This fall, Apple Education launched a brand new community for educators. It’s completely free to join, and it’s open to educators at all levels and subject areas. You can also join the Apple Education Community even if you’re not currently using Apple technology in your classroom. The community is full of ready-to-explore resources to help you make the most of classroom technology this school year!
If you’ve followed along for a while now, you might know a bit about my story. In 2013, I became an Apple Distinguished Educator. And it’s probably not an exaggeration to say that my life changed forever. I was introduced to educators from around the world who were also passionate about classroom technology, full of great ideas, and excited to chat about all things EdTech. Here’s a bit more about my journey.
Let’s dive into what you’ll find in the Apple Education Community and six reasons why you’ll want to check it out today!
The Apple Education Community
What is the Apple Education Community? This new community is a hub for professional learning resources from Apple. Educators can access a collaborative space where they can connect with educators from around the world and share ideas.
The Apple Education Community takes all the fantastic resources from the Apple Teacher program to the next level. You’ll find a new Learning Center that gives community members access to hundreds of free, Apple‑created resources. This is where you’ll find tutorials that take you through favorite Apple tools, alongside lesson ideas and hands-on teaching materials. The Apple Teacher program is now inside of this community, with plenty of self-paced learning opportunities to explore.
Within the Apple Education Community, you’ll also find the new Forum, currently in beta. This space is where you’ll find all of the collaboration within the Community. There are dedicated areas for educators to connect and share ideas with one another. I’ve even posted a story in the Forum area where I share a few of my favorite formative assessment strategies and iPad-friendly activities.
6 Reasons to Check Out the Apple Education Community
Ready to dive into the new Apple Education Community? The Apple Education Community is totally free to join. All you need to do is set up an account, and you’re good to go. If you are part of the Apple Teacher Program, you can use the same username and login details to access the community; otherwise, click here to set up your free account. Here are six reasons to check it out today!
Gather new ideas
Educators inside the Apple Education Community can gather new ideas on lots of different topics, including over 100 tutorials showing off how to leverage features on iPad and Mac for new lessons. In addition to the tutorials, you can also find great stories educators share in the Forum.
Find educators to follow
The stories shared within this platform provide a great place to find educators to follow. Sharing and posting stories in the community is totally optional, so if you’re not ready to share yet, you can still check out everything other educators post. You might want to check out this history lesson idea from Cheryl Davis or this podcasting lesson from Heather Dowd.
Share techy stories
But if you are ready to share…the Apple Education Community is the perfect place to share your ideas with educators around the world. As soon as the community opened up in late August, I was excited to jump in and share a techy story. I posted a few of my favorite formative assessment activities, and there are already a few comments on this post. If you’ve thought about blogging but are unsure if you want to start a blog from scratch, this is a great way to try it out.
Fantastic for Apple users
As a classroom teacher, I used iPads with my fifth-grade students and became an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2013. So you can imagine that one of the reasons I was excited to check out the Apple Education Community was because of all of the Apple content. This space is fantastic for Apple users, especially if you want to grow in a particular area, such as learning more about Garageband or Numbers.
Not just for Apple users
But it’s totally fine if you’re not using their products…the Apple Education community is full of ideas for best practices in classroom technology integration. So if you’re using something else or planning to use iPad or Mac devices in the future, you’ll gather many ideas from the community.
Ask (and answer) questions
The Discussion area of the community is a space to post questions, find frequently asked questions, and explore answers. You can use the search bar to look for questions that have already been posted and answered or to sort by most recent activity. This is an excellent option for moments when you need support, clarification, or educator connections.
As someone in the business of “making EdTech easier,” I love how this community is full of helpful ideas and inspiration for educators at all levels. You can join the Apple Education Community today. Use this link to grab your spot and start exploring!
