I am going to move back to my main blog. I post on an edublog I call DASD Tech Tips. If you have not been, there is a post about teacher/student feedback that I am proud of, please contibute if you wish.
Professional development is eating up the majority of my time. I am in an action research class where I will be perusing the lastest PD research and looking at a plan for my school. The problem I must address is a common one. Our in-service was scheduled a long time ago, therefore I need a plan that addresses the issues of time, need, and most of all interest. (Shocking!)
I could use the help, hope to see you there.
Ken
2007-07-03
2007-06-28
Now What?
Dennis and Gary, the guys that helped develop TechYes! said, "there is a lot of verbage masking inaction." I am not putting anyone down and I had a great time learning at NECC, but I came back to my situation with a lot of verbage. In fact I had a strange NECC inspired dream last night.
I was watch something like a TV program where students were having trouble with computers. I kept muttering, "Why aren't they doing this?" or "They should be doing that." I woke up, either because of the message, or the violent storm the rolled through, but I could help thinking how appropriate a dream it was. That is the way we all feel. Americans, Euros, and beyond are all feeling the same frustration. We do have some answers, but because of the overall fear of failure, none of us can really help. "No failure" policies are having the opposite effect, because it is through failure that we learn.
(Here is the verbage)
17,000 educators (in one form or another) came together in one spot for 4 days. I think we accomplished the spread of information, but I am not sure that we accomplished any action. We are still waiting. Waiting for this administration to pass, waiting for the "natives" to take over, and waiting for the culture to shift. (Is it possible that only the vendors come back with something tangible?)
While we are waiting opportunities are flying by. Countries like India ( can you tell where I am at in The World is Flat :) ) are building computer science into their general education at university.
I have realized that we are not standing on the edge of the cliff, we are free falling through one of the great changes in the history of the world. (Friedman says 1. 1492, the new world 2. 1800, the industrial revolution 3. Now, flat world where all competition is level) We are falling, with our eyes wide open saying, "isn't the world going to be a wonderful place when we..."
Okay, so this is just all more verbage...rah, rah, motivational garbage, but I have decided to embrace the change. I am going to be more vocal, not for the sake of contributing to the echo, but I am going to offer solutions. My first push is going to be for digital portfolios for students and teachers alike. We will introduce and test possible methods with one team this year. Next year that team will spread the knowledge to others and in a few years we will send all middle school students to the high school with proof of what they can do.
I know that is starting big, but in the age of accountability I see it as a motivation for teachers and students alike to integrate tech skills. There will be proof, there will be a sense of accomplishment and above all there will be a reason to reflect on the profession of teaching and learning.
See what a good night sleep gets you.
Well, back to the real world...Parker is screaming his head off.
What are you going to do this year?
2007-06-27
Professional Development Transformed Through Personal Learning Spaces
Sharon Betts
3:30pm
Sharon played a gigantic role in the state of Maine's 1-1 program. Early on she realized in-school PD did not work, there was always another program or initiative that the district valued over ed tech.
She decided to approach learning in a more personal way. "Better to get the tool into the hands of the teacher and let the joy spread." The interesting part to me was the use of open source programming and social networking.
Initially, teachers were given personal laptops with the applications pre-loaded. No in-service, no comments. Just, here is your laptop. As the teachers explored, they can back to the department and asked questions, "What does this do?" "Did you know I could do this?" That lead to a face to face session and a better understanding of the application.
I don't know the time line, but later Sharon was able to move 20 volunteers into a learning collaborative using MyEport. (Think, Moodle or BlackBoard). That cohort finished the year and now a second group is lined up for next year. Brilliant!
