Connectivity is a lifeline in the education industry. Educators are naturally open and curious people, and harnessing that is essential to success. An example of this was the amazing communities we built over social media and virtual conferencing during the pandemic. Educators tapped into the power of connectivity across the country to develop solid practices for uncertain times. The 2022–23 school year brings its own challenges, and at iTutor, we want to support educators in finding solutions. Here we will share three foundational aspects of connectivity and some practices that will support educators to become beacons for connection. 

Collaboration: Education is one of the most collaborative industries. A school district is a constantly moving network of teachers, administrators, aides, curriculum writers, edtech companies, and students working toward common goals. To be a successful connector, you have to be open to collaboration. The best ideas in schools are shared and communal. Educators create the first building blocks of connectivity. 

Communication: Once an education environment has established an open and collaborative workspace, honest and open communication is the next essential step to creating meaningful and powerful connections. Educators must communicate their strengths, weaknesses, worries, and successes. It takes great vulnerability to voice one’s needs, but the mark of a great connector is to listen to and connect with that vulnerability and work in tandem with their collaborators. 

Consistency: To establish networks of connection, collaboration and communication has to occur with regularity in a variety of ways. Educators who become strong connectors constantly reach out to their networks to share advice, best practices, and resources. These small and consistent collaborations and communication streams harness great collaboration and communication for electric connectivity. 

We hope for you to find opportunities to continuously develop new connections and to be able to lean on existing networks of educators. At iTutor, our goal is to foster connection between educators and their students, and we have a plethora of resources you can use to leverage the power of connectivity. Learn more about The Power of Connectivity in our recent episode of Learning Can’t Wait hosted by our chief academic officer Hayley Spira-Bauer with connection guru Juliana Finegan, vice president of strategy and learning at Vivi.