What do you think about Remote PD?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Krauss on December 10, 2007 at 10:48am

I think remote/virtual pd can work if it is very precisely tuned to the work experience of the educator/learner. You can build it but they won't come unless the content is relevant and the UI is simple and works flawlessly. There has to be humans to relate to, minimally mentors or instructors who the students can connect with online, even better, a human instructor or guide who can meet face-to-face.

Permalink Reply by Lina Al Salem on January 5, 2008 at 7:51pm

My school subscribes to Atomic Learning ( http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/home ) and I am partly responsible for staff technology PD. I think this has been very useful as far as teachers learning what they need when they need it. It has proven especially useful in helping with the newly introduced Smart Boards (Notebook Software) at the school. Although this might not be a full blown staff development remote delivery SD modules, I feel that it really helps.

Another VERY successful online PD opportunity currently taking place here is the Harvard Graduate School of Education's "Teaching for Understanding with New Technologies" http://wideworld.gse.harvard.edu/overview/courses/integration.cfm

Permalink Reply by AngelaStockman on January 15, 2008 at 7:27pm

I am involved in a regional professional development initiative with Will Richardson and Sheryl Nussbaum Beach. There are two face to face sessions, a handful of sessions in Elluminate, and a NING that keeps us connected and engaged in our learning. I am enjoying the number of resources available to us in NING, the connectivity that is growing between all of us, and the capacity that I have to learn when my schedules allows...

Permalink Reply by Andy Frost on January 23, 2008 at 9:21pm

Sounds like an interesting initiative, Angela. Where/how can I learn more about it?

Permalink Reply by Lynn Marentette on January 20, 2008 at 1:05pm

Hi.

My school district has adpoted Moodle. I'm a school psychologist, and we are responsible for providing a variety of workshops for teachers. I think this will help support teachers, since they will be able to access resources and materials on-line, well after a traditional face-to-face workshop has vanished from memory.

Permalink Reply by Abby Thaker on May 17, 2008 at 10:39am

I'm planning a series of ongoing professional development to take place over the upcoming school year. I need to decide what tool to use for participants to collaborate online between the face-to-face sessions.

Right now I'm leaning toward Moodle and/or Ning, though I'm open to other possibilities. Based on your experiences with Moodle, Ning, and Elluminate, what do you recommend?

Permalink Reply by Lynn Marentette on May 13, 2008 at 4:41pm

What sort of system do you use for your video conferencing? Many of our schools are involved in book studies, but the book studies are held at each school, and the book studies are over several months. Have you used video-conferencing for this sort of thing?

Permalink Reply by Abby Thaker on May 19, 2008 at 7:05am

Are any of you familiar with edu 2.0 as a online course management tool, especially as compared to Moodle? Thanks for your input!