Digital Directions - Spring/Summer 2012 - (Page 40)

+ Online PD Providers ASCD www.ascd.org EdTech Leaders Online www.edtechleaders.org Knowledge Delivery Systems www.kdsi.org LearningFront www.learningfront.com PBS TeacherLine PD 360 www.pbs.org/teacherline www.pd360.com Teachscape www.teachscape.com make sense to force people to sit through courses they’re not going to use.” But Butler did not get any official credit for that webinar toward her professional-development obligations, she says. However, she says her district is moving toward a system that would acknowledge some of these nontraditional PD opportunities. Barbara Treacy, the director of EdTech Leaders Online at the Newton, Mass.-based Education Development Center, says she’d like to see a PD system focused on demonstrating skills instead of time spent in traditional PD activities. Treacy says she’s investigating the idea of using digital badges—often described as the online version of a Scouting patch—to signify mastery of a particular skill. (See cover story, Page 24.) “Badges … are one way to show your credentials or document your skills and knowledge,” she says. “If there gets to be some acceptance of it, there could be some criteria for certain generally recognized badges.” Yates agrees that teacher professional development seems to be moving toward an emphasis on “demonstrating competencies instead of investing a certain amount of time.” “We’re seeing early signs of this,” she says, “but it’s something that’s likely to gain a greater foothold in the future.” Hard to Verify Learning Despite its growing popularity, some technology-facilitated PD remains hard to verify and, though it may be more convenient for teachers, is not always the best way to master complex skills and material. Wayne Hartschuh, the executive director of the Delaware Center for Educational Technology, a Dover-based resource that aims to improve the use of technology in the state’s public schools, acknowledges that it’s often not easy to prove that a teacher watched an on-demand webinar all the way through, or that a teacher spent time absorbing the material in a training module that should take a few hours. “Is there a concern? Yes,” Hartschuh says, but he hopes to use quizzes and assessments to help substantiate PD when necessary. And he believes self-certification has potential. Tim Taylor, the director of business planning and operations at PBS Education, which oversees PBS TeacherLine, a nonprofit online professional-development company affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service, says the company has now broken down some of its 70 graduate-level courses into smaller segments, ranging from a few minutes of video or interactive activities to lightly facilitated five-hour modules. Though Taylor says these small modules are in fashion, they’re not always the right way to provide the best professional development. “Just because something’s in demand, it doesn’t mean it’s pedagogically sound,” he says. “Somebody might want a one-hour thing, but if the concept can’t be taught in an hour, we’re not going to do it.” Eubanks, of the NEA, agrees. “As much as we want our teachers to continuously learn,” he says, “the idea of randomly taking professional development because you need the credits or because it’s interesting, but isn’t applicable, is not something we want.” Teachers will continue to seek professional development because they want to improve their skills, Eubanks says, whether or not they get credit for their efforts. Butler, the Spanish teacher from Hershey Middle School, agrees, and cautions that teachers shouldn’t view these professionaldevelopment opportunities as an easy way to check a box. “Teachers have to be genuinely learning from what they seek out. They can’t just be glancing over it,” she says. “If teachers are really showing growth from what they seek out on their own, districts will realize there’s value to it.” ■ 40 >> www.digitaldirections.org  http://www.ascd.org http://www.edtechleaders.org http://www.kdsi.org http://www.learningfront.com http://www.pbs.org/teacherline http://www.pd360.com http://www.teachscape.com http://www.digitaldirections.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Directions - Spring/Summer 2012

Digital Directions - Spring/Summer 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
DD Site Visit
Bits & Bytes
Game On
Applicable Knowledge
Digital Badges
Lessons From Higher Education
Competitive Edge
Recognizing Online PD
Ready or Not
Q&A
Opinion
Data Delivery

Digital Directions - Spring/Summer 2012

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