

Thanks for all you do for our profession, for your colleagues, and for your students.

Here’s to great things ahead!

Chris