State Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell unveiled a Facebook-like web tool for California teachers today in San Diego. The program is the first of its kind in the country.
It doesn't have a catchy name like Facebook. Instead it is called Brokers of Expertise.
Teachers can create their own professional profiles, and become friends with other teachers around the state.
The goal is help teachers collaborate on ways to improve classroom instruction by posting their own links, video, pictures, or documents.
O'Connell says the application also features an database of online teaching resources.
He says teachers can dig into those links if they run into problems teaching the required curriculum.
“If you're an Algebra teacher that might be struggling with English language learners, you'll be able to go online and communicate with other professional educators that might have had success or that might be having similar challenges. (Teachers) can learn and collaborate with each other,” O’Connell said.
San Diego and Imperial County teachers have been testing the web page for about a year.
The program itself has been in the works for about two years. Brokers of Expertise is the brainchild of O’Connell, who is will be termed out of office in November.
