Learning, Teaching & Technology

The focus of this session is introducing possible participants to the purpose and possibilities of their Women of the Web 2.0 (WOW2.0) webcast on edtechtalk.com. Through Cheryl Oakes I had the opportunity to met Jen Wagner, Vicki Davis and Sharon Peters at NECC07. It was interesting to hear from the hosts how it all started and to view the making of a show at NECC07. They and their successors on the show have since become well known as innovators who host noted guests and topics of interest.

This session gave me a lot of information about how the hosts came up with the idea of webcasting and what they actually do during the production of the show. Although I have listened to the show some Tuesday nights I learned more from the presentation about the archives and delicious links available online.

I know that when Cheryl Oakes first participated in the Webcast Academy she found the access to international educators and the broadened conversations revolutionized her professional practices. Since then she has assisted many others who have been interns in the academy as well as supporting the development of new shows and encouraging listeners to shows. One of my goals is to find the time to enroll in a Webcast Academy which is usually offered in the summer and the winter of each year. I would like to become comfortable with webcasting so that I could assist students and teachers who want to collaborate with others across geographic distances in this format.

As I consider learning to webcast I am fortunate to have local access to my colleagues Alice Barr, Cheryl Oakes and Bob Sprankle who have just begun sharing their “Seedlings Podcast at Bit by Bit” on EdTechtalk on a regular schedule. This has evolved from a regular podcast they have done for over a year. As the presenters say in their title, it’s about “expanding the conversation.”

I selected this session based on the title and my knowledge of Sharon Peters from the WOW2.0 webcasts. While I agreed with many of the initial points of this session, when Sharon talks about teachers being expected to demonstrate growth in their own profession I was really struck by how that isn’t the assumption for all in the teaching profession. In my technology integration role I too often feel that teachers see me as representing change at a rate they don’t want and perhaps an area where they feel a lack of competence that is threatening. Job security for me perhaps, but not the pervasive attitude toward lifelong learning that I would want.

I was also intrigued by the conversation about helping teachers to measure key indicators that lead to success for students. Some of Vince’s indicators (like “personal satisfaction”) can be hard to measure, but need to be able to analyzed by some form or numerical review. One thing we are doing that has led to change in this direction is the focus on action research by teachers in our professional development process. Using student work, over the course of the year teachers select a change they would like to make in their practice and then identify what student success might look like based on that change. Working in concert with others teachers review this research a few times during the year and submit their work as part of a 3 year portfolio. The conversations are one of the most powerful parts of the process in my experience. The capacity to self-reflect and consider change, and even more, the professional satisfaction of seeing increased success in our students are vital energizers in what can be a long and rewarding career in education.