Friday, March 27, 2009

Professional Development that Works?

"THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS OF EFFECTIVE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
1. THOU SHALT BE A VISIBLE LEARNER
2. THOU SHALT TREAT ALL INDIVIDUALS INDIVIDUALLY
3. THOU SHALT FIND YOUR OWN VOICE
4. THOU SHALT SEE THINGS AS THEY OUGHT TO BE
5. THOU SHALT MODEL THE MODEL " - (unknown author)

I look forward to professional development days because usually I get to choose what it is that I want to learn about. In the past, this has meant that I could focus on some aspect of English or social studies - I definitely wouldn't consider anything to do with technology because I felt that I was competent, and that students would figure this out for themselves. I can look back on this now and laugh at how truly closed-minded I was.

However, sometimes I don't have a choice as to what I am doing on these days because the decision is made for me by the school administration and pro-d person. Often times, this was frustrating because it meant that we were once again learning about some aspect of Microsoft Word, or worse yet, we were going to be reviewing how to use our marks program (which I was already very familiar and comfortable with). There would be the typical grumbling of frustrated staff members who were competent in these areas, and usually by after lunch there seemed to be noticeably fewer people in the session.

The best decision that I made with regards to professional development came two years ago when I played with the idea of pursuing my Masters. This was a tough decision in that I had to figure out how to juggle the many different aspects of my real life while trying to fit in coursework. Then someone mentioned to me that there were universities which offered online courses. Great, but likely not in the area of librarianship which is where I was hoping to go. I mean seriously, how can you offer an online course that deals with being a librarian? After all, a librarian doesn't have that much to do with computers. Oh, how WRONG I was!

Since I have started doing coursework, my brain has been thinking again, and I have a new enthusiasm for sharing what I am learning with my colleagues. I have learned much more in the courses that I have taken than in any form of pro-d that I have participated in. Why is that?
Simple, because I:

  • was able to choose my pro-d
  • can fit it in to my schedule
  • have, for the length of the course, a professional learning community
  • am immersed in technology
  • am encouraged to check out new sites, tools, etc. by my classmates and professor
  • am constantly revisiting what I have learned about through assignments, projects and discussions.

This scenario has worked for me, but when it comes to pro-d, one size doesn't fit all, as we read about in the articles of the same title. In Judi Harris' 4 part series entitled "One size doesn't fit all," she refers to educational technology professional development (ETPD) and she believes that "[g]iven whatever amount of times is already allocated . . . . we can 'work smarter' in designing effective [ETPD]." She proposes several different models that can be used and links them to goals and the ultimate effect that this has on one's teaching style. It makes sense to have different models to suit different school situations even though the desired end result may be the same for many schools. Two points that she makes in the February 2008 article that I think are essential considerations when implementing ETPD are that:

  1. "[b]efore most teachers are willing to integrate the use of new tools or resources into their teaching, they need to recognize the relative advantages of doing so"

  2. "continued on-site support as [teachers] experiment with new tools and techniques in their classrooms is essential to ensuring continued and productive use of new tools and ideas."

We know this to be true in any scenario, not just education; however, it seems to be the most true in education because teaching is such an isolated profession that doesn't require people to change in order to keep up with the the day-to-day life of a school. Without support, or continual contact with someone (a mentor, colleague or t-l) who is working with and successfully integrating technology, it is too easy for educators to fall into "old habits."

With regards to ETPD, I think that the t-l can be an excellent "knowledge broker" (Plair, 2008) for teachers because she cannot only "whet their appetites," but also provide the appropriate "menu" for teachers, as explained in Kimberely Ketterer's "A Professional Development Menu." After hearing about what some t-l's are doing, I am more aware of the support that they can potentially provide. T-l's are perhaps the only people in the school house who really need to be aware of what the curriculum is for all of the teachers therein. She can be a great professional development resource by providing support to teachers and offering to team teach with them. In some cases, all that teachers need is someone to help them feel comfortable with their use of technology in a lesson. Although there is perhaps no ideal way to present professional development with regards to technology integration, as educators, we need to continue to consider how we can integrate technology into our lessons, because it is not going away, and we need to engage our students.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Technology in the classroom

"With these [digital] tools, students act like scientists and innovators, rather than serve as empty vessels. They arrive at their own conclusions through controlled experimentation and what scientists call enlightened trial and error." Marc Prensky

Integration of technology in the classroom is not easy for most educators, despite the inspiring articles that were part of this week's readings, and the discussion that ensued. There are many obstacles that need to be overcome such as financial barriers, lack of access, training and perhaps one of the biggest deterrents - lack of time. Many educators would agree that it is essential in today's digital world to be able to integrate technology into classroom instruction in a meaningful way. In order for this to occur successfully, an environment similar to that of the Hong Kong International School as discussed in David and Margaret Carpenter's article "All Aboard!" needs to be consciously created where they "harnessed the talents and time of various stakeholders through a carefully orchestrated and collaborative process." Clearly this is an example of an ideal situation where the school and its administration valued innovative uses of technology, and therefore provided a select group of educators, which included "the instructional technologist, the library media specialist, and the gifted-and-talented coordinator," the time to collaborate and evaluate curriculum.

