Group items tagged

"I went to the homepage of EdcampHome and saw four amazing educators: David Theriault, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, Kelly Kermode, and Shawn White troubleshooting, discussing and working diligently to put this together via a Google Hangout being streamed live through YouTube and simultaneously embedded on the front page of the website. Tweets were flying and being used to communicate issues, compliments, and questions from educators all over the world who have never met face-to-face. It felt as if I was getting the opportunity to be behind the scenes at NASA during a space launch! I hope you take the time to watch even a few minutes of the amazing collaboration between them. The lengthy video is still on the homepage for viewing for now."

"A new era of personalized professional development is sweeping into schools. We've created this guide to capture the extraordinary changes in PD tools and in the cycle of learning. We look here at tools that support how teachers engage with colleagues; that help teachers learn or find support for implementing fresh strategies and approaches; and that measure how that learning impacts practice in the classroom."

"Education has always been a reflection of broader cultural values. As such, the roles of teachers and students have evolved as our models of education have moved from one iteration to another. Teachers who once traveled to town to instruct a heterogeneous room full of passive learners on matters of rote memorization have come to adopt new roles and philosophies toward learning. As these new models have emerged, educators have been required to hone their skills and adapt to ever changing sets of priorities, needs and expectations."

Professional development days a.k.a. in-service days a.k.a. team-building days ... quite frankly, they suck for me; they are boring and a major waste of my time -- equally for those who are told to lead them and for the teachers who are required to sit and listen. I am not sure if those in command of designing and facilitating them care to do it, or are actually that far removed from the profession that they have no idea what is relevant. Maybe the leaders of professional development need professional development on how to do professional development.

"With over 170 million active users and playing a significant role in media consumption, Twitter has turned into the go-to site for real-time updates and gathering snippets of info from those we're interested in. Pretty much everyone knows how to put a tweet together and how to reply to users, but what about more advanced features such as shortcuts, apps and SEO. If you want to improve your knowledge or want to pick up a few tips and tricks to help you get more out of the service, then read on."

"Personalized learning is on the rise for learners in our schools. Redesigned schools include personal learning plans, playlists of content tailored to fit each learner, adaptive curriculum, and access to learning anytime and anywhere.  That's great for students but what about teachers? Where's the personalized learning, the carefully constructed playlists, the pitch-perfect material that fits their grade level and subject needs and interests? "