Becoming Social(er): Why Does Community Matter?

Your Name and Title: Lance Rougeux, VP Learning Communities and Instructional Implementation

School, Library, or Organization Name: Discovery Educator Network

Co-Presenter Name(s): 

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Mechanicsburg, PA

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): K-12 educators

Short Session Description (one line): A conversation about the benefits and challenges of developing learning communities for ourselves and within our classrooms. 

Full Session Description (as long as you would like): Drawing upon the results of our recent evaluation of the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) professional learning community and my personal ongoing research (i.e., vicarious teaching experiences like discussing the Hunger Games in Edmodo with my wife's sixth grade classroom) we'll discuss the importance of community for educators and students.  What are the benefits and challenges associated with "social" in the context of both teaching and learning?  How do we find our niche within a professional learning community?  How does our own participation as active or passive community members model behavior and influence our expectations of our students? 

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:  http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/den-by-numbers