Pedagogically it does not suffice just to throw in a random lesson including technology here and there as the class moves through the curriculum. In a close-to-ideal situation, teachers would be provided with basic technology such as a computer (or perhaps several) and an LCD projector in the classroom. This would allow them to begin to incorporate some web-based images and videos into their lessons, and teachers could enhance the "teachable" moments that often arise. Not only would teachers' lessons be enhanced, but invariably students' interest and understanding of what is being taught would increase.

I think the key to successful integration of technology is for teachers to be exposed (through pro-d, or after school sessions) to one or two digital tools and then they should be encouraged to go away for a few weeks or months, and play with it in their classrooms. Certain grades or departments could support each other by sharing how they are using the technology in their classrooms. The best case scenario is when a teacher who is meeting with success using technology, as a means to reach curricular objectives, is able to share with and mentor a colleague. The organic benefit of having something develop from within as opposed to being delivered top down lends itself well to both quality and staying power.

This idea is further reinforced by the TeacherTube video demonstrating how Keri Hem, a preservice teacher, plans to use Google Earth to teach a social studies lesson. Her description of how she plans to use this tool for her lesson shows a how she will seamlessly integrate technology, and she gave me many ideas that I can work from with my social studies classes. Not having ever used Google Earth before, I am intrigued by what it can offer me and my students. Further to this was the video found at Edutopia which was a great example of how one school has integrated technology in all aspects across the curriculum, creating authentic learning experiences for its students. These visual examples are excellent resources which could be shared with colleagues to encourage the integration of technology.

Ultimately, as educators, we need to be able to move away from twentieth-century teaching practices and embrace what the twenty-first century has to offer us and our students. If we are not using technology, then it is entirely likely that we are not engaging or adequately preparing our learners. Speaking from the perspective of a teacher who up until recently was afraid of integrating technology into the classroom, it is entirely possible to learn about new digital tools and to use them with confidence.






Sunday, March 15, 2009

Does Privacy Matter?

“Privacy is not something that I'm merely entitled to, it's an absolute prerequisite.” Marlon Brando

I am a firm believer in privacy. I have made several conscious decisions about what information I do and do not share about myself on the Internet. Not only that, but because I am a private person, and despite all of the hype surrounding social networking sites, I have chosen not to join one. I am generally quite cautious about what I use the Internet for, and as a result, this week's topic gave me a few more reasons to feel comfortable in my decision not share all with the World Wide Web.

I began my exploration of this week's topic with the YouTube videos about Google and its efforts to maintain its user's privacy. I found these videos informative because I really didn't understand the function of IP addresses and cookies. At least now I have a better understanding of what these are and how they identify my computer. I, perhaps naively, found these videos reassuring in that they seemed to indicate that people's privacy was important to Google, and that they were making efforts to ensure privacy. However, with all of the security measures that the U.S.A. has implemented in recent years, one has to wonder if these videos are only a means to pacify members of society who are questioning what information is being collected about them.

Most importantly, I had a chance to think about the privacy of my students, which is of utmost importance to me. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner makes a good point when it states that "[w]hile many young people recognize the risks associated with their online activities, they lack the knowledge and the tools to mitigate those risks." Working with high school students, this is very evident to me. Almost daily I am surprised with what my students are willing to reveal or share about themselves on line. Not only that, but they freely admit that they do not read the privacy policies, because they are confident that there is nothing for them to worry about because so many people are using the same sites that they are joining. Beliefs such as these concern me, and I try my best to explain to students that they should be wary about what they share, because once the information is on the Internet, it is almost impossible to revoke it.

I am very aware of my students' privacy, and since I have been trying to implement/use many of the Web 2.0 applications that are available to me, I have had to come up with some ways to ensure that they are able to use these "collaborative" tools in a somewhat "private" way.
  • When using blogs, VoiceThread and Animoto with my students, I ask them to use only their first names and last initial to identify themselves.
  • I do not allow students to post a photo of themselves on Blogger or VoiceThread, rather I ask them to find a photo on the Internet that represents them (I will have to remember to encourage them to use Creative Commons photos from now on).
  • I have all of my students' blogs connected to my Bloglines, but I have them listed as private so not everyone can view what my students are writing.
  • When students set up their blogs they adjust their settings so that search engines cannot find their blogs, and their blogs are not added to Blogger's listings.

Having students set up these applications using the above criteria does limit the "collaborative" aspect of Web 2.0, but because I am still "playing" with these tools, I haven't worked out all of the details yet.

What I have come to realize after this week's readings, is that it is up to me and other educators to teach students about online safety and privacy. Even though our students are digital natives, we can't expect them to know everything about the digital world. I appreciated Doug Johnson's sage advice in the Bloggers Cafe article "Lighting Lamps", and I think that I will share these points with my students:

  • Write assuming your boss [mom, teacher, friend] is reading
  • Gripe globally; praise locally
  • Write for edited publications
  • Write out of goodness.

Also, the YouTube videos Privacy and Social Networks and Does what happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook? are a couple of videos that I am going to share with my students. The more informed they are about the information that is collected about them, the more likely they are to be a little more discrete. Furthermore, it would be a good idea to have students look at some of the privacy policies and really read them to see what they say.