Lifelong Learning 2.0

Warning:  personal post coming your way.  Read at your own discretion.

For those of you in my PLN who are close to me, you know that personally, these past four months have been the most difficult time in my life.

It’s ironic, because professionally, it has been a wonderful time.

I am on several waiting lists to find out more information about taking a Master’s course of study in Educational Technology. This is a goal I’ve had for a long time, and hope to be able to afford.   My recent trip to NECC09 has brought me many additions to my PLN, and great friendships that I hope will only continue to grow.  I joined twitter in May and have made many friendships that I treasure.  I was blessed with an amazing opportunity to visit the Edutopia crew at Skywalker Ranch, and engage in educational discussions with 4 of the people I look up to with great regard:  Larry Ferrlazzo, Alice Mercer, Derrall Garrison, and Gail Dessler.  I had the opportunity to have great conversations about social media and exciting ideas about education with Steve Hargadon, a mentor and friend.  I have been able to stay in contact with many new friends from NECC over twitter, skype, google chat, and the iphone.  I have been asked to present at several conferences and to contribute to several local edtech groups.  And…. I was blessed with a new job at my school of Curriculum & Instructional Technology Specialist.  Adding to the difficult time I’m going through, I decided to leave my job of ten years and jump into this new role, in hopes of creating school change.

There are many ideas that I would like to make happen this year as well.

I want to be trained to participate in the edtechtalk groups.  I have interests in contributing more to LearnCentral, using Elluminate for a list of brainstormed webinars I have in a Google Doc.  I’d love to begin co-presenting at conferences.  I want to support new teachers by creating a blogging support network.  I plan to create a Web 2.0 Tech Club for students at my school.  I want to contributing more on Classroom 2.o.  I hope to start a support group for new teachers trying to establish a PLN.  Then there’s that book I started last year…

Time to go OTG

With school starting and a great deal of personal stress to work through, I knew I needed to take a moment to breathe.  I decided to go Off the Grid for a little while.  Maybe a weekend or two.  I had read about the benefits of going OTG from two dear friends, Beth Still and MaryBeth Hertz.  Both are wonderful articles that really made me think.  So I decided to give it a try.

However… I didn’t just go OTG, I jumped overboard and seemed to disappear completely.     Needless to say, my OTG time became, as one friend put it, an extended Cyber-Diet.

Why am I deciding to share this with you?

1. To thank my dear friends. I appreciate all of the sweet messages from my PLN that have been concerned and are hoping I’ll come back soon.   You mean a lot to me.  Your checking in with me regularly on twitter, gmail, and skype has been an encouragement to me through difficult times. It’s nice to know I’m not forgotten.  Even if I’m a newbie and don’t feel like I have much to share, you continue to be there for me.  Thank you!

2.  To let my new followers know that I’m coming back. I somehow keep having people add me to their Google reader and twitter followings, even though I’ve been offline for a while.  Know that I am coming back.  I don’t know how or when, but I hope to be able to contribute, as well as find information that will help me on my quest to make learning more engaging and meaningful for students, support teachers, inform families, and share the journey with you.

3.  Most importantly, to let those of you that may be in my shoes to know that it’s okay to take a break. I know I can’t possibly be the only one going through difficult times, barely breathing, trying to hold it all together; while wanting to continue in lifelong learning, and to make a difference in others lives.

We’re educators. We get busy.  We get overworked.  We get overcommited.  We care about others. We need to keep each other accountable to finding balance. 

I’m here to say that going OTG is healthy from time to time.  Sometimes life can be difficult and it seems that an extended Cyber-Diet is more appropriate. Be true to yourself and listen to your heart.

If you want to contribute to the lives of others,

you first need to make time to take care of yourself.

This is one of those times for me.  I hope my followers, PLN, and friends can stick with me.  I’ll hope you will be there.   Know that when you need me, I will be there for you too.

Photo Attribution:  Train Pulling Out, & Suns by Taic

If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.

~Mary Engelbreit

For the past ten years, I have been teaching at an Independent Study charter school.  I’ve taught 34-40 students each year, in a unique school environment.  We serve students who were not successful in a traditional school model.  Keeping the same students for more than one year has allowed me to have a strong knowledge of  their strengths and areas needing growth. It has been an amazing experience working with kids individually in this model.

