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Last summer I wrote a post about the emergence of new and emerging types of conferences for teacher professional development. In that post I mentioned the unconference, the online conference, and the edubloggercon but I also proposed the idea that with the plethora of great presentations and keynotes available online that people could curate their own conferences online by collecting links to and embeds of these resources on their own wiki or blog. In fact, many people have done this time and again but usually we don't think of these collections as conferences. Today I would like to propose another approach.
This week, at the ISTE Conference in Philadelphia, we had the formal conference, the ISTE Unplugged sessions, and Edubloggercon but there was also another conference going on there, one few people knew about, one I silently hosted. On yellow post-it notes I printed QR codes that linked to great talks, presentations, and keynotes addressing a wide range of education and technology issues that I would liked to have seen at the ISTE conference. Drawing inspiration from street artists like Banksy and Space Invader I posted these post-it notes all over the convention center on conference signage, pillars, walls, doors, tables, etc. One could get an entirely different conference by walking around the convention center and scanning these QR codes.
I have no way of knowing exactly how many people scanned these QR codes, the technology seemed to saturate the conference and I really didn't see many people scan any of these things. I also admit that I find the whole QR thing somewhat annoying but I couldn't think of a better way to subversively host my own conference at ISTE. So, in a way, I can now say that I hosted my own conference of which approximately 18,000 educators were in attendance.
So, here are a few examples of some of the presentations from my underground ISTE conference:
In a previous Twitter Book Club post I discussed four strategies I believe work well for working with teacher professional development where the goal is to bring teachers from assimilation to accommodation of new learning, something I believe is extremely necessary with technology integration. I believe I have stumbled upon a fifth and powerfully effective strategy to add to this list. This strategy will also probably work for anyone working with others to deliver professional development in a coaching setting but it seems to be especially relevant for tech integration since many teachers are often reluctant to come ask for help for any number of reasons. To explain this strategy let me tell you about how I came to it.
Last April I bought a used car that doesn't have automatic headlights. It is the first car I have owned since I began driving in 1992 that didn't have this now basic feature. So far this has not been a huge problem. The length of the days in the summertime mean that I rarely need to use them on my to or from work. However, now that the days are starting to get shorter it is dark enough when I leave my house in the morning that I need them on and my drive is long enough that by the time I get to work I have long past the time when I need them. Consequently, since school started there have been four times when I forgot to shut off my lights after I parked my car and went into work. By noon my battery is drained and I need help jump-starting my car.
It seems like it is always a little bit embarrassing to ask someone to help you jump-start your car, especially when you know the reason is because of your own absent-mindedness. You have to put your tail between your legs and ask someone to help you fix your own mess. In my case the people I asked help from, at least for three of these four times, were people who I had not yet built a strong collegiate relationship with. Asking for help and then receiving it is a bonding experience between both parties. Since these bonding experiences I have noticed the people who helped me have been more likely to approach me at school with problems they have with technology or to ask for suggestions for how they might improve something they are doing in their class. They have also been more comfortable with me coming into their classrooms and assisting them with their classes or even just observing them teach.
I don't know why this never occurred to me before as a necessary strategy to use. In fact, I don't know that it would necessarily work if these were not authentic situations where I needed help. I used to use this strategy all the time when I taught at-risk learners at an alternative learning center. In that setting I saw a disproportionate number of students who for one reason or another had built a wall between them and those in authority, especially those who represented "schooly" authority like teachers and principals. I always found that to reach these kids I had to show them a little bit of my vulnerable side, I had to ask them for help with something. Usually, once removing my teacherly authoritative facade they removed theirs and often they became model students in my classroom. In fact, thinking back on every year I taught art in the face-to-face classroom this was the case.
Given the fact that among sectors of the economy education ranks last in its use of technology and so many teachers report being uncomfortable with it, maybe it makes sense to think of teachers as "at-risk" learners. Maybe, on this topic, it makes sense to apply some "at-risk" pedagogies to teacher professional development. But then, what I found worked well with "at-risk" students worked well with mainstream students as well.
In lieu of a Weekly Tech Tip this week I am publishing the final report for an NEA Foundation Grant I received last year. I received this grant to fund a year-long exploration of mobile devices in education with 22 teachers from Goodhue Public Schools. The grant money provided each teacher with an iPod Touch. In exchange they agreed to participate in monthly PLC meetings and asynchronous involvement in our iTeach Mobile social network (recently moved to http://grou.ps/iteachmobile). I highly encourage you, if you are a teacher, to apply for an NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grant. The experience has definitely been rewarding. And, if you are interested in exploring the potential mobile devices have in the classroom I invite you to join our social network.
Twitter is quickly becoming a valuable and popular tool for teacher professional development. This week's TIES conference was a testament to that. This week's tech tip is a beginner's introduction to Twitter for Teachers. Tech Tip:
I like my ever expanding PLN. I find both intrinsic value in participating in it and extrinsic rewards for what it does for me professionally. I know that there are growing numbers of people in all fields and domains experiencing the same kind of learning revolution. The problem I am struggling with is how do we find a way to accredit this kind of learning. I arguably have done the equivalent of all the coursework for an additional degree or two in the past three years in this online environment comprised of the sum of my interactions in the Edublogosphere (both posts and comments on others posts), the Twittersphere, the Tubes (YouTube, TeacherTube, Blip.TV, Vimeo, listening and writing about podcasts and vodcasts (iTunesU, TED Talks, Big Ideas, etc.), attending virtual conference and workshop sessions and webinars, and countless other communities gathered around web2.0 tools.