Sharon's PD Process:
1. Upgrade
2. ID goals and process
3. Never stop (Learning, or the cycle)
Like another presenter said (man, they are all bunching together) one variable can change the whole dynamic. (Think, iphone, think myspace mobile)
Sharon was a wonderful presenter and a great person to talk to. If you are interested in getting into the conversation, she has her own Ning learning space at http://newlearning.ning.com/
and her website is http://sharonbetts.org/
As a side note, I heard this model presented the other way. The powers that be just gave students laptops. I understand it worked, but I think that would create a pretty tough working atmosphere for awhile. I personally think that any working relationship you may have would gone if you "ambush" teachers with technology.
Well, that's it for me. I am headed back to the woods of PA. I need sometime, but I plan on returning to these ideas to explore PD further. Not sure where I will post but I have another blog called Technologically Literate on edublogs. I have some rantings about grad school and I hope to record my PD progress there. Either way, I had a great time at NECC. I highly recommend it, there is nothing like meeting your online friends F2F. I look forward to continuing the conversation...and this time doing something about it too.
3:30pm
Sharon played a gigantic role in the state of Maine's 1-1 program. Early on she realized in-school PD did not work, there was always another program or initiative that the district valued over ed tech.
She decided to approach learning in a more personal way. "Better to get the tool into the hands of the teacher and let the joy spread." The interesting part to me was the use of open source programming and social networking.
Initially, teachers were given personal laptops with the applications pre-loaded. No in-service, no comments. Just, here is your laptop. As the teachers explored, they can back to the department and asked questions, "What does this do?" "Did you know I could do this?" That lead to a face to face session and a better understanding of the application.
I don't know the time line, but later Sharon was able to move 20 volunteers into a learning collaborative using MyEport. (Think, Moodle or BlackBoard). That cohort finished the year and now a second group is lined up for next year. Brilliant!
Sharon's PD Process:
1. Upgrade
2. ID goals and process
3. Never stop (Learning, or the cycle)
Like another presenter said (man, they are all bunching together) one variable can change the whole dynamic. (Think, iphone, think myspace mobile)
Sharon was a wonderful presenter and a great person to talk to. If you are interested in getting into the conversation, she has her own Ning learning space at http://newlearning.ning.com/
and her website is http://sharonbetts.org/
As a side note, I heard this model presented the other way. The powers that be just gave students laptops. I understand it worked, but I think that would create a pretty tough working atmosphere for awhile. I personally think that any working relationship you may have would gone if you "ambush" teachers with technology.
Well, that's it for me. I am headed back to the woods of PA. I need sometime, but I plan on returning to these ideas to explore PD further. Not sure where I will post but I have another blog called Technologically Literate on edublogs. I have some rantings about grad school and I hope to record my PD progress there. Either way, I had a great time at NECC. I highly recommend it, there is nothing like meeting your online friends F2F. I look forward to continuing the conversation...and this time doing something about it too.
2007-06-26
What is 2.0 and What Can You Do?
REinventing Education for the 21st Century: Designing School 2.0
Wes Fryer and Katie Beedon
2pm
Wes had some very good points about the need for quality leadership. That the top down approach is unacceptable, however; no single solution change bring about change. Even change must be adaptive.
Wes' materials can be viewed at http//teachdigital.pbwiki.com
He also had a guest that, according to Wes, is putting words into action. Katie Beedon works with the Greater Houston Education Collaborative and their goal is to "get teachers out of their silos and collaborate." That work is at http://www.ghecgroup.net/ and also featured on http://www.kn.att.com/.
I applaud Houston for their effort and look forward to digging into their process and products.
2pm
Wes had some very good points about the need for quality leadership. That the top down approach is unacceptable, however; no single solution change bring about change. Even change must be adaptive.
Wes' materials can be viewed at http//teachdigital.pbwiki.com
He also had a guest that, according to Wes, is putting words into action. Katie Beedon works with the Greater Houston Education Collaborative and their goal is to "get teachers out of their silos and collaborate." That work is at http://www.ghecgroup.net/ and also featured on http://www.kn.att.com/.
I applaud Houston for their effort and look forward to digging into their process and products.
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