tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post6917412390401252385..comments2023-11-05T02:10:50.039-07:00Comments on Drape's Takes: The Future of the Future of Professional DevelopmentUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-55827967517456934372008-04-26T12:09:00.000-06:002008-04-26T12:09:00.000-06:00> Finding ways to give teachers one easy-to-engage...> Finding ways to give teachers one easy-to-engage experience where students can network in ways not easily done without technology... one transformative experience... will do more than our evangelical enthusiasm and hype ever will.<BR/><BR/>Well said, Dave. I couldn't agree more with you nor have said it any better.<BR/><BR/>10 points extra credit. :)Darren Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578208859042859340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-38350860187240162012008-04-26T11:33:00.000-06:002008-04-26T11:33:00.000-06:00Excellent points Darren,With respect to my 'greate...Excellent points Darren,<BR/><BR/>With respect to my 'greatest thing since sliced bread' comment, I think my point was <I>not</I> to negate the value of being networked... I'm whole-hearted sold on the opinion that it is now <I>essential</I> to be a connected/networked teacher, (so much so that this is the topic of a presentation I'm doing at BLC08). <BR/><BR/>My point, which I still think is pertinent to this post and the ensuing discussion, is that the hype that it is 'great' does us a disservice. <BR/><BR/>In the past our (or at least my) enthusiasm to share things would end up overwhelming teachers with new 'stuff'. I try to share <I>too much</I> of the wonderful things these new tools and new technology can offer, and like your own discovery with wiki's, things must go sloooow. <BR/><BR/>Our messages that "this is fantastic", "you have to try this", "this will change you as a teacher" are all wonderful, true messages, but in my opinion they are not messages that meaningfully 'convert' teachers. <BR/><BR/>Finding ways to give teachers one easy-to-engage experience where students can network in ways not easily done without technology... one transformative experience... will do more than our evangelical enthusiasm and hype ever will.David Trusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00519890493979141068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-60563312120478163262008-04-26T08:49:00.000-06:002008-04-26T08:49:00.000-06:00Thank you for your thoughtful comments in relation...Thank you for your thoughtful comments in relation to this post.<BR/><BR/>I think that Dave and Jethro make a good point in that if we're going to expect the "average" teacher to engage in OpenPD, we'll need to ratchet the material down a notch or two. Having taught a group of 45 middle school teachers yesterday how to use wikispaces with their classes, I can wholly attest to the idea that we'll have to go slooooow.<BR/><BR/>With that in mind, I'm afraid that OpenPD isn't for every teacher. As a teacher, I can tell you that it is VERY difficult, in an OpenPD-type setting, to gauge the level of the participants as well as how well they are understanding the material. In doing this, I've learned how much I depend upon non-verbal cues as I teach. <BR/><BR/>Try to teach with your eyes closed sometime. It can be real eye-opening.<BR/><BR/>As far as RSS goes, I can sympathize with Clay's "push vs. pull" comment. One of the reasons we're having a hard time understanding how to deal with these technologies - and the emotions associated with them - is because they are very new to society. The "push" content idea is one that I will need to think more on for a future post.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I have thought about Dave's comment about sliced bread for the last two days. Dave, I agree completely that effective teaching is hard work and is not all about networking. However, I very much disagree that networking - like we do in OpenPD - isn't, for many teachers, the greatest thing since sliced bread. Consider the social studies, foreign language, or technology teacher. Who do you think will be more able to provide the kind of cutting edge, 21st century education that will serve our students best (the networked or the isolated teacher)?<BR/><BR/>In my opinion, if a social studies or a foreign language teacher isn't putting students into direct contact with peoples of other cultures, then at this point in the game, they aren't being effective.<BR/><BR/>This is equally true with technology. How can anyone involved with technology possibly stay abreast with the rapid changes inherent to our field without networking. Answer: they can't.Darren Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578208859042859340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-52417198921695042222008-04-24T22:31:00.000-06:002008-04-24T22:31:00.000-06:00@Jethro, (Hi :) ) Did I say RSS was too new? I d...@Jethro, (Hi :) ) Did I say RSS was too new? I don't recall that. In a sense, I think RSS is too old now. Newer tools that are easier on the non-geek, I'm arguing, might be better for evangelizing to non-geeks (the large majority of our workshop and classroom audiences).<BR/><BR/>Again, I'm talking PD (and classroom - let's not forget that the whole point of teaching this to teachers is to get them to educate their students about it). I just don't think RSS will ever "come to life" for most PD and classroom attendees. And I think there are newer alternatives that might hook people more - and get them ready (only the willing) for aggregators. <BR/><BR/>It's a pull v. push thing, in a sense.<BR/><BR/>The "RSS is Dead" thing was just a bit of hyperbole alluding to Nietzsche's famous "God is Dead" declaration. I was hinting that maybe we worship Readers too much, and don't notice that the rest of the world doesn't seem to.CBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11236657531187596253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-88425517597217341892008-04-24T21:49:00.000-06:002008-04-24T21:49:00.000-06:00@Clay, How can you say RSS is dead? You just said ...