DSS diigo Site

4. Seek out Web-based professional development. I am finding that Web-based training is very appealing to classroom teachers simply because there is no time in a school day to learn how to use/integrate technology. In many districts today, planning time has been significantly reduced. This leaves teachers with either early morning, after school, weekend, or Web-based training as the only options for technolgoy professional development. Web-based training, if designed effectively and utilized rich multimedia, gives teachers convenient anytime, anwhere training. In fact, I created a Blackboard course about Blackbord that utilizes interactive streaming flash video. If a teacher wants to learn how to create and and suggestions for integrating a wiki in a Blackboard course, they simply watch a streaming video on how to accomplish this. This, then, allows teachers to apply skills and have complete control over their own learning/training pace. I think more teachers need to inquire/push for Web-based technology professional development to their I.T. departments and administrators; not just be provided with hyperlinks to online tutorials that merely show you how to use educational software.

As-You-Type Live Updates Over the Internet Between Users Thanks to the new HTML 5 standard and some client-server magic Wave has going on, you can watch your recipient live-type a response in your browser across the internet, much like instant messaging. (If that gives you the creeps, you'll have the option to disable live as-you-type updating.)