Want to be a great teacher? Don't go to PD. - 6 views
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tsurridge on 06 Sep 10I have led professional development, and shaped a series of professional development classes, to assist teachers in the adoption of one to one laptop programs. Saying that, I couldn't agree with this blog post more. The dynamic change in resource for teachers, and the ever shifting landscape of technology, makes many teachers feel a sense of frustration in attempting to get a handle on what's "out there". This post articulates, and I believe my experience validates, that the answer to engaging these issues does not lie in more and more professional development, but rather, assisting teachers in the creation of their own learning networks for both support and guidance. PLN's are not only more effectual, professional development is expensive. I brought someone in to help our teachers establish personal PLN's, but I don't believe I properly considered how important this was to the process. As I'm quickly learning, PLN creation and engagement may well be at the foundation of any school transformation. ts
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tsurridge on 09 Sep 10If I were to be honest (and I guess, why not), I would like to develop professional development that would assist learners toward meaningful understanding and engagement of PLN's. For me, the missing link is the PLE. I'm still grappling with that myself. What should my computer screen look like? I get your dingo's, the elephant head thing, tweetering, et al. I still struggle with a mental picture of how my new computer screen looks. What exactly is going on there? I think that is step one in this. Somehow. I'm going to figure this out. Somehow. And yes, I get the irony of posting a PD is dead reflection-and than wanting to create PD. Kind of not functionally getting it.....still missing something visually.....hmmmmm.....(love the process though:)..... ts
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glorihinck on 12 Sep 10Timothy, I am confident that by the end of the term you will have a handle on this brave new world- including your computer screen.