Professional Development that Works

Did you ever wonder what a good model of professional development might look like? Well, I just had one today. This professional development activity is called Cadre, and it's sponsored by my school district. It's facilitated by Paul, a great guy from Apple Computer.

Paul started out today by asking what we wanted to know about Web 2.0, and we knew just enough to be dangerous when he threw out that term. Minutes later, we had a graphic organizer of about 20 different topics we had heard something about.

We narrowed those 20 topics we have generated into 6 focus areas. Then Paul divided us into groups based on our main area of interest. He then gave us the next hour and a half to just explore that web 2.0 concept or tool and propose potential uses for it in education. It was really a good chance for people who were interested in something they had heard about to dig deeper into that topic.

After lunch, we all presented what we have found. We explored Twitter and Pownce; We explored Moodles, Blogs, and Wikis; We explored and created Skrbls. We explored del.icio.us. Friends (Brandon, Elisha, Ann and Mike) tweeted in to help me demonstrate Twitter and the power it has as a network. I learned about a number of modules within Moodle that might address some needs in my classroom as a one stop location, including discussion sections, chat sections, and places to post other content.

As the afternoon wore on, the student became the teacher when I clued Paul in to Jott and how to use it, which he in turn shared with the group, and by the end of the day, many people in the room had signed up for Jott accounts and were already using it to send themselves and others notes. And in the middle of the session, Kristin ran a test session of CoverItLive, which the group got to see unfold.

By the end of the day, everyone had come away with something new to use in either their classroom, and in some cases, people had new personal tools too.

Why was this a good model of professional development? It allowed teachers interested in transforming their classrooms and engaging their students time to explore something they might not have had time to otherwise. The gears were definitely turning all day long as this group of teachers took ownership of their own learning for a day.

My Network

Putting a request out to my network is like turning on the Bat Signal.

OK. I'm dating myself here a little bit, but back in the 1970's when Gotham city needed Batman (aka Bruce Wayne, aka Adam West...yes, that Batman), all they had to do was turn on their trusty Bat Signal, and help came running. I'd been trying to describe what happened when I needed an outside perspective earlier this week. and for me, it was like turning on the Bat Signal.

I had been thinking about one of my English classes a lot this week, especially in light of some discussions I was a part of at EduCon this past weekend, worrying that the honeymoon period was ending. So, I turned to my networks. To my virtual network, I twittered this question:

"Thespian70: Network: What do you think? Would it work to go to a low level English class, juniors, American Literature and ask, 'What do you need from this class?"

Followed up by: "Some are college bound and some are work bound...very mixed bunch."

At the same time, I turned to my real network. I walked up the hall to talk with Kristie and Wes. The advice started to swoop in like a bat:

• lorisheldon @Thespian70 Don't know that age/ability group well, but would not hurt to ask, kids tend to take more ownership when involved in dec. making
• chrischampion @Thespian70 Or "Here's what we HAVE to do.... how do you want to do it?"
• CohenD @Thespian70 - your approach is exactly what one of my colleagues does with her juniors - open the semester with negotiations, contracts

From my building network, I received similar sentiments including some insights on individual students and thoughts on the approach I was thinking about. I even had one person eager to know how it worked out.

So, I ventured into class and sat the kids down for a talk. I'd looked at the curriculum and had broken it down into thirds: three main skills/areas I had to address during junior English. Then, the brainstorming began. My responses weren't all that surprising, and everyone will be able to satisfy their needs with some activities I had in mind plus I'm going to let them design some of their own activities. They've been really excited thus far when I've let them do that.

My Bat Signal on Tuesday really helped me think through a situation I was struggling with on a number of levels, and because of all the encouragement I received, I've ventured down a path I wouldn't have a few years ago. Thanks network! I'll turn the signal off for now.

Best of the Web

Vicki Davis (aka Cool Cat Teacher) put up a blog on the Best of the Web on November 9, encouraging edubloggers to share with newcomers to Web 2.0 the tools we find most useful. Although I've blogged about a couple of these rather recently, here are my contributions to BestoftheWeb, the tag we've all been encouraged to use so folks can track down these tools.

Twitter: Aside from my week at Keystone Technology Institute this past summer, Twitter has done the most to expand my knowledge of Web2.0 technologies and led me to a number people who have given me ideas about how to effectively and meaningfully use these technologies in the classroom. On top of that, I've stayed in touch with a number of people from KTI, like minded individuals who have the same goals as I do: getting today's students ready to function effectively in tomorrow's world. My professional development will never be the same.

skrbl: An on-line interactive white board. I've used this a number of different ways in my classroom, but my favorite activity is an author study. (I need to blog about this, and will do so soon.) Any time you've got an activity you want the kids to collaborate on and want each kid making a contribution, this is the way to go. I find the site to be responsive (it shows new adds very quickly), and it has been able to support 22 participants at the same time so far. I keep trying to think of new ways to add this tool in my classroom.

Voice Threads: Post pictures and have either vocal or typed commentary added to the picture. My kids used this to document a trip Morpheus Fortuna took to Harrisburg, PA. Still looking for a way to consistently use this in the classroom. I know it's out there; it just hasn't come to me yet.

I'm sure there's more if I think about it, and I may blog more about some of the Best again soon. Stay tuned!

The Power of Advocacy

Returning from the Keystone Technology Institute (KTI), I had a renewed energy and excitement about teaching. I came away with many new ideas and thoughts about where we could take technology in my district. Before I even got home, I’d been invited in for a conversation with Jill M., one of our technology directors and a true educator. I went in with an agenda since I’d been thinking about so many things. My main focus: how we could use technology for professional development and to improve teacher-student interactions.

Our wide-ranging talk resulted in several immediate outcomes: the filter on the district network was opened to allow teachers greater access to Internet resources. For example, Twitter has been opened to teachers, and I hope to show my colleagues how they can use it not only for social connections but also for professional contact. (I know I’ve learned a lot from the small circle of people I follow on Twitter!) Because of mentioning the work of Kristen H at the Summit, Skype had already been opened up as a potential avenue for video conferencing.

On another front, I brought up the idea of using some flavor of instant messenger to keep teachers connected with their students. Why do this? The kids of today are connected, and one of those connections is IM. Why shouldn’t we connect with them in a way they are accustomed to and comfortable with? Anyhow…quite frankly, it seems like there’s a fear on some fronts about doing this, and I can understand that. It opens up a whole new form of teacher-student interaction, and what happens if there is an accusation of inappropriate contact? I’ve suggested, and am willing to be a part of, designing a district policy that would support this.

Finally, I brought back the idea of technology mentors from KTI, and Jill seems receptive to the idea. She brought up the idea of using a group called Cadre that we already have in place to help teachers new to the district become familiar with our technological policies and practices.

All in all, it never hurts to take ideas to the folks in charge, especially if they are open to team work and dialogue. Next up...what happened when I met with the building principal.