This seems like it is a problem that needs to be solved. But, how does one apply a formal accreditation to open access online networked learning? Traditional degrees and diplomas are things people work for with attaining them as the ultimate extrinsic reward for their hard work. There are a few exceptions of individuals getting so engaged in their studies that the reason to study, research, and explore becomes more about the education than the degree but for the most part, if the degree did not matter an individual would just jump online or visit a local public library to get their learn on.
The problem with motivation does not reside solely with the individual but even more so within formal degree granting institutions. What motivation does a 4niversity or public school have in granting credit for informal learning experiences? The closest I can think of this happening is when a college or university bestows an honorary degree on someone for a lifetime of achievement. But, what can a person use an honorary degree for? It is not like having an honorary degree is going to help you get a job. Chances are, if you had an honorary degree you would not need whatever job it would theoretically qualify you to do.
So, this begs the question, "How did our society come to value diplomas and degrees?" At some point in our past we did not have these institutionally concocted branding devices. Could we be starting to see the birth of a new form of distinction online? One hallmark of nearly all social media sites is a ranking feature. For example, YouTube allows users to rank videos by giving them 1-5 stars. It also keeps track of how many views a video has, how much of the video gets watched every time a visitor comes to the page, and how many people have saved it in their "favorites." Google Analytics tracks how many people link to your website or blog post, how may hits your site or page gets, how long people stay on your site, and how often they return. Technorati does the same and gives bloggers a rating. The web is full of these kinds of markings but by these measures a thought-provoking article by Ira Socol, Scott McLeod, Doug Johnson, or Clay Burell ranks far below "Sneezing Panda," "Leave Brittany Alone," or LOL cats.
So, at the very least, here is the rub: Why is it that I can get 1 continuing ed credit for sitting in an hour-long presentation by an obviously biased corporately-employed presenter and not engage myself meaningfully in the topic at hand but for an hour of reading and meaningful career related reflection in my PLN I get nothing institutionally recognized?
Could an institution be formed to grant formal distinction for meaningful work within a PLN? Would people apply for this sort of credential or would it be bestowed upon them like an honorary degree? Would either of these even be desirable? Would trying to get that credential be the same as getting it as a result of work you have done for other more intrinsic reasons? How would you feel about getting a credential bestowed upon you from an organization you have philosophical or moral disagreements with? Perhaps an institution could approach a those who they would like to bestow this upon and ask them if they accept. But then, what would that person be able to do with that credential? Who will value it? Who is going to invest int the human capital to research and track potential candidates? Perhaps a portfolio of ongoing PLN work could be submitted to formal institutions for review and credit be applied based on the degree of a person's involvement.
What do you think? Is this a problem that needs solving? What are potential solutions?
I posted some of these questions in Twitter this morning. The following is a record of the conversation that followed:
Do teachers have professional responsibilities beyond their teaching contract?
What are professionals responsible for?
Why do you do what you do?
Do professionals have a responsibility to keep up-to-date on what is current in their respective fields of study?
Would you expect your doctor or dentist to be aware of new medical developments, assuming you consider doctors or dentists professionals?
Would you expect a detective to keep up with current trends in forensics?
How is it that many teachers are unaware of sweeping trends in education?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know what UBD is?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know what web 2.0 is?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you be aware of the concept of disruptive innovation?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know what is in NCLB?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know what state education policy is? Or at least how to look it up?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know what bills are being passed around the state legislature?
If you are a teacher, shouldn't you know, understand, and be able to at lease paraphrase your state's academic standards in your content area?
If our teacher contracts don't explicitly address #9-#15 do we have professional responsibilities to address these on our own?
Should teacher contracts address these issues? Or is it our own professional responsibility to address these for ourselves?
Wouldn't teacher unions have an easier time negotiating "professional" salaries for teachers if more teachers exhibited "professional" behavior in their own learning?
Why is it that when a "professional" teacher takes great interest in all of these things they usually are asked to move into an administrative or leadership role?
If you are a teacher, what motivates you to care about these issues?
I just finished stage one in a grand experiment. I set up Bloglines accounts for every teacher in our district. Prior to handing them over I preloaded them with feeds in four categories: News, Education News, Technology Integration, and Content Area Feeds. I have been using Bloglines since this summer and have found it to be an absolute essential part of my day. Using Bloglines, or any other RSS aggregator, I have found my capacity to process large quantities of information has greatly increased. I have also found it to be an essential component in establishing an online learning community between other bloggers both in the education realm and out. I believe this tool will save teachers time, keep them informed on latest trends, and give many of them the same opportunity to connect with other educators to share ideas and form collaborations. I also see this tool becoming essential down the line. As more and more of our teachers take to blogs, wikis, and other web 2.0 media for student projects and assignments a tool like this will allow teachers to easily monitor, manage, and assess student work.
I am wondering if there are any other school districts out there that have tried a simmilar initiative with their teaching staff. Listed below are some of the feeds I included on these pages. Of course, I am always looking for suggestions that could be added to this list.
