“[Online professional development] is professional development for us, by us, talking language we all understand.” – @shawdave
The #MusEdChat held on June 7th, 2010 discussed the possibilities of Professional Development via the internet. The chat participants began by discussing some common forms of professional development they are used to.
Professional Development – What It Is
One of the most common types of professional development that teachers are used to is conferences. Most teachers have experience attending these conferences. Generally there are a variety of different sessions to attend talking about issues relevant to whatever the teacher’s specialty is. @Zweibz7 then asked the participants how we could use the internet to take advantage of these opportunities. One way of doing this involves using Twitter. Participants can tweet during conferences to a particular blog. These tweets will appear on the specified blog or website, so that even people who do not attend the conferences can benefit from them. Also, participants pointed out that with traditional conferences it is rude to turn to your neighbor and start a discussion, even if it is relevant to the subject material. The internet provides an opportunity to have the conference continue, even after it is finished. In addition to conferences, educators seem to be quite familiar with lecturing. Quite a few participants seemed to be unhappy with their schools’ ideas of professional development consisting of information that isn’t relevant to their subject areas. Ideas to improve current professional development included more Wifi at conferences, relevant content, and the use of more online tools.
Professional Development – What it Could Be
Participants also discussed both what they want to see from professional development, and what they are already participating in but cannot get credit for it. Some of the educators mentioned Webinars, which are frequently offered by @SoundTree to help educate teachers after the school day is over. Many other venues offer professional development online including Twitter chats (such as both #MusEdChat and #EdChat). A big issue with professional development online is trying to convince administrators. Many of the educators shared that their administrators don’t know about online professional development and therefore dismiss it, or they seem afraid of anything technology and will not try it. The idea of virtual presenters was also suggested. For example, instead of hiring a speaker to come in for a session, have an expert Skype in for a session.
How to Convince Administrators
Many of the #MusEdChat shared ideas to convince administrators of the benefits of online professional development. One example is to show your administrator the transcripts of the Twitter chats you participate in (and possibly highlighting your contributions.) This is one concrete way you can show the process and benefits of one of these events. Others suggested to get them in on it gradually, showing them frequently what you get out of it. Most participants felt that if you have your administrator on board, you will see more subject-relevant information, and technologically-savvy presentations.
Join in the Next #MusEdChat!
The next #MusEdChat will happen on June 14th. The topic for this chat will be, “What have you learned in your teaching experience that you didn’t learn in school?” If you are unfamiliar with #MusEdChat, be sure to check out the #MusEdChat homepage to lean how to participate!
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