TeacherConnecting.com

=** What is TeachersConnecting.com? **= =The website allows teachers to bring global projects into their classroom by helping them to make connections with other teachers. The beauty of terachersconnecting.com is that teachers are not limited to professionals in their building, district, or state. Teachers can find collaborating partners from anywhere in the world. The goal of the website is to help link teachers together so that each teacher’s students can collaboratively work together on specially designed projects. Teachers make a profile that other teachers can view. Each profile has the ability to include a project calendar. There is even a section on the profile that states if you available or willing to begin a collaborative project with another teacher. In addition, the profile also lists your familiarity with technology or as they refer to it, your connectivity level. It is a great way to meet other teachers who have the same familiarity with technology as you, and a great way to learn from other teachers that are more familiar with technology. As a teacher, you can search for projects by subject area to help find collaborative projects to integrate into your classroom. After creating a profile, you can find buddies. Buddies are other teachers that have profiles on the website. In addition, you can link to your buddies facebook, twitter, or blog pages from teachersconnecting.com.= = Using Teachersconnecting.com in your own classroom = = “This website is a virtual convener. It facilitates a 'handshake' between teachers interested in cross collaboration project. The comforts in connectivity, constructivism, and collaboration make this 'handshake'more intelligent. This virtual convener is based on connecting teachers using more than simply the grade level or location of classrooms.” (retrieved from [] ) =

= Although, teachersconnecting.com does not facilitate projects on their specific website, their job is to simply help teachers locate other professionals willing and able to participate in projects. = = = =__ Purpose: __ As stated above the website does not host project but simply allows you to connect with other teachers. The magical feature of the site is it’s ability to connect teachers willing to work on projects together. Sure, other websites allow teachers to connect with one another, but who knows if these teachers are willing to conduct a collaborative project? The simple answer is you don’t know, but with teachersconnecting.com, educators with profiles on this site are willing to complete collaborative projects. The second magical feature is the websites // Cross-Classroom Collaboration Projects Matrix. // Using this matrix, teachers find other teachers with similar abilities. As teachers complete projects together their familiarity increases and they move to higher levels of connectivity. Not only is the website a collaboration tool but it can also serve as a learning tool. As teachers complete online projects together their technical knowledge grows. You can tackle a new skill with the help of your collaborating teacher. =

=I love this website because it specifically helps teachers locate projects to use in their classroom. I would use this site in my classroom to help my students make connections to other areas of the country and in the world. I would find projects that match my classroom curriculum and then collaborate with other teachers to help integrate those projects. It would be a great way to help my students communicate with others worldwide. In the future, students will most likely be communicating with individuals from across the world to facilitate growth within their respective careers. Using teachersconnecting.com, is a simple step to help familiarize your students with communicating with individuals from different countries and cultures.= = =

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