Using Google Forms in the Classroom

Learning "From" Versus Learning "With"

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In his video "Self-driven and Classroom-based: Professional Development in the 21st Century," Konrad Glogowski makes a very important distinction between "learning from" and "learning with."

He points out that he does not learn with people in his Twitter feed, but learns from them, since connections in many social media spaces involve observations through reading or watching. Usually the material or people we interact with online would have little thought or consideration about our own particular teaching environment.

Additionally, Glogowski is critical of much of the professional development that can simply become trends or buzzwords since it is delivered in an approach that views educators as "implementors" of certain tasks or strategies. So while a teaching strategy or the integration of technology may have worked in one class, we have to ask ourselves, will it work for my students in my class?

Initiatives, Isolation and Mr. D

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A few years ago I was heavily involved in a cross-curricular literacy initiative in our school. The initiative was in conjunction with the District, and at one point I received a call from a representative from the Department of Education with a very interesting proposal. They wanted to see if any of our teachers would allow the Department to capture some of their best practices on video as they taught students in their classes. The answer? It was a resounding no.

None of the teachers, including myself, were overly excited with the idea of being captured on video. Assurances were made that only the best practices would be used and any other material would be edited. Yet we could not be sold on the idea and once one teacher declined, everyone else fell like dominoes.

Considering Performance Tasks

When considering my performance in teaching and administrative tasks, the first challenge was trying to decide what I would consider administrative versus what I would consider teaching. Many times the two categories intersect and blend together and can be difficult to separate. Below are two charts illustrating how I decided to separate the two, accompanied with the factors involved for each category.

What Tangled Webs We Weave...

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In his article "What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software," Tim O'Reilly provides a Web 2.0 Meme Map that includes descriptors which I think mirror what most teachers want to accomplish when working together in regard to knowledge management and professional development. 

One such descriptor is the "the right to remix." One of the first words of wisdom I received in my first year of teaching was to "steal" as much as I could from my colleagues. Of course, calling it stealing was a joke, because, in essence, it was a way to share information with each other. Many Web 2.0 applications allow not only for the sharing of information, but also give teachers an opportunity to apply and remix the information to their specific situation and they then, in turn, can share this remix. Thus, the knowledge database grows offering various ways for information to be utilized.

Reflection: Online Professional Development

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This past semester I was part of an online professional development for Media Studies 120 and Journalism 120. Each curriculum went through a much deserved revamp, and the purpose of the online professional development was to become acquainted with new material, new ideas and hear from some teachers who shared best practices in the classroom.

That previous summer a similar onsite session was held, and I had planned to attend, but was unable to attend due to some other commitments. The onsite session had been videotaped, so part of that was included in the online session.