[elearning] Teacher-Led Professional Learning: The Latest Revolution In Education | Edudemic

Mon Jun 17 11:20:07 EST 2013

Hi Roland,

Great article!

I am actually in the process of organising an Edcamp (http://edcamp.org/) for Melbourne early next year. If anyone else would like to be involved in the process please contact me! The more help the better. The skeleton of the day has already been put into place and all we need is a few sponsors and a website running.

michael.ha at pegs.vic.edu.au<mailto:michael.ha at pegs.vic.edu.au>

Regards,

Michael Ha
ICT Coordinator
Physical Education
Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School

On 17/06/2013, at 10:23 AM, Roland Gesthuizen <rgesthuizen at gmail.com<mailto:rgesthuizen at gmail.com>> wrote:

This is a good article that explains how teachers are turning towards their own PD by building their own PLN. There is a strong TeachMeet group in Melbourne and their next meeting is at ScienceWorks during the July school term break. Regards Roland Gesthuizen
>From Evernote:<http://evernote.com/>

Teacher-Led Professional Learning: The Latest Revolution In Education | Edudemic
Clipped from: http://www.edudemic.com/2013/06/teacher-led-professional-learning-the-latest-revolution-in-education/
Teacher-Led Professional Learning: The Latest Revolution In Education
http://www.edudemic.com/2013/06/teacher-led-professional-learning-the-latest-revolution-in-education/

Added by Fred Sitkins<http://www.edudemic.com/author/fsitkins/>on 2013-06-06

I’m both in awe and encouraged at the current trend of teacher-led professional learning occurring across our country. Our nations’ teachers are taking control of their own learning and are using a wide variety of social media platforms to do so. The spectrum of learning events and tools are broad, but to list a few: a wide variety of educational Twitter chats<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiftIdjCeWSXdDRLRzNsVktUUGJpRWJhdUlWLS1Genc#gid=0> occur every day of the week, edcamps<http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-edcamp-kristen-swanson> occur seemingly every Saturday somewhere around the country, and Google Hangouts<http://www.copyblogger.com/google-hangout-content/> are becoming the new impromptu meeting site for tech-savvy teachers everywhere.

It’s refreshing and empowering to think about teachers taking control of their own professional learning. I’m thankful to this growing swell of educators for beginning a revolution that is truly transforming education as we know it. What exciting times we are living in!

Twitter Chats

<a3b9efc5f9e9fff4322b9d2c7daa83b7.png><http://www.edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/fred-twitter.png>

A quick Google search of educational Twitter chats<http://smartblogs.com/education/2013/03/27/utilizing-twitter-chats-for-professional-development/> will land you with more opportunities to connect and collaborate with other educators than you could explore in a lifetime. Check out this Learnist<http://learni.st/users/dawncasey/boards/6054-twitter-chats-for-education-and-the-moderators-that-make-them-rock> to find a sampling. Educational Twitter chats are excellent because they are a great way to be exposed to innovative practices taking place in classrooms across the nation.

Avid Twitter users are discovering rich professional connections through their PLN. Even though the majority of learning and collaborating takes place on-line, these connections are so deep that if and when these individuals meet face to face they interact like they were lifelong friends<http://blog.teachercast.net/iste-is-a-family-reunion-by-cybraryman1/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+teachercastblog+%28TeacherCastBlog%29>.

I have had the opportunity to experience and observe this phenomena occurring first hand and am convinced that these digital connections create strong relationships. Twitter is a great tool for spreading a revolution. Like any revolution, those in the center of the movement are full of passion and their enthusiasm is very contagious.

Edcamps

<0019bd5d803681acb56d60e6d3f225c3.png><http://www.edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/edcampdetroit.png>
Courtesy of @dreambition

A review of the edcamp Foundation website<http://edcamp.org/> will provide you with a great deal of information from explaining what an edcamp is to providing those wishing to host an event the information they need to make it successful. The edcamp experience seems tailor made to those that are excited about the transformational power of technology in education. These individuals are primed and ready for any information they can find about the incorporation of technology into instruction. In fact, they are so excited that they actually give up a Saturday to attend an edcamp.

Mind you, they aren’t being paid for their attendance, nor are they exchanging a day of work for training; they are simply happy and excited about the opportunity to learn. That sounds like the type of educator I’d like to collaborate and work with, and as a building principal, these are the types of educators I plan to hire.

Google Hangouts

Google is providing some incredible tools that educators are running to in droves. One of the best tools for collaborating with fellow educators is through the use of a Google Hangout. Google Hangouts is a free video chat for group chats up to ten people at a time. Google Hangouts differ from Skype<http://www.skype.com/en/>, FaceTime<http://www.apple.com/ios/facetime/?cid=wwa-us-kwg-features-00001&siclientid=6381&sessguid=d95d4d36-72ac-4c1d-99a9-2c2b5f6ea4ea&userguid=d95d4d36-72ac-4c1d-99a9-2c2b5f6ea4ea&permguid=d95d4d36-72ac-4c1d-99a9-2c2b5f6ea4ea> and Facebook Video Chat<https://www.facebook.com/videocalling/> because they focus more on group interaction as opposed to one-on-one interaction.  Another feature of a Google Hangout is that users can share documents, images and YouTube videos with other users.

I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several Google Hangouts like the one below with APPitic<http://www.appitic.com/> and can attest to their simplicity and flexibility. With the advent of Google Hangouts, conference calls should be a thing of the past. Because the Google platform is completely designed around the idea of connecting and collaborating with others, a Google Hangout is the perfect tool for like minded individuals wishing to work together to meet the needs of the students they serve.

While this new professional learning trend is certainly exciting, I do see one negative to it all. I believe it’s unfortunate that our teachers have been forced to take control of their own learning. It seems sad that this all got started because teachers’ needs weren’t being met by their school district. I’m proud of our nations’ teachers for taking control of their destiny and plea with administrators and policy makers to support this new form of professional learning.

I would encourage all school administrators to become familiar with the development of a PLN and ask that they dedicate time and energy to supporting and encouraging teachers in the development of their PLN. Everyone enjoys being a part of a movement and these trailblazing educators are creating a professional learning movement that can transform teaching and learning. Let’s help ensure all educators have the opportunity to be a part of this movement.

Fred Z. Sitkins
Elementary School Principal
Boyne City, MI
iPadPD.com<http://www.ipadpd.com/>
@fsitkins<https://twitter.com/fsitkins>

Category: Trends<http://www.edudemic.com/new-trends/>
Tags: google<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/google/>, hangouts<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/hangouts/>, PD<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/pd/>, Professional Development<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/professional-development/>, Social Media<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/social-media/>, Trends<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/trends/>, twitter<http://www.edudemic.com/tag/twitter/>
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