October is Connected Educator Month (#ce13).

The CEM calendar is packed with opportunities for growth and, of course, connection.

The Starter Kit, by Sheryl Nussbaum Beach and Powerful Learning Practice, in collaboration with the Connected Educators initiative, is packed with links and videos and takes a 31 days approach for this special month, giving you one simple way to get more connected every day. 

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I thought I’d share a video I was recently asked to pull together that describes the personal value of my network.

I thought I’d also, perhaps, get a little #ce13 meme going.

You know you’re a connected teacher librarian when you . . .

feel that a face-to-face conference is an opportunity to continue conversations rather than begin them. are more familiar with your friends’ avatars than their actual faces. are as familiar with the work of the librarians in Australia as you are with the ones in your hometown. feel you can’t go on without updates from those great TL networkers like ______ (I decided it was way too dangerous to begin fillin gin this blank, listing names and running the risk I’d forget someone wonderful!) extend your network to include educators of all types, as well as authors, publishers, journalists, social anthropologists, academics, marketers, etc. act just like a librarian when you recommend just the right networking platforms for your colleagues. know your collection is bigger than your OPAC and it includes authors and experts and other libraries and classrooms who visit virtually. regularly incorporate the energy and ideas of all the smart people you know into your own practice and into the practice of the teachers with whom you partner. pin/scoop/etc. your best displays and bulletin boards and are inspired by the boards and feeds of other librarians and educators. follow the real-life adventures of your favorite authors on Twitter and other social networks. follow and lead interested teachers to live and searchable lit chats like #titletalk #nerdybookclub, #yalitchat, #yalit, #kidlit follow and lead interested teachers to live and searchable subject area chats like #engchat, #sschat, #artsed and see many others on this infographicand Cybraryman’s lists of  Educational Hashtags and @thomascmurray, @cybraryman1 and @cevans5095′s Twitter Chats develop hashtags to connect new communities. block out Monday nights for TL Café, TL Chat Live, TLelem, and TL News Night. follow your state, provincial, national organizations (and others of interest), and #sigms on Twitter and other social networks. not only read your favorite professional journals, but follow the folks tweeting on their behalf. (@sljournal, @lmc, @voyamagazine, @LMC_magazine, @etc.) come into school each morning yearning to share new discoveries with faculty, admins, students, and parents. regularly give back by sharing your own best ideas and new knowledge with the community. have a nearly religious desire to convert unconnected educators into connected educators. weed strategically, honing and managing your network so it doesn’t drown you in noise. curate what you learn in a way that is meaningful for both your local community and your larger PLN. leave time to network around a few selected passions as well as librarianship. More #ce13 posts, including a hashtag infographic, to come throughout October.