Common Sense Educators
Common Sense Educators are committed to creating a culture of digital learning and citizenship in their classrooms, schools, and districts. Anyone who is an educator -- whether a classroom teacher, tech coach, librarian, homeschool teacher, preservice teacher, parent coordinator, or more -- can become a Common Sense Educator.
What is the process?
Earning recognition as a Common Sense Educator requires a two-part application process. Criteria should take approximately four to six hours to complete. Applications are rolling, and educators must fulfill criteria during the 2017–2018 school year. Please apply anytime before June 30, 2018, to earn recognition for the 2017–2018 school year.
Part I: Join
- Create your profile on Common Sense Education. If you haven't already, sign up as an educator on our membership page, and create a profile.
- Become a member of the community and join the Common Sense Educator community on Facebook. You will be able to gain insight and tips and share your experiences in this group. This step is optional; you may write your reflection in a Google Doc or Padlet.
- After completing the steps above, submit Part I of your application here. You will be emailed the link for Part II of the application within 24 hours.
Part II: Learn, Do, Connect
Learn
Select two activities: 1 Digital Citizenship, 1 Digital Teaching
Digital Citizenship
- Complete the digital citizenship training.
- Attend or watch the archive of an edWeb webinar.
- Attend an in-person training by Common Sense staff, a PD partner, or an Ambassador.
Digital Teaching
- Work through a short Tech Tips & Resources page.
- Attend or watch the archive of an edWeb webinar.
- Attend an in-person training by Common Sense staff, a PD partner, or an Ambassador.
Do
Select two activities: 1 Digital Citizenship, 1 Digital Teaching
Digital Citizenship
- Create one digital citizenship lesson plan (using the Common Sense Education template).
- Teach one lesson from the Digital Citizenship Curriculum.
- Teach/facilitate one module from Digital Passport™.
- Teach/facilitate one storyline from Digital Compass.
- Teach/facilitate one byte from Digital Bytes.
- Create a digital citizenship implementation plan. Ex.: K–12 instruction plan.
- Facilitate a Connecting Families event.
- Create a parent engagement plan.
- Create a digital citizenship professional development plan.
Digital Teaching
- Create one tech-rich lesson plan (using our Lesson Plan template).
- Teach one tech-rich lesson.
- Facilitate a Connecting Families event.
- Create a digital teaching implementation plan.
- Create a parent engagement plan.
- Create a digital learning professional development plan.
Connect
Sharing successes (and failures) is an important part of the learning process and an essential part of professional growth. In this final step, please engage with your fellow educators by reflecting on your process of becoming a Common Sense Educator. Post your reflection in the Common Sense Educator Facebook Group. The post can focus on:
- Your insights from your LEARN and DO activities
- A resource you created and how you used it in your classroom or school
- A question or questions you would like the FB group to answer and that will help support your practice in the future
For more information on what makes a good reflection, please see our FAQ in the Help Center. If you do not wish to join the FB group, please write your reflection in a Google Doc or Padlet.
Ready to apply?
Submit Part I of the application. You will be emailed a link to Part II within 24 hours. After submitting Part II, you will hear within two weeks whether your application has been approved.
Please be sure to add [email protected] to your email contact list so you don't miss any emails from us.
Questions?
Please read through our FAQ in the Help Center. If you have further questions, please post in the Common Sense Education Community or email [email protected] and enter Recognition in the subject line.
