We know one of the most challenging aspects of teaching is isolation.  It’s an interesting phenomenon that a profession that requires lots of personal engagement is also one in which peer-to-peer discussions can be very limited.  I remember teaching high school mathematics years ago.  Even though I was in a large campus, with lots of other teachers, I had little time to really collaborate or engage with my peers.  Between teaching about 150 students daily, ‘hall duty,’ planning period, etc —- little time was left to ask my colleagues for help or advice.

Today, of course, all that has changed.  With the advent of online tools, teachers across the globe are finding ways to reach out to one another, engage in open discussion and collaboration, and seek the advice of peers.  Still, finding other teachers — teachers with similar backgrounds, interest, etc — can be a challenge, even with the help of online tools.

That’s why today we are thrilled to announce Teachers Finding Teachers. This online tool is a part of the WeAreTeachers Facebook application, I Am Teacher. (Posted press release)

New today, when members download “I Am Teacher,” on Facebook they are greeted with the new Teachers-Finding-Teachers tool that begins with a series of five simple questions to identify a teacher’s subject expertise, years teaching, teaching philosophy and location where they want to connect. Each response displays a visual animation that brings pictures of real teachers in the network closer to you based on your similarities.  The animation sequence ends with a results page that allows the member to connect to those teachers by adding them to their contacts, sending a message or adding them as a friend within Facebook. Members who have already downloaded “I Am Teacher” can access this new feature by clicking the “People” tab.

We hope this new tool will make a difference for teachers across the globe, as teachers seek their peers’ advice, collaboration, and friendship.  Let us know how this tool works for you!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.