ISTE - Engage, Enrich, and Enhance Professional Development with Online Learning

(Description) "Learn how Jefferson County School District (Jeffco) has used online professional development to improve student achievement, enhance teacher collaboration, and support a guaranteed and viable curriculum."
http://blackboard.jeffco.k12.co.us/

This session focused on the possibilities that online professional development can provide. The presenters were local from Jefferson County here in Colorado and they shared their journey of moving towards online PD. They saw the potential that using these tools provided in moving towards their PLC model but all the while realizing that there are hangups with this. The following are some of the frustrations with traditional PD models:

• time out of class
• sustained skill development - follow up 
• teachers not wanting to learn 
• budget issues
• workload for teachers

So, they shared their approach of finding a balance with INNOVATIVE MODELS:

• making resources accessible
• have them not time sensitive
• keep it ongoing and sustainable

Teaching can be a "professionally lonely" profession. It often lacks collegial experices besides lunch room talk. So this change to an online model can really facilitate these connections.

In the past, the "Fire Hose"  model of training method was what most used for PD.
A one time shot that hopes to cover everything









So, the solutions is to create PLC's and Dynamic Learning Spaces (circle flow chart)

• Digitally rich
• dynamic
• fluid
• accessible
• sustainable

These PLCS allow

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Meeting extensions
• Book study goroups
• overcoming geographc challenges
• extending our PD

So lets Lead the Horse. This is what they recommend for creating the PD's

• Set up an Academic Portal (they use blackboard)
• Curriculum Resources
• Access to our tools
• collaboration opportunities

I found this session useful for what my school district is trying to do with incorporating the Google Apps for Education. I think we can use the Google tools to really facilitate our PD. I would like to see not the just the tech people, but the administrators to look at new ways to expand the learning of our teachers, provide them with continual and sustainable learning where they can engage in those conversations with their colleagues who are at different school and lastly to give them opportunities to apply the lessons learned and allow for reflection.

In  Jefferson County they charge teachers to take online PD classes $50 for 3 credits and then they partner with a university so as to get grad credit. (still have to pay the college for the credits though). they then pay teachers who want to be the trainers/facilitators.