I work with an incredibly talented group of teachers and administrators, who care for our students and foster innovation.  While there are many wonderful things to celebrate at our school, there are several changes I’ve wanted to see take place. Technology and web 2.0 skills have not been explored much by our teachers.  Many of our students would benefit from innovative uses of technology to enhance their learning experience.  Since they work in an independent study model, they need opportunities to make connections, create and collaborate.  There are many tools we can use to help our students do this in a virtual setting.

I want to help in this effort for changing the way our students and teachers learn. I want our school to provide standards-based, project-learning opportunities where students can take ownership for their education.   I want to help teachers take control of their own professional development and grow a personal learning network.  I want us to collaborate to find better ways to engage students in meaningful learning experiences.  You know the feeling you get learning from your PLN virtually or at a conference?  I want to provide that kind of network for our staff.  I’ve longed for this all year. 

Sometimes you need to stop talking about change, and just do it.

I have decided to leave my teaching role to help bring about change at our school. I was offered a position to work on curriculum development and instructional technology.  I’ve helped with curriculum in the past, in addition to a full teaching schedule.  Until now, we did not have an educator focused solely on these areas for our academy.  While the job description is still being defined, I know it will include the following:

• Curriculum Development: We are providing an alternative  to traditional textbooks:  a project-and inquiry-based model.  There will be an emphasis on writing, critical thinking, collaboration, literature and the use of web 2.0 tools.
  
• Course-building in Moodle: We will be using Moodle for the first time this year.  We’re utilizing it for technology training for teachers this fall.  In the meantime, we are taking a year to build courses and develop curriculum in moodle for our students to use next year.
  
• Professional Development Training: I will be leading workshops for teachers and parents.  I hope to do this on-site and in Elluminate.
  
• Instructional Technology: We will introduce students, teachers, and parents to web 2.0 and innovative technology tools to enhance learning.
  
• Web 2.0 Class: I am writing a proposal to also create a Web 2.0/Technology Club for students, which I hope to launch in October.
  

I will miss working with students on a daily basis.   However, I am grateful for the opportunity to help bring about change at our school.

This is where you come in.  I am looking for a little advice from my PLN to help me in this transition.  There are two ways you can help.

1.  There are many projects that I would like to work on.  I will be posting about some of these in the near future.  If you are interested in collaborating on a project this year, let me know.

Where should I begin?

2.  Please consider posting a little advice for me or any newbie in this role.  Where is the best place to start?  What’s one thing that has worked well for you with organizing resources for your teachers? If you are in a similar job position and created an amazing wiki or helpful website, please share!  If you are willing, I would love to chat with you sometime.  I look forward to learning from you!

Creative Commons Photo Attribution:  Victoria is Changing, by victoriapeckham

Recently, I was invited to visit with the folks at Edutopia, (George Lucas Educational Foundation). Several PLN friends have asked begged for a detailed account of the day.  Prepare yourself for a play-by-play.  I’m still in awe of the experience!

I was accompanied by Alice Mercer, Larry Ferlazzo, Derrall Garrison, and Gail Desler.  Spending the day with these four individuals who I look up to was a wonderful experience in itself!  I have learned from each of them this year by following their blogs, as well as participating in discussions online and at conferences.

We arrived at Skywalker Ranch and were met by Elana Leoni (Online Membership Coordinator) and Betty Ray (Community Manager), who greeted us with smiles.  I enjoyed a Skywalker Cappucino outdoors as we talked, while we waited for everyone to arrive.  For security reasons, we were not allowed to take photos indoors, but were given permission to take this group photo outside. (Left to Right:  Gail, me, Derrall, Larry and Alice)

Don’t you just love Yoda?

The day was spent with tours of Skywalker Ranch, a trip to the Ranch store, a fabulous lunch, and important discussions about education.

