Online professional development isn’t just convenient, however. If it’s done right, it can also be as effective as face-to-face PD in helping teachers improve student performance, according to the study “Ready to Teach: Teaching Fractions Project.”
This ONLY matters in the big picture if:
- More current teachers find additional avenues to fine-tune their craft and grow as professionals without interfering with their current juggling act that society seems to think is just 'par for the course' and acceptable because of summers off
- This helps to head-off the soon-to-come dearth of teachers in the profession (hello Baby Boom retirements and new teachers leaving after 1 or 2 or 3 years) and helps more people enter the profession when things really get interesting [read: tight]
- We stop trying to distinguish between F2F and On-Line...and simply focus on "learning" and "development". The whole debate seems increasingly silly to me. Learn: by any means necessary!
Your thoughts?
Okay -- you're on a roll this week and I've been enjoying all of your posts. I can't even begin to touch on the "Manifesto" yet -- need some time to digest it and let it marinate before I add my thoughts...
However, I did want to say that I love the phrase "Learn: by any means necessary!" (Perhaps that should be in the manifesto somewhere?)
Stephanie
Posted by: Stephanie Sandifer | January 04, 2007 at 11:55 AM
I agree, we have to abandon the e/digital/online novelty and remember that we are trying to teach, using any means necessary.
Posted by: Raj | January 04, 2007 at 03:15 PM