Educator seeking other educators with ideas and expertise. Desires professional growth. No cash investment. Who steps up to answer this ad? An online community of teachers helping teachers, TappedIn provides teachers in K-12 as well as higher education groups a site for professional development online, and it’s completely free—no trial period, always free. Over 20,000 members have participated in this cooperative group for educators since its start online in 1997. Bringing together people from all over the world, TappedIn provides a home for teachers who want to interact professionally with others beyond their schools and districts. Members can attend activities hosted by education organizations, conduct their own discussions, participate in online courses, and expand their professional networks. You can check out TappedIn’s calendar for the current month’s events. To join, go to On the first page, you’ll see "You are in Tapped In Reception" on the top left corner of the page. Tapped In is set up as if you were in a building, so imagine that you're in the lobby of that building.
· Click The Tapped In tab at the top right of the page. · Click Calendar toward the left of the page. · Click any upcoming event and you'll see a new window with basic information about a group.You're looking for open groups - groups that anyone can join. · About 10 minutes or so before the event you choose is scheduled to begin, log onto Tapped In. · Click the Tapped In tab at the top right of the page and the calendar tab to the left. · Click the event you want to join. · In the next window, you'll see a description of that event. The event may begin with a welcome by the moderator. Then people usually introduce themselves. It's considered good form to at least say, "My name is Gidget and I'm mostly going to be listening in." Then feel free to just read along. The moderator will have some ideas to discuss. Feel free to contribute, or just come prepared to "listen". Watch the way regulars write, their form is easy to learn. The moderator and others can link to sites for others to look at, or they might have files for you to view as well. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or request pointers for participating while online. A transcript will be e-mailed to the email address you provided after the group is over, so you won’t even have to take notes! How-to information from Education World® Techtorial by Lorrie Jackson.