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August 2014 - In This Issue:
UPCOMING EVENTS

August 29, 2014
 
September 6, 2014

Deadline to submit WORKSHOP Proposals for ICE 2015
September 10, 2014 

September 16, 2014

EdCamp Illinois (Palatine)
September 20, 2014

IllinICE Edcamp (Bloomington)
September 20, 2014

September 27, 2014

CORPORATE PARTNERS
Who is telling your school's story?

Using a hashtag to engage your school community to tell their story

Jason Markey

Entering my first year as principal, especially at a school going 1:1, I was excited to start down the path of social media to share all the great things going on at Leyden.  I'm not going to discuss why we all should be using social media because that has been done very well already in posts like  this from Eric Sheninger.  Instead I want to focus more on the choices we are making at Leyden in how we are approaching social media.

The most common use of social media by schools seems to be a school led push of information most often through Facebook and/or Twitter. We are doing this as well, but this is really using the internet as it was understood circa 2000, not the web that we all live on now. The real power of the web now is not just an amplification of the same push of publicity we always did as schools, but actually engaging your community and beyond in a conversation that anyone can take part in. Continue reading...
Twitter is Terrific 
Twitter can be a very powerful tool in your professional learning toolbox! You can use Twitter to share the things that you are doing in your school, to connect with other educators around the world, to find resources, to participate in a twitter chat, or to ask questions and get support. As Steven Anderson (@web20classroom) said, "Alone we are smart but together we are brilliant. We can the use collective wisdom to do great things when we are connected." We become stronger, better educators by collaborating and learning from others. Teaching in isolation is now a choice.

If you are new to Twitter you can check out the Connected Educator Wednesday Webinar from last year. A great way to get your feet wet is to "lurk" or even participate in a twitter chat. Twitter chats are conversations that happen on Twitter on a regular basis, usually weekly or monthlly, and there is one chosen topic. Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) has complied an excellent list of twitter chats and educational hashtags. Still not sure? There's an app for that, the TweechMe App, or you can even sign up for a Twitter mentor. Be sure to follow @ice_il on Twitter! Happy tweeting!
ICE Leader You Should Know: Michelle Russell

Michelle Russell is currently a Technology Integration Coach at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Chicago. With over 12 years experience in education, she has been a elementary classroom teacher, math teacher, technology facilitator, computer teacher, and technology specialist. She holds a Masters in Technology is Education and a Technology Specialist certificate. Michelle has shared her love and knowledge of technology in education at variety of workshops and conferences including National Louis University, Illinois Computing Educators Conference and Tech & Learning's Tech Forum. Michelle is currently a co-host of EduWin Weekly. This bi-weekly podcast on the EdReach network celebrates education.
 

You can connect with Michelle at about.me/michelle.russell on Twitter at @michellerussell
From the Desk of the Director: Gearing up for a new year
Margaret Johnson, Executive Director of ICE

As another school year gets off and running, ICE is also gearing up for a new year of connecting ICE members to formal and informal professional learning opportunities and to each other!  ICE Webinars will return, and we hope to offer more opportunities to learn with and from students, along with some brand new ideas being cooked up by our Professional Development Committee.  Plans for next February's  ICE Conference, ICE 2015 - Make the Difference, are well underway.  With the help of many conference sub-committees, the program and special events of ICE 2015 are beginning to take shape.  Know that all of the exciting conference news such as speaker announcements, new features, and more will be delivered on Twitter first.  So follow @ice_il and #ice15 on Twitter and you won't miss a thing!


Watch our e-blasts for links to events sponsored by ICE and ICE's local Chapters, but also for information on events sponsored by schools and other groups that may be of interest to our members.  We are happy to promote and support free and low cost events such as Edcamps and know they offer great opportunities for educators.  If you have an event of interest to ICE members, please complete our form, Spreading the word with ICE, and we will get the word out! 

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