Professional Development for Creating your PLN

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Kathleen Risolvo TIE 575 Developing a Personal Learning Network

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Needs Assessment

In order to find out the technology needs at my school, I choose to ask the teachers in oneschool what they felt was the next step for the group in terms of technology integration. I

sent an online survey to the entire school and asked them to fill it out (appendix A). The

teachers had a varied interest in everything from iTunes to using iPods in the classroom.However, the highest result was that of Developing a Personal Learning Network. Ofthe twelve teachers that answered the survey, 8 of them ranked this as the highest interest

level (4 on a 4 point scale.) This is the reason I chose to develop a ProfessionalDevelopment plan for this subject area.

Development Process

In order to plan and implement this Professional Development opportunity for my peers, Ifirst had to write an overarching essential question for the unit. This question was How

can educators stay up to date on new technology integration?

With this question guiding each of the four modules of instruction, I was able to plan acoherent unit that differentiates for the prior knowledge of the teachers that would be

participating. (appendix B-E)

I choose to present my PD in leveled, blended format. The first module was face to faceand the later were online. Just like in any situation, it is good and productive to know

your setting when planning the PD. At Washington School, we have a bimonthly meetingin the morning on Fridays. This meeting is voluntary, but has an incentive for attending,

food! It is called Come See Whats Cooking and the teacher who is presentingsomething new makes breakfast and presents what is cooking for them in their classroom.

Sometimes it is a cool student centered project and other times it is a summary of the besteducational book out there. This was the perfect opportunity to hook the teachers into

participating in the rest of the modules, which would be held online. I was able tointroduce the concept to the teachers and show them how we would be using the wiki that

was set up for the collaborative work. I choose this method because I know that teacherswant to have a PD experience that is catered to their needs and differentiated to their

knowledge base and experience (Tienkan and Stonaker, 2007). First we brainstormed as agroup on how we gain new information. Then, I was able to able to establish a set of

experts that already use the tools that I was going to teach about and they shared howthey use them. Our time ran out and this was a perfect opportunity to invite the teachers

to learn more on the internet with modules 2-4.

Modules 2-4 were student centered, with the teachers (the students in this case),following guide questions on a wiki page to explore these tools more in depth. This type

of exploration allowed the teachers the opportunity to find their own value to the toolsthrough hands-on learning. These tools take time to learn how to use and to cultivate the

Network needed to make them useful (Ferguson, 2010). This also allowed the teachers tobuild on what they already know instead of trying to teach them something brand new

while still contributing to a common school goal (Borthwick & Pierson, 2008).


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Pilot Testing

To field test this PD, I sent teachers to a link for one of the modules and had them fill out

a short survey on how useful both my presentation was as well as the tool that I waspresenting. I had 10 people respond. Here is what I learned:

1. Some people already used Google Reader, the tool I began with, even more than Idid.

2. Many people did not know how to use a wiki3. Short pieces of information are perfect for a busy educator.4. Many people were very interested in using the tools I had identified in the

upcoming PLN

Major Understandings

I have learned two major things while designing, developing, and implementing this

Professional Development for my school.

First, it is important to plan your PD with a clear essential question guiding you. This

makes it easy to make decisions about the direction you want your PD to take. This alsomakes the experience meaningful to your participants and shows value to their time andexpertise.

Second, you must watch your audience and adjust as you go. Professional Developmentshould be differentiated to meet the needs of all of the learners and it is up to the

presenter of the information to be aware of all of their learners understanding. Using theUnderstanding by Design template when planning for this unit reminded me to not only

use the Performance Task when evaluating the understandings, but also other evidence.

Bibliography

Borthwick, A., & Pierson, M. (2008). Transforming Classroom Practice:ProfessionalDevelopment Strategies in Educational Technology (1 ed.). Eugene,OR: International

Society for Technology in Education.

Ferguson, Hadley. "Join the Flock."Learning & Leading with Technology Jun. - Jul.2010: 12-15. Print.

Tienken, C., and L. Stonaker. "TIME: When Everyday is Staff Development Day."

Journal of Staff DevelopmentSpring 2007: 24-29.National Staff Development Council.Web. 4 May 2010.


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Walick, D. (2009). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning & Leading withTechnology, March/April, 12-16.


