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Self-Directed Professional Development

Toby Fischer — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:39 +0000

I recently collected resources to help educators guide their own professional development. I would like to thank @web20classroom and @simplek12 on Twitter for sharing. Here is the list. Fell free to share and add to it. (Some of these are local opportunities here in central Ohio)

Conferences and Professional Development Opportunities 2009-2010
Educon 2.2 http://educon22.wikispaces.com/ January 29-31, 2010 Philadelphia, PA	What is EduCon 2.2? EduCon 2.2 is both a conversation and a conference. And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
eTech Ohio Conference http://www.etech.ohio.gov/conference/ February 1-3 Columbus, Oh	It is a dedicated time when Ohio educators, (teachers, faculty, librarians, instructional designers, administrators, students, technicians) network, listen and explore — then roll up our sleeves and learn! It is a dedicated time where we rub elbows with people like us; hear from international experts; recognize teaching excellence, scholarship, student accomplishments, and tech innovations. It is a dedicated time where all of us (from pre-school, elementary and secondary education, career centers, colleges, universities, and adult education) can tap into the best educational currents across the state and re-energize!
K-12 Online Conference http://k12onlineconference.org/ New sessions start Nov 30th Online	The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2009 conference theme is “Bridging the Divide.”
Ohio Free Tech Conference 2010 http://www.ohiofreetech.org/index.html	Attain success; learn to seamlessly integrate technology into your curriculum. Explore best practice solutions from leaders in educational technology and experience the most valuable educational innovations. Save time and engage students. Gain need-to-know knowledge on how effective use of technology translates into more meaningful teaching time. Impact student achievement through strategic implementation. Discover how technology integration helps you go green.
Classroom 2.0 Webinars http://www.classroom20.com/	Classroom20.com, the social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. We encourage you to sign up to participate in the great discussions here, to receive event notifications, and to find and connect with colleagues. Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. We especially hope that those who are “beginners” will find this a supportive community and a comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog. If you feel that you are a beginner and want some extra help, please click here to join the Beginner Group as soon as you’ve registered.
Atomic Learning www.AtomicLearning.com	Technology training that moves you from “How do I do that?” to “How do I apply that?”
PBS Teacher line http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/	PBS TeacherLine’s high quality, standards-based graduate-level courses offer teachers the professional development opportunities they need in an accessible online format that makes learning fun, flexible and collaborative. You can earn graduate credit, PDPs, or CEUs while gaining strategies and resources to bring directly to your classroom.
Simple K-12 http://www.simplek12.com/free-offers-your-school	Here at SimpleK12, we know how important technology education is, and we also know that there isn’t always enough edtech funding to get the training and assessments your students, teachers, and staff need. That’s why we have FREE curriculum offers for your students, and professional development solutions for teachers and staff. See below for our simple solutions. We offer every district a free simple solution for their student technology education and a free simple solution for teacher professional development.
North Carolina’s EBistro http://ebistro.org/	eBistro is a professional development tool for educators in North Carolina that will help teachers feel more comfortable integrating technology into the curriculum. Participants are able to create a login, complete individual learning modules, and save their work in their own digital portfolio. Other areas of eBistro provide resources for grant writing and other items deemed important for teachers.
23 Things Project http://the23thingsproject.pbworks.com/	Teachers, Administrators, School Leaders and others with a vested interest in education are quickly realizing that the face of education is changing. Students, begining in the lowest grade levels are coming to school as digital citizens, yet the system has been slow to adapt. The 23 Things Web 2.0 Project is designed to introduce you to the tools that can transform your classroom, school or district. Activities can be completed independently, as a small learning community or as a large staff.
Discovery http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/web2.0/video.cfm	See for yourself what the Web 2.0 buzz is all about. Aside from being highly interactive, accessible and collaborative-it’s a fun use of technology! Our experts will guide you through six different ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into your classroom. Prepare yourself to learn a lot and be entertained along the way. GO EXPLORE!
WVIZ http://www.wviz.org/	Online learning is a convenient way to gain valuable technology-based and content-based skills that is flexible and works with your schedule. It’s a great way to obtain graduate credit in an engaging multimedia environment. Intimidated? Don’t be – we’re user-friendly! We have supportive and patient facilitators that work with you to ensure your success!
ITSCO www.itsco.org	Face-to-Face Fridays (F2F) – These hands-on sessions are offered at North, Central and Southern locations from 10-3 and are limited to a maximum of ten participants. Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) Tuesdays – These one hour presentations are offered via video on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. Each site may have as many participants as desired. Online Classes (OLC) – Take an online course in your PJs! Courses are composed of four to five modules with lessons typically posted each Monday and due the following Sunday. You work at your own pace with guided instruction and assistance provided online by an ITSCO consultant. It’s that simple. All you need is a computer and Internet access!

Can this Video get Teachers Started?

Toby Fischer — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:52:12 +0000

I always start professional development sessions with a video clip if I can find a good one that fits. I just saw this one and am wondering how teachers would react to it. What do you think?