What I Took Away From the Day

We had the chance to meet many wonderful people at Edutopia, including Milton Chen, the Executive Director, who is also a member of the Board of Directors.  Of course, it seemed like a wonderful place to work. Everyone we met spoke highly of their experience being part of the Edutopia team. Not only were the surroundings peaceful but the energy there spoke of innovation, forward-thinking, and collaborative teamwork.  I saw in them a strong desire to support educators, administration and parents to motivate students to reach their full potential.  It’s not just about the technology, though they applaud the innovative ways that technology and project learning can engage students.  I took away a sense of this passion that Edutopia has, as they highlight inspirational teachers and students in their magazine, in the hopes of inspiring us.

The Tour

I loved touring the grounds.  The scenery was so beautiful and calming.  My favorite part of the tour was the main house. It was fun seeing various memorabilia, but what I fell in love with was the Frank Lloyd Wright design, the redwood walls, and beautiful craftsmanship.   The table with skinny, extremely tall-backed chairs reminded me of something out of Star Wars.  The view of the pond from the table was serene and peaceful.  The library, where research is done for films, was breathtaking!

The grounds contain a guest house, the main house, fitness center, pool, restaurant, daycare, vineyards and a barn.  They have a little farmers market for the employees during the week.  I took home a container of lavender-infused sea salt.  We heard that the honey and olive oil are amazing!

Each building we toured was completely different in style. I was intrigued to hear that Mr. Lucas wrote a fictional story for each building, upon which the architects based their designs.  Isn’t that cool?

We had a fabulous lunch with Betty, Elana,  Jen Fujimoto (Membership Support Representative), and Ray Hill (Product Manager), followed up by the most delicious berry pie.

Discussions

For the remainder of the day, we sat with Elana, Betty, and Ray, and were joined by Grace Rubenstein (Senior Producer), Sabrina Smith (Communications Manager), and Cindy Johanson (Chief Operating Officer).  What followed was an exciting round table discussion about education, social networking, and the Edutopia magazine.  We all had a chance to share some of the innovative experiences taking place at our schools.  I was so proud to be in the company of four amazing educators, to hear the stories of their accomplishments in our field.

I loved talking about social media and networks, as well as the value of learning in community.  We had so much to share on this topic and brought our unique perspectives to the discussion.  We also talked about the George Lucas foundation, the principles that he values in education, and goals for the Edutopia magazine.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and spending the day with these fine folks!

Resources form Edutopia

If you do not frequent the website, you need to!  Check out Edutopia online, What Works in Public Education. Here are a few things to take a look at:

Go Green: Education for the Ecosystem

The Digital Generation Project

How To Become More Tech Savvy This Summer

The Magazine

Edutopia Webinar Series

Many Thanks!

Thank you, Edutopia, for your hospitality and kindness in hosting us at Skywalker Ranch. The conversations were thought-provoking.  It was exciting to hear how you are moving forward in innovative ways to continue being a leader in the education community.

Thank you to my colleagues, whom I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with at the ranch.  I’ve learned so much from you this year.  How neat to be able to spend the day with such amazing educators!

If you don’t already follow them, I encourage you to subscribe to these blogs:

Alice – Reflections on Teaching

Larry -Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

Derrall – Cloudy Tag Thoughts

Gail – Blogwalker

This summer, I have been working on several creative projects that I wrote proposals for this Spring.  There is one additional project that I was assigned to do which has not been as exciting.  In fact, I am having a hard time with it.  It involves working on pacing guides to accompany textbooks in the core areas, for grades K-8.  The pacing guides designate which chapters address state standards.  The chapters are paced out for each week of the school year, with key questions from the state framework, along with accompanying assessments and answer keys.  These pacing guides provide the lesson plans, allowing teachers to be on the same page without having to recreate the wheel.

The problem?  The textbooks.

Earlier this year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested the idea of replacing California’s public school textbooks with open-source materials and digital curriculum.  I love the basic idea, which allows the students to have access to current information, saves money, and provides a platform for teachers and students to collaborate on lessons.  Of course, there are obvious obstacles that would have to be overcome, but the vision is exciting.

I like what Lucas Ames has to say in his blog, Entrepreneurial Teaching,

Innovative entrepreneurs create new value, but in the process destroy the value proposition of an existing business.  A good way to look at this is through the lens of music.  From records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, to mp3s new innovation destroyed older business models, but also provided tremendous benefits to the consumer and the music industry. In many ways I believe our education system is in need of more entrepreneurial teachers to ‘creatively destroy’ it.

