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In the midst of a growing storm of new technology-induced learning concepts such as flipped learning, blended learning, personalized learning (to mention but a few) , teachers are left with no other alternatives but to enhance and accommodate their professional development efforts to suit the changing educational paradigms. Edsurge called this "personalized professional development". This is the kind of life-long learning that involves the integration and leverage of digital media and technology (and offsite resources) for expanding one's field of expertise. Image source: EdSurge The web now abounds with all kinds of resources, tools, materials, and know-how to help teachers grow professionally. EdSurge has this wonderful guide featuring a set of different tools that teachers can draw on to expand their professional development. These tools are selected in such a way that they address different areas : They support how teachers engage with colleagues They help teachers learn or find support for implementing fresh strategies and approaches They measure how that learning impacts practice in the classroom. To better evaluate how these tools help teachers grow professionally, EdSurge created a "framework of a continuous cycle of learning." This framework is composed of 4 stages: engage, learn, support, and measure. Under each of these stages is featured a collection of web tools to help teachers get more out of that stage.

"More importantly, it happens in K-12 classrooms all the time.  I know because when teachers relate stories of engaged students using technology, their students all ask the same question: "Can I have more time to work on it?" The ingredients for cooking up engaging activities vary, but certain elements are constant. For one, the activities are challenging and expectations high. There's no "click-along-with-me-and-do-what-I-do-kids" passiveness in these classrooms. Instead, it's more like: "This is hard. And I'm not going to show you how to do it. But I expect what you create will be excellent." There's also an authentic audience. Tell students you're going to present their work at a conference, or submit it to a state publication, and then watch the heightened focus in their eyes. Yet, the audience doesn't necessarily need to be outside the school walls. Just tell them you're going to show their work to other classes and teachers. As one teacher noted: "I didn't realize how little I mattered, until I told my students that I was going to publish all their work to an audience." And great teachers figure out other ways to make kids care. They personalize the content - drawing connections to kids' lives - and help students understand why what they're doing is important."

Caitlin Tucker's blog describes how teachers can use the SAMR model in their classrooms.

ePortfolio description and resources

"With more and more schools going paperless or migrating to the "cloud" (storing files on the Internet), student work has become more easily shareable, accessible by many, and more easily organized. Many teachers have turned to digital portfolios -- or "e-portfolios" -- for their students. These digital portfolios have caused a huge shift in how teachers assign, collect and assess student classwork and projects."

A good list to start with for faculty with iPads

Measuring teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in surveys

A collective blog by Lower School teachers at Sidwell Friends School.

This page is updated frequently with GREAT resources for iPad teachers!

Released at #iste13- new study examines the correlation between teacher PD and higher engagement via mobile learning and stem areas in particular.

My favorite quote: "Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch."

Can you automatic the process of choosing a SAMR activity? Check this survey. It's designed to help teachers think through the SAMR model. 

Another excellent revision of the Bloom's model.

introduce five key features of blended learning, from the learning-centric perspective on instructional interaction between teacher, student, and digital content.

"I also learned effective ways to track student progress toward learning goals that will inform the feedback I give students. While my effectiveness as a teacher has grown exponentially, I still have a lot to learn. ... These are some of my experiences, ideas and resources for using technology to provide meaningful feedback to students -- and making the process more streamlined for everyone."

"Moving a campus to one-to-one is a huge change for schools when properly implemented. It can and should change the ways that teachers teach and students learn. The technology allows for lessons to be enhanced in ways that are nearly impossible without the use of it. But before any of this can happen, there should be a lengthy period of discussion and research, and certain questions must be answered by all involved. Here are some of the questions to consider."

Cathy Davidson looks at the transition from EdTech to Digital Media Learning.