@Clay, How can you say RSS is dead? You just said the other day that this is too new! Perhaps RSS is dead to you, but that doesn't mean it is dead to others. <BR/>Darren and Sarah: Teachers and any other professionals hate PD because it is <B>PD</B>. As my professor this last semester said about a hundred times as she lectured us with the same style of powerpoint without letting us interact, "The days of a one-stop-dog-and-pony-show Professional Development are over!" When we tried to participate in that discussion, she ignored us and lectured more about the need for collaboration in adult education. Pardon me, I got distracted by hypocrisy. If we call it PD, people are going to hate it without knowing anything about it. <BR/>Also, I have mentioned numerous times that we need satellite groups of teachers to start inviting other teachers at their school to participate in technology sessions or experiences. My TechnoThursdays has only been successful because they are developing professionally and they don't even know it. It is not even that successful, there are only 4 or 5 people that show up each time. But if you think about all the middle schools in our district doing that, that is nearly a hundred people participating in professional development while enjoying it and not knowing that they are being duped! But it is not about duping them, it is about creating a safe environment for teachers to explore technology and learn new tricks. <BR/><BR/>In addition, we might have some better success if we are not focusing on the bleeding edge. This goes back to Clay's idea that RSS is dead. Maybe since it is dead, some teachers will start using it. Maybe we should look at teaching them how to properly use Excel or their grading programs or some other type of <I>software</I>. My biggest takeaway from TechnoThursdays is that I need to teach <B>relevant</B> topics, and go <B>s-l-o-w</B>.jethrojoneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14065159896166632977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-31160655182547231882008-04-24T21:34:00.000-06:002008-04-24T21:34:00.000-06:00Darren- Open PD has been a great venue for learni...Darren- Open PD has been a great venue for learning the basics of certain tools. You could always dive in deeper and spend time teaching teachers how to build relationships, meaning, and learning with their students by using these tools.Cory Ploughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10961407128890788676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-61690906568118369842008-04-24T19:40:00.000-06:002008-04-24T19:40:00.000-06:00If you want to capture a 'new' crowd then you need...If you want to capture a 'new' crowd then you need to offer them low-hanging fruit. Twitter has a difficult introductory stage. RSS takes time to develop... why not just have a few educators sharing with Google Reader on a resource wiki and let that be an initial introduction to RSS... challenge participants to add to the resource page. <BR/><BR/>I think wiki's are a great entry point. They are easy to use AND when students begin to learn from their peers, or take responsibility for their own learning on a wiki that excites the teachers to want more!<BR/><BR/>Give them a project with easy-to-find success within reach. For example, a fully developed 2-3 week student project with rubrics they help develop (with your help too) - something with a start, and a finish, and a lot of opportunity to build student buy-in, to get support and to find success. <BR/><BR/>It is a fallacy to say that a networked teacher does less, or has an easier time engaging students... that takes hard work and good teaching. So, don't pump-it-up as the greatest thing since sliced bread. <BR/><BR/>Instead, provide an opportunity for teachers to see and experience the transformative nature of these tools on LEARNING (as opposed to 'teaching'). Once this happens it is difficult for a teacher to go back into their pre-technology cave of shadows... they'll be hooked and they will seek out the new tools, and take the time to develop their own network.David Trusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00519890493979141068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-17800050094280917372008-04-24T19:37:00.000-06:002008-04-24T19:37:00.000-06:00I do not know if I would agree with you, Clay, tha...I do not know if I would agree with you, Clay, that RSS is dead - that may be the case with edubloggers, but for the average person on the street. The health professionals I teach/interact with would not be into Twitter and the like at all. As a web 2.0 newbie, I relate much more to RSS than some of the other tools you suggest. But I certainly agree with your quote, Clay, about experimenting on ourselves - thanks.<BR/><BR/>Darren: I am beating the PD drum with health professionals and face exactly the same issues as you do with teachers. Very few engage with PD unless they have to, and then you have to 'reward' them. Time and 'value' are the main barriers as Kate says. To be devils advocate, knowing the time and effort you have put into this program OpenPD, are you wasting your time? Personally, I think this project is a fantastic model-thank you for inspiring me. cheers SarahSarah Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00480597227427423793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-87263752451446162112008-04-24T19:25:00.000-06:002008-04-24T19:25:00.000-06:00@Clay - i loved the quote as well and quoted you i...@Clay - i loved the quote as well and quoted you in the next comment on that post :-) very insightful!<BR/><BR/>@Darren - I think you've really hit the nail on the head when you question whether you need to offer some extrinsic value to teachers in order to expand. Whether it's a popular view or not, many teachers simply will not do professional development if it won't count toward their district/state/national recertification hours or toward salary advancement. In their defense, if only intrinsic rewards, this PD would have to be in ADDITION to their hours that DO count, and we already know that time is an issue (especially when dealing with teachers who don't already heavily value technology). If there were some way to make this possible, I think people would be jumping at the chance to participate. Remember, I'm playing devil's advocate here - I'm all for intrinsic rewards and do most/all of my online work for my own betterment without credit/pay. But, I'm not the norm, right? Just my take on this :-)<BR/><BR/>Kate Olson<BR/>http://katesays.orgKate Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771247718903170965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-24807839955172572402008-04-24T19:07:00.000-06:002008-04-24T19:07:00.000-06:00I suspect that RSS is Dead, but we evangelists don...I suspect that RSS is Dead, but we evangelists don't want to lose something to preach.<BR/><BR/>I think Twitter links, Diigo groups, Education.Alltop.com, and such are easier ways to turn onto the blogosphere.<BR/><BR/>Just because we believe in RSS doesn't mean we've converted others. I think our track record on that is miserable enough to speak for itself (mine is, anyway, with colleagues and students alike). Can we say "dead horse"?<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the quote. I'm glad somebody noticed it. It's worth remembering, isn't it?CBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11236657531187596253noreply@blogger.com