Digital teacher induction via webinars and social media

This best practices paper provides advice on how to conceptualize, structure, and facilitate an open-access and mobile-accessible digital teacher induction program. The digital teacher induction program (DTIP) is used to provide support for graduates as well as preservice teachers of various degree and certification programs within a large teacher education program at a large public university in Texas. The presenters have participated in various roles in designing and facilitating an entirely online open-access DTIP. The program provides structured support via both synchronous (webinar-based) sessions on high-interest topics such as special education and behavior management, as well as asynchronous social-media based support (e.g., Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Slideshare). Alumni and preservice teachers are invited to attend or view the recordings of the synchronous sessions. We have recently added a blogging component to the DTIP and the program continues to change to meet the needs of our large alumni base.