June's Online Professional Development Opportunities

I know - it can be a little hard to even think about professional development in June, just as you are coming off of (or finishing up) another busy school year. However, kicking off your summer (or ending your school year) with some professional development can be great; besides being a chance to connect with other educators and reflect on the past year, it also can be nice to be in more of the student role for a change. With this in mind, here are some intriguing online professional development opportunities that are being offered this month.

NCTE's monthly Twitter chat is scheduled for Sunday, June 19 at 8:00 pm EST. The topic is "Books that Changed My Life," and it is sure to be a spirited, lively, and engaging discussion. I'm especially intrigued by it since it is a chance to talk about books with others who love books (and seriously, English teachers LOVE to talk about books) and get some book recommendations to add to my never-ending "To be read" pile. For more information or to read past NCTE chats, visit the #nctechat page. 

ASCD has a number of webinars on a variety of topics this month, including:

• "Excellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student" on June 3 at 1:00 pm EST. 
• "Get in the Game: The Magic Circle of the Gamified Classroom" on June 14 at 3:00 pm EST.
• "Teaching Students to Drive their Brains" on June 28 at 3:00 pm EST.

While things in the education world tend to slow down a bit over the summer, edWeb.net still has a number of different offerings this month. With webinars ranging from school safety to character education to strategies to deepen math learning, edWeb is a great resource to learn about topics related to education at all levels and in all subject areas.

If you're hoping to learn about ESSA or engaging students with STEM, Education Week is the place to go. Its webinars for June 2016 include:

• "ESSA and K-12 Policy: State and District Perspectives" on June 15 at 2:00 pm.
• "The Summer Learning Opportunity: Engaging Students with STEM" on June 21 at 2:00 pm.
• "The Education Week Tech Confidence Index: How Teachers View Educational Technology" on June 23 at 2:00 pm.