Project ReimaginED: Online Coffee Klatch for Educators

Project ReimaginED is an online forum serving up tools, lessons, and other resources for K−12 teachers and technology coaches to strengthen the Common Core and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards they’re serving students. Backed by ISTE and the National Council for Literacy Education (NCLE), the program has already attracted more than 130 members since launching last week and is collecting ideas and lessons through December 2015.

With the adoption of Common Core State Standards across the country, the demand for high-quality tools and tutorials that stitch these requirements into curriculum has never been higher. Educators are hungry for ways to learn what their cohorts are doing, and want to share about their own successes as well. A central online spot is an efficient way to connect, collaborate, and capture details they’re using with their own students.

Signing up for Project ReimaginED is free and takes seconds on the site. Once logged in, users can take part in discussions on infographics, images, and the use of online assessments. Tech tools are also being discussed from iPads to apps, and there are links to events as well. Members are even trying to rein themselves in a bit, their excitement palpable on the message boards.

“Please let me know if there is something specific a teacher needs,” writes one educator from Pine Grove, PA. “There are literally millions of sites out there, and I did not want to overwhelm them with an abundance of resources.”

ISTE is inviting users to submit lessons on the site through the end of the year, provided the lessons align to standards, which the organization will review and publish. Educators interested should hurry though. The top two submissions will be selected in January 2105, with winners sent to ISTE’s Conference and Expo set for June 28−July 1 in Philadelphia next year.