Help/FAQ

The Educator Collaborative’s biannual K-12 Literacy Conference called, “The Gathering,” is FREE. No registration. It’s our gift to the literacy education world.

You just click on a session page to watch live during the event or to view recordings later.

1. Make sure your SmartTV has the YouTube app.

• Check the user guide for your Smart TV (e.g. roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV stick, Google TV Samsung TV Plus, etc) or smart device (e.g. phones, iPad,  Surface Pro, etc.) on how to download the YouTube app.
• On desktops and laptops you do not need an app. Instead, simply open your web browser and go to our YouTube page @TheEdCollab (click here. Then skip to Step 3).

2. Open the YouTube app and search for our channel.

• In the search bar, type “TheEdCollab”
• Click on our channel when it appears (it is our lightbulb icon).

3. On our channel, scroll to the right Playlist.

• Look for our playlists.
• Find the one called “Fall” or “Spring” + the year and Gathering (e.g. “Fall 2023 #TheEdCollabGathering”).

4. From the playlist page, choose workshops to watch!

• Sessions show a countdown clock until shortly before they are ready to go live. View the Gathering agenda for times.
• After a session ends, it may take anywhere from 1 to 90 minutes for a session to be archived and available for replay, during that time some video links may remain blank. Once archived, you can watch from the playlist page for at least 6 months or more (unless noted otherwise on the agenda).

First, note that (if all goes technologically correctly) all sessions will be archived.  If you miss something, you will be able to come back and view again.

1. Refresh Your Page

• This often corrects any streaming issues
• Some browsers hold old versions of pages (called “caching”) to speed up your searches – you can reset these by clearing your “browser cache”
• On rare occasion we may need to upload a new video link to our website, be sure to follow us on X (formerly Twitter) for updates.

2. Check your connection

• Check that you are not behind a firewall. You must be able to access YouTube to view the streaming sessions.
• Be sure you are on a fast Wifi connection for best live viewing.

3. Follow Us on X (formerly Twitter) or Subscribe to our YouTube channel for direct video access as they premiere across the day

• Follow our X (formerly Twitter) handle @TheEdCollab or subscribe to our YouTube channel @TheEdCollab
• We will post direct links to session videos throughout the day

4. Check the schedule

• Sessions show a countdown clock until shortly before they are ready to go live.
• After the session ends, it may take anywhere from 1 to 90 minutes for a session to be archived and available for replay, during that time some video links may remain blank.

While we are a registered New York State CTLE hours provider, TheEdCollab does not provide credit or CEUs of any kind for attending Gathering sessions. This is because we wish to keep the event free.

However, a school or district may wish to provide credit, if so, we have a few legal requirements that must be followed:

1. Credit and/or Certificates may only be given by an accredited School or District

• We love education organizations (we are one, too!), but for reporting and copyright purposes, only accredited schools or districts may provide any type of credit for Gathering participation.
• Schools or Districts are granted this permission by The Educator Collaborative, provided the stipulations within this section are met (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), and if they are, we do not require any approval from us or notification to us.
• Credit and/or Certificate granting by any other entity type carries legal liability and may only be waived with express written consent from The Educator Collaborative.

2. Never charge

• One requirement of the Gathering is that no one may charge a fee (this includes no fee for entry to your event, professional development credit/hours, etc.).
• You may collect donations for things like food or space rental, however failure to pay cannot bar someone from watching.

3. Credit must clearly be labeled as from, and supervised by, the School or District and must not state, imply, or be misunderstood to be, provided The Educator Collaborative

• Professional development certificates may not include “#TheEdCollabGathering,” “The Educator Collaborative,” or “TheEdCollab” in the main title or sponsorship line.
• Instead, a certificate title or activity should read something like: “South Town School District Professional Learning Day”.
• Within the description, if included, reference may be made to our event and/or organization, but be sure to reference that the activity was “supervised by” your school or district.

4. TheEdCollab will not verify, keep records on, or otherwise hold historical documentation of any credits created by third-party Schools or Districts

• Because we are not providing these credit hours, we will not be able to respond to requests for verification or information.
• Providing schools or districts are encouraged to note this for attendees.

5. Viewing always takes place from TheEdCollab’s site or channels

• You may not embed, record, or use other means of redistributing the Gathering beyond viewing from our event pages or social media.
• If you are sharing, you may project on screens, invite colleagues to a computer lab, send them links to our site/channels.

We’d love to have your propose a workshop! Please look for the link to the proposal form on this website’s top menu.

Yes! The Gathering is our gift to the education community, but it is only a small fraction of what we do. Our main work is providing literacy consulting and speaking services in-person and online.

• Contact Us with requests for literacy consulting or speaking engagements (click here)
  • learn more about our K-12 literacy consulting
  • learn more about or speaking services

We love to hear from you. Please note that on Gathering days we are all-hands-on-deck and generally unable to respond to specific questions on the day. If you have questions that have not been answered in this FAQ or would like to share feedback with us, please write to us from our Contact Page.