I am interested in a new vision of education at our school.  How can we creatively destroy the traditional model of textbooks updated every 6 years, tons of worksheets, and old school methods?

Ames also quotes Bill Gates, who had this to say:

Training the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today’s computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It’s the wrong tool for the times.

Our high schools were designed fifty years ago to meet the needs of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting–even ruining–the lives of millions of Americans every year.

What are your thoughts on this?

In an effort to pilot a new approach, I ditched textbooks last year in the areas of science and social studies. It required a lot of extra work in lesson planning.  It was a challenge to creatively design projects that were inquiry-based, full of opportunities for writing and critical thinking, and still met state standards.  It would have been great to have digital curriculum to access and opportunities to collaborate with other teachers on those lesson plans.

I don’t want to use those pacing guides I have to work on, traditional textbooks and worksheets with students. I want to use innovative teaching methods and integrated technology, to engage students in lifelong learning habits, while preparing them in 21st century skills.  I would love to work collaboratively with others to create project learning and thoughtful assessments.

Do you share this passion? Are you designing online units, collaborative lessons, or inquiry-based projects?  I would love to learn how you make it work at your school.

Have you fantasized about ditching textbooks altogether?

What’s one step that you plan to take this year to be innovative in how you teach students?

Creative Commons Photo Attribution:  June 15, by Little Yiye

Live conversations about the impact of the Internet on society and culture can be found at Conversations.net, brainchild of Steve Hargadon.  It amazes me how many great ideas can be brought to life by just one person. If you’re not familiar with just how much he has accomplished so far, check out Steve’s bio.

Somehow, I missed the opening of Conversations.net, which was created on July 13th, then kicked off the next day with the first interview.  I wondered, “How I could have missed this?”  Answer: 1. Life has been crazy since returning from NECC. 2. I was at the Coldplay concert that day. 3. I have been avoiding my Google Reader out of guilt of not being able to catch up. (More of this in a separate post.)

I’m letting you know about Conversations.net in case you missed it too.  I’ve listened to several interviews on Elluminate.  Using the Elluminate platform allows people to participate in the discussion, dialogue with other participants in chat window, ask questions by taking the microphone, view presentations, take polls, and meet great people.  It is a wonderful way to nurture lifelong learning and add to your PLN.

The first conversation was an interview with Douglas Rushkoff, author of Life, Inc. How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take it Back. As taken from Steve’s blog,

“Winner of the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other’s values. He teaches media studies at the New School University, serves as technology columnist for The Daily Beast, and lectures around the world.”

Rushkoff was on the Colbert show the day after being interviewed on Conversations.net.  You can read more about him on:

Douglas Rushkoff’s website

Steve Hargadon’s blog

Conversations.net

Next in the interview series will be a conversation with Clay Shirky. I’m looking forward to catching that interview!  Keep track of future conversations from the Conversations.net site and the Google Calendar posted at the top of the ning.  Did I mention that it is a Ning? Join the free network to participate in extended conversations.  More Interviews can be found on one of Steve’s other nings, The Future of Education.  You can also follow these on Twitter: futureofed and convnet.

I’ve been thinking about school starting in the fall.  Not because I want to. I relish the thought of summer lasting for weeks and weeks. I’ve been thinking about it because several of the bloggers I follow have started writing about the start of school.

Summer is a great time for refreshment, relaxation, renewal.  It is also a great time for educators to connect with their PLN and extend their knowledge.  As school starts, I know I will be so busy that the thought of extra time to learn new things seems almost impossible.  Will I have time to stay connected to my PLN? I know that when I am I learn so much and am able to contribute to others.  If you value this too, I am confident that with thoughtful planning, you can take create time for self-education and growth during the busy school year.

1. Be proactive. We make choices daily about how we spend our time.  Make a conscious effort to learn something new.  Be a lifelong learner.

2. Set clearly defined goals and put them in writing. Things don’t often happen just because.  Success and growth are intentional.  Create a plan and allow yourself to be flexible with it. Find a friend to hold you accountable.

3. Seek out opportunities for self-education. There are many ways to do this:  follow other blogs, sign up for webinars, read books, join twitter, watch tutorials, take a class, register for a workshop, subscribe to learning channels on YouTube.

4. Start with you. Learn new ways to use existing tools.  However, don’t push web 2.0 tools on students without taking time to use them for your own learning.  Participate in networks, create a wiki, journal in a blog.  You’ll be better prepared to help your students with these tools if you use them for your own professional growth. Learn first. Experience.  Then pass on the treasures to your students and learn with them.

5. Blog.  Journal about your self-educational experiences.  Reflect on your learning.

6. Take risks. Seize opportunities. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.  This is often the very place where true growth can occur.

7. Grow in community. Vygotsky spoke of the “Zone of proximal development,” meaning that there exists a certain amount of knowledge that can only come from the assistance of others through social interaction.  The learning process flourishes when you focus on learning together.  Collaborate.  Find others who have the same interests.  Share resources. Grow together. Learning in community is a wonderful path to take.

Photo Attribution: End of Summer, by Noe

On the surface, this seems like a great site for learning about explorers. However, this isn’t a just another website for history lessons.  All About Explorers is a great tool to use to teach students about finding validity in what they find on the web.  Wikipedia defines digital literacy as “the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate and create information using digital technology.”  The lessons you’ll find on All About Explorers are designed for elementary students, emphasizing the importance of digital literacy.

Be sure to check out the resource page for teachers first, where you’ll find lessons, materials, links and references.  Here are the lessons you’ll find:

1. Just Because It’s Out There Doesn’t Mean It’s Good.
2. So How Do You Find the Good Stuff?
3. Google, What?
4. Where Exactly Am I, Anyway?
5. How Could They Be So Wrong?
6. Explorer WebQuest

The website has students complete research using a variety of website links.  The links chosen for the activities have all been created by the team behind All About Explorers. Some of the information is true, mixed in with fictitious facts.  Here’s an example, taken from one of the websites about Christopher Columbus:

“Columbus returned to Spain in 1939 and was hailed as a hero. He was known as the first person to walk on American soil. A huge parade was held in his honor. He appeared on Larry King Live and became quite famous around the world.”

“Columbus made three more voyages to the lands of Hispaniola, Dominica, Trinidad, Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras and Panama. These trips were all documented by National Geographic and opened a whole new business of tourism for the country of Spain.”

Some of the other fictional examples are not as obvious to spot.  The creators have this to say about their project:

“Because we wanted to make a point about finding useless information even in a site which looked at first to be fairly well put together, all of the Explorer biographies here are fictional. While many of the facts are true or based on truth, many inaccuracies, lies, and even downright absurdity are mixed in indiscriminately. As such, it is important that you do not use this site as a source of reference for your own research!”

Use the lessons to teach how to search the Internet skillfully, to discern which information is valid and useful.  Then, if you want to continue with the historical webquest on explorers, the site provides accurate information in a different section.

One of the featured videos on the education section of The New York Times is “The 21st Century Librarian.”  One of the archived videos highlights school librarian, Stephanie Rosalia.  She shares how she has transformed into a “multi-faceted information specialist who guides students through the flood of digital information that confronts them on a daily basis.”  In the video, she is shown using the All About Explorers lesson with a class of 5th graders.  Take a look here.  If you decide to give these lessons a try, let me know how it goes.  Thank you for the organizers of All About Explorers.  This is a wonderful, useful tool that I’ll be using with my students for years to come!

Photo Attribution

It was 106 degrees at the outdoor amphitheater in Wheatland. We were all extremely hot, as it didn’t seem to cool down until 11pm. That didn’t seem to affect the energy of Chris Martin as he ran across the stage, jumped around, and pretended to swim on stage during the “tides that I tried to swim against” portion of “Clocks”.  Despite the heat, Guy Berry, Will Champio, and Jonny Buckland joined Chris Martin in an amazing and energetic performance!

When the concert started, everyone in the first section were on their feet.  But everyone from the second section and back sat down.  I thought maybe this would just be during the first song, but it continued. A few minutes in, I stood up. I paid good money for this seat, but I wasn’t about to sit through a Coldplay concert.  Someone behind me yelled for me to sit down, but then the others in my row stood immediately, as though to back me up.  Then the next row, and onward, and before the end of that song, the whole section was on their feet, dancing and singing for the rest of the night.

Hello! It’s a concert! It’s Coldplay!

The experience reminded me of this YouTube video from the Sasquatch Music Festival 2009.  Though my dancing skills were much more polished than this guy, I applaud his confidence!

I had hoped to hear most of my favorite songs and the band did not disappoint.

Life in Technicolor,Clocks, In My Place, Yellow, Cemetaries of London, 42, Fix You, Strawberry Swing, God Put a Smile Upon Your Face, Talk, The Hardest Part, Postcards from Far Away, Viva La Vida, Lost, Green Eyes, Death Will Never Conquer, Politik, Lovers in Japan, Death and All His Friends, The Scientist, Life in Technicolor II, The Escapist

..and I knew all of the words.

From the huge yellow balloons being bounced around (during “Yellow” of course), to the insane amounts of butterfly confetti, and repeated opportunities for the crowd to sing along, Coldplay did well in engaging the audience.  The cellphone-wave was a sight to see.  Chris talked to the crowd quite a bit.  Before a solo of “The Hardest Part”, he said he would be a (*!*##) nightmare if he did a solo.  (He was great, of course.  I happened to catch that solo on video.)

The band constantly thanked us for showing up on a Tuesday, in the terrible heat.

We would come on any day, in any weather! But it was insanely hot.

Twice during the concert, the lights dimmed and the band ran up to the crowd, performing in the midst of the audience, to give people in the back a better view. I couldn’t have asked for a better seat, as the first time they moved to the piano set-up on my right.  The second time, they performed their acoustic songs just to my left.  The crowd went crazy during the acoustic version of “Billie Jean.”  And yes, I have that on video too.

Here are a few more pictures from the concert:

The Strawberry Swing video premiered this week on Babelgum.  Chris Martin performs as a superhero in chalk-drawn world.  I’ve thought of how the video would play out, but I wasn’t expecting a superhero and a giant squirrel. See what you think.

Coldplay’s Fix You video on YouTube,  Fix You Live video

The Scientist video

Viva La Vida video

Yellow video, Yellow concert

Catch other Coldplay videos on YouTube

Shows and Concert Schedule

Follow Coldplay on Twitter

Scott McLeod encouraged bloggers to consider contributing to Leadership Day 2009. He asked for blogposts about effective school technology leadership.  It is a great way to encourage administrators to look at what it means to prepare students for the 21st century.  It also helps them see how to utilize technology systems to make their organizations more efficient and effective.

At the core of a successful school is a strong mission, a visionary leader, and a supportive staff committed to student success.  In thinking about leadership, I must take a moment to tell you about a leader at my school.  Jody Graf came to us just a couple of years ago.  I first met her when our district sent a few of us to the ASCD Conference in Chicago.  It was the first year teachers were sent to a conference and she had just been hired as an administrator.  Early on, I had a sense of her passion for preparing students for the 21st century.  I could see that she valued people.

Not long after, she became the executive director of our charter school of 150+ teachers and 3,200 students. As director, she walked into a school environment that was productive, but not without its challenges.

In a few short years, Jody has tackled what she referred to as the “elephants in the room,” those issues that had been tiptoed around.  She established an open-door policy and encouraged round-table discussions where staff and teachers could have honest discussions, while offering solutions for improvements.  Action teams were set up to tackle issues.  Successes were celebrated. Conversations were opened for all parties to share ideas.  This was an important step to prepare our staff for innovation to take over.

Here are three things I learned from her leadership in the process:

• When all stakeholders take ownership in the school’s mission, passion becomes infectious.

• We practice good leadership when we become transparent, exposing thoughts and positions on issues with an open-door policy.

• We can increase student engagement and academic success when we personalize learning for students, provide time for reflection, and facilitate learning opportunities with relevance and meaning.

Now that there is a culture of trust, my director can walk us through her vision for empowering our students and teachers with technological skills for lifelong learning.  Until recently, most of our teachers not know about wikis, educational uses for blogs, or web 2.0. (I know. And I was right there with them until 9 months ago.)

We are on a mission to bring all of our 150+ teachers and staff to a level of technological proficiency and shared commitment for innovative learning.  Part of our school will be turned into a virtual learning academy.  We plan to establish teacher proficiencies (NETS). We hope to remove traditional textbooks and replace them with project- and inquiry-based learning models.  We are at a turning point for change.

Last year, our school set up class offerings twice a month in the areas of technology tools and web 2.0.  A good effort was made, but many teachers claimed they had never heard of these tools before and didn’t know where to start.  They took a class, and were left to figure it out. They (we) were overwhelmed.

In a state of wanting to learn more, but being overwhelmed, I set out to create my own professional development.  From this experience, I have a bit of advice to share with the leaders of my school, and others who may read this as well.

Embrace the conference experience.

Find a way to send teachers to conferences.  If your school is not a position to do this, at least support them with time off to be able to attend.  At the recent NECC09 conference, I grew professionally more than I had with hours of PD at my school. It is a great way for teachers to learn from each other, and to catch a gimpse into what other classrooms are doing.

Embrace online professional development.

Give teachers control to establish their own professional development.  There are an amazing amount of valuable resources available to teachers.  This can come in the form of online classes, interview series, or webinars.  It may mean reading blogs and reflecting, or attending virtual workshops and sharing the experience with others.  Let teachers take ownership and create their professional development.

Embrace free and open source tools.

Here are a few places to look:  K-12 Open Source Community, MIT Open Courseware, and SchoolForge.net, FOSS in Education, NCOSE, and K12 Open Tech.

Embrace transparency.

Give teachers the freedom to be honest about where they are at, while encouraging them to grow.  Provide an environment of transparency and trust.

Embrace networking and learning in community.

We all know how we feel when we come home from a conference. The passion that comes from being around innovative educators is contagious.  Your teachers and administrative staff can experience this daily – for free.  How?  By participating in online networks such as Classroom 2.0.  Teach them how to use twitter, to share ideas and network.  Create a social network for them to be connected with each other.  I started one at my school for parents and teachers, and it has been nothing short of amazing! Embrace the social networks that are available. Encourage teachers to learn in community.

Photo Attribution:  Addo Elephant, by exfordy

EduBloggerCon was exactly what I hoped it would be.  Innovative, flexible, and interactive.  Meaningful conversations.  Organized just enough, yet adaptable and unwritten to allow for spontaneous sessions.

After the Web 2.0 Smackdown, I spent some time in the session led by Mark Wagner. I loved the concept for the session, “Wish a particular tool existed? Learn how to get it made! We’ll design a tool together.” The plan was to brainstorm ideas for a tool that we all wished would have existed and vote on a favorite. Funds would be collected, and Mark would then hire someone from rentacoder.com to create the tool.  The interesting part of the session was having someone suggest an idea for the perfect tool only to have someone else give the name and url for the tool that already existed.  In the process, I picked up a list of really cool tools.

JuicyStudio – Readability test

Teachers Connecting – Collaboration/Connections for Projects

OnlineProjects4Teachers – Collaboration/Connections for Projects (Jen Wagner)

Global Education Collaborative – Collaboration/Connections for Projects (Lucy Gray)

Scholarpress.net – WordPress + Education

Socrata – Social Data Network

Voice Candy – Professional Voice-over/file of teacher comments linked to rubric

Vocaroo.com – free audio recording for embedding or link

Drop.io – keep hearing about how people love this, but haven’t looked into it yet

Great list of (already existing) resources!

The final consensus was to create a rubric builder tool that would be filled out electronically and connect you to a Google Form or Spreadsheet.  If I’m understanding it correctly, this would allow teachers to share rubrics.  I sent my name to be on a list to contribute to the project.

Even if the rubric tool doesn’t get created, I picked up a handy list of resources to check out.  The opportunity to sit in a brainstorming session with so many great minds was inspiring.  I love the collaboration model.  Just think of what we can accomplish when we put our minds together!

If you’ve used any of these tools and recommend them, post a comment.  If you love drop.io, explain it to me.

Photo Attribution: kjarrett