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Appendix ANeeds Assessment Survey


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1. [Blog]2. [Podcasting]3. [Wikis]4. [Social Networking]5. [iTunes]6. [Web Publishing]7. [iPods]8. [Digital Images]9. [Promethean ActivInspire]10.[GarageBand]11.[iMovie]12.[videoconferencing]13.[Getting Parents involved]14.[Developing your Personal Learning Network (PLN)]15.[Google Docs]

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Appendix B

Module #1 PLN Professional Development

Essential Questions for Module #1:y How can educators stay up to date on new technology integration?

Instructional Objectives:y

Teachers will define a Personal Learning Network (PLN)y Teachers will be able to log on and add to a wiki pagey Teachers will identify tools that can be added to their PLNy Teachers will be able to articulate how they can use their PLN to improve

their classroom practice.

Content Standards:*NETS-Teacher Standards

3. Model Digital-Age Workand LearningTeachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative

professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:a.demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current

knowledge to new technologies and situationsb.collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using

digital tools and resources to support student success and innovationc.communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents,

and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formatsd.model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to

locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support researchand learning

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolvingdigital culture and exhibit legal and ethical

behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies

and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resourcespromote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related

to the use of technology and information

5. Engage in Professional Growth and LeadershipTeachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and

exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting anddemonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:

a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applicationsof technology to improve student learning

b. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating inshared decision making and community

building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to

make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support ofstudent learning


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d. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching professionand of their school and community

Method of Delivery:

Every other Friday, our school hold a voluntary Professional Development

called Come See Whats Cooking. At this PD, staff members volunteer topresent something interesting. It can be an article, a lesson, a technology piece ora celebration of some sort. The teacher makes breakfast, shares the recipe, and

does a quick presentation. This first module will be done at one of thesemeetings. Because it is an overview, it will also serve as sort of an advirtisement

for the rest of the sessions.

Module 1:What is a Professional Learning Network (PLN)?

1. I will be sure everyone has access to the wiki and we will use this space as aworkspace as we go along.

2. I will introduce the concept of Professional Learning Networks be having the

teachers complete an activity where they illustrate where they have learned manyof their professional knowledge in the past.

3. Students will watch a short YouTube video on PLNs and how they have helped

other educators.Common Craft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc&feature=channelAnimoto- My PLN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWmK5iSMFsYWill Rich talks about why PLNs are so important

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mghGV37TeK8&feature=relatedHow 2 (.0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK8kqjNomAg&feature=related(For more information, teachers can visit http://landmark-

project.com/workshops/handouts/gypln_ll.pdf )

4. Intro to each of the four tools: Google Reader, Twitter, Classroom 2.0,Delicious

AssessmentTeachers will fill out a short survey using Google Docs that asks them to define a

PLN and then explain how they might use a PLN.http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFNmbDNfOGZhdFRCMW

hFY2x1OVpFSnc6MQ


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Appendix C


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Appendix D


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Appendix E


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Appendix F

Participation in a Blended Learning Course

The development of this PD experience was developed as a final project for a blended

learning course. This experience has both positive aspects as well as challenges for me asa participant. It was great to be a part of a learning community online that was always

present. At times questions were thrown out on the discussion forums that anyone couldanswer and we didnt need to rely on one person to answer the questions. This was

helpful in turn around time as well as offering different perspectives on many differentassignments. I looked forward to logging on to see what others in the class were doing as

well as what they had to say about my work. Also, I felt like I knew what everyone elsein the class was doing. For example, I will be using one of my classmates final projects

to learn something new on the implementation of iTunes in my classroom. This is a truelearning community.

However, There were times when the technology became frustrating. When myassignments wouldnt attach or I was unable to find a resource because I was lost on thesite made me anxious. This got much easier as I worked on the online portion of the

course. Something else that was a challenge for me was the time requirement shift. It feltlike I needed to be online constantly, reading other peoples entries or checking to see if

there was a new assignment. In a traditional setting, you come to class on Wednesday andthen your coursework was not due until you walked in the following week. In this type

of setting, you needed to adjust your work time, because you needed to have posted yourwork and responded to others work before the next class. This is not a bad thing, just an

adjustment. If I were teaching in this type of environment, I have learned that I would besure that there were deadlines for assignments posted and then deadlines for comments

made.

I would like to use this type of learning management system with both my classroom

learning as well as other PD experiences that I will plan.

Documents

Professional Development for Creating your PLN