Deeper Learning and e-learning A Review of Promising Programs and Emerging Technologies in the Field of Online Teacher Professional Development PreparedforTheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation:VicVuchicTheWilliamandFloraHewlettFoundation2121SandHillRoadMenloPark,CA94025Submittedby:BobMontgomery,KurtLarsen,andGinaHaleWestEd730HarrisonStreetSanFrancisco,CA94107Contact:BobMontgomery 510‐409‐[email protected],2011
e-learning and Deeper Learning 2
WestEd—August 2011
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4OurProcess...................................................................................................................................................................................4Collectedandrevieweddata..................................................................................................................................................4CreatedtheDeeperLearningoTPDFramework ..........................................................................................................4Identifiedimportanttrendsinthecontextofonlinelearning ................................................................................4Profiledpromisingprogramsandtechnologies............................................................................................................5DevelopedasetofrecommendationsregardingfuturesupportforoTPD .......................................................5
How this Document Is Organized .................................................................................... 5Recommendations.....................................................................................................................................................................5DeeperLearningoTPDFramework...................................................................................................................................5Context:EmergingTrendsinOnlineLearning .............................................................................................................5StrategicLiteracyInitiative’sCaseStudy ........................................................................................................................5ProgramProfilesIntroduction.............................................................................................................................................6TechnologyProfilesIntroduction.......................................................................................................................................6AppendicesA&B.......................................................................................................................................................................6Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 71.BuildCapacity.........................................................................................................................................................................72.SupportRapidPrototypingOfToolsAndPlatforms .............................................................................................73.CreateAdditionalProofPointNetworks ....................................................................................................................84.Monitor,Evaluate,AndDisseminateEffectiveOnlineTeacherProfessionalDevelopmentPrograms .......................................................................................................................................................................................95.CreateStrategicAlliancesWiththeEducationTechnologyCommunity ................................................... 10
The Deeper Learning oTPD Framework........................................................................ 12OurFramework ....................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Context: Emerging Trends in Online Learning............................................................ 16PersonalLearningNetworks:SocialandInformalLearning............................................................................... 16GrowingPopularityandReach ......................................................................................................................................... 16PotentialForImpact .............................................................................................................................................................. 17OpenEconomicsOfPLNs...................................................................................................................................................... 18WhatANetworkedWorldMeansForSchoolsAndTeachers .............................................................................. 18
Openness .................................................................................................................................................................................... 19DimensionsofOpennessforLearningandTeacherPractice............................................................................... 20OpenCurricula:MassiveOpenOnlineCourses(MOOCs)........................................................................................ 21OpenEducators:TheRoleofFacilitatorsinOnlineEnvironments.................................................................... 22OpenPresentations................................................................................................................................................................. 23AnOpenEducatorManifesto.............................................................................................................................................. 23
TheFutureofLearningManagementSystems .......................................................................................................... 24WhatisaLearningManagementSystem? ................................................................................................................