Using web 2.0 applications in terms of our professional development is an area I think many teachers will find useful. One of the hardest things about attending professional development opportunities is the conflict we feel dealing with the concerns of being out of the class compared to any benefits we might gain from the training or other PD activity. The following thoughts are based on notes I took from Chapter 5 of Web 2.0.new tools,new schools. The authors site Tom Guskey's work on what makes for effective PD, and that is the importance of follow up support, proper implementation and the need for staff to see a close connection to improved student learning. The authors also increased emphasis on the social and cultural context of learning. Just as students learn best when leaning is viewed as part of a community so to will teachers.
The more we can do to foster the development and nurturing of professional learning communities within our schools the stronger those schools will be. I see the development of an electronic community that goes beyond the walls of the school as a way to strengthen the shared community within the school. I see a place where sometimes the discussions start on line and move into the hallways and other times they may move in the opposite direction. Certainly the asynchronous aspect possible due to electronic networks increases the opportunities for shared experiences. The authors discuss the need for a "culture of learning" this is certainly something we have in pockets of the school I teach in. They go on to discuss four necessary elements:
1. a diversity of expertise
2. a shared objective of continually advancing collective knowledge and skills
3. an emphasis on learning how to learn
4. a mechanism for sharing what is learned
the chapter then goes on to make some recommendations:
1. Help teachers uncover and make transparent their notions of the classroom community.
2. Develop alternative forms of teacher professional development that embed the social networking tools we want teachers to consider.
One way to support online professional development could be with a technology integration specialist on staff. The teachers can do initial training on-line, but still have the individual on-site follow-up support they need to develop ways to put the new ideas to use in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteCommunity and connection are such important factors - I don't think that can be stressed heavily enough - 2.0 technology has such great potential for broadening and supporting our communities.