I Don’t have Time for That

Toby Fischer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:03:33 +0000

About a week ago I asked my PLN on Twitter, “When a teacher says ‘I don’t have time for that’ do they mean, I don’t know how & I’m not willing to take the time to learn.” I will start by saying this is not my opinion, I was trying to start a discussion.

There was a great amount of wisdom in the responses.

@futureofedu It might just mean “I’m scared to try that!” from @kellyhines

I agree, many want to jump in, they are just scared of the water. In my district, there is me and the others in our educational technology department there to be their life jackets. Still, not all people are jumpping in.

@futureofedu means teacher doesn’t know how said thing fits w/curriculum therefore said thing is perceived as added on to curriculum. from @nancydevine

We must stress that it isn’t one more thing. When we talk about embedding technology and 21st century skills, it happens with the teaching of content, not separately.

@futureofedu Probably more like: “I’m being pulled in too many directions with stuff I already know to take on something else.” from @nlowell

@futureofedu Yes and no-My current workload exceeds my contractual liability.Should I feel pressured into even more with no allowance – no? from @sdisbury

@zemote @futureofedu re: teachers/time – I don’t even have time to do the things I know how to do and I desperately want to do. from @teacherc

Dear adminstrtors, please make time in your teachers schedule for them to learn and grow. Hire people in your district that can support this professional learning.

Dear Politician, Find a way for the above statement to be financially feasible for ALL schools.

Teachers need to shift their practices to embed 21st century skills and technology. This should not be an option. The problem is the lack of understanding and funding for this shift to happen at the speed it should be. The question I am left to ponder, what do we do to change this?

21st Century Schools Suggested by my Tweeps

Toby Fischer — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:26:30 +0000

A month or so ago our board of eduction asked me and my colleague’s to find some of the best schools in the country. The purpose was for us to visit the best and learn from them. I threw the question out to my twitter friends and here where the replies I received.

arvind@futureofedu 21st century school: Science Leadership Academy

jonbecker@futureofedu have you seen/read about High Tech High?

jonbecker@futureofedu they started in SD and have spread their wings: http://is.gd/kYrR

brueckj23@futureofedu Follow teacher @ this school on Plurk. Seem 2 b right there when it comes 2 things you are looking 4. http://bit.ly/CEaZq

Franki22@futureofedu I would say Center For Inquiry in SC is a model school–not sure what they do but questions and student thinking is key there

Here a few others I have found in my own searches:

Walter Payton HS (Illinois)

South Park Elementary

I’ll post more in the upcoming weeks as I continue my research. I hope to get a chance to visit the Science Learning Academy next year during the Educon conference.

It looks like the winner of this list for my travels will be High Tech High in San Diego. I am looking forward to the opportunity to go out there and see what they are doing. Hopefully we can go out there learn a few lessons and make our district one everyone wants to see in the future.

Thank you PLN

Toby Fischer — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:45:23 +0000

As I prepare for my presentations over the next week (school board tomorrow and Ohio eTech Conference next week) I want to use this space to thank my personal learning network (PLN). In my preparations, the responses I have gotten from my twitter friends, Diigo Groups, co-workers, and my wife (she is my co-presenter at eTech) have been an amazing resource. I would suggest to all teachers to create an online PLN to be an add on to your face-to-face contacts. You will become a better teacher in no time because of the ideas and resources that will come your way. So thank you PLN.

I’m becoming one of Them

Toby Fischer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:57:35 +0000

I’ve watched kids listen to their Ipods, work on their computers with multiple windows open and IM all at the same time. I’ve watched this and wondered; how productive can this be?

A few minutes ago I looked at my desk and realized they can be very productive because “I am becoming one of them.” Right now I have my Iphone syncing, I’m following my twitter “friends” on my desktop using twitterific, I’m listening to some cool tunes using Pandora (Eye of the Tiger is currently playing. I feel like getting up and running some stairs), I have a spreadsheet and a word doc open, I have 6 tabs open in my browser (one being e-mail of course) and I have my ical up, all at the same time. With all this open, I’m getting a lot of work done. On top of getting work done, I’m learning because my twitter network is filled with great minds. Best of all, I’m enjoying myself. My foot taping to the beat tells me that. Now if I just force myself to create the 30 new Moodle courses for the teachers I trained yesterday.

What does this mean? I’m not sure, but it was one of those self awareness moments that we all need to have.

Professonal Development Course Ideas

Toby Fischer — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:33:47 +0000

I am getting ready to create an online professional development class for the teachers in my district. It will be worth one semester hour college credit. I am currently trying to figure out what the content of the class will be. I will be using Moodle to teach the class. In our district we use Moodle for our blogging, wikis, online classes, etc… Last year I taught a class that covered a wide range of topics (Inspiration, blogging, digital photography, photo editing, teacher webpages). It went well, but I want this class to have more of a focus. My thought was to center the class around “using web 2.0 tools in the classroom”My question is, with the numerous tools out there, what is best to focus on? Any opinions would be appreciated.

I will have to use this as my first Twitter question. I finally took the time a few nights ago to create an account. I now have to find a few more people to follow me. If you are a Twitter’er (what is the correct term?) my username is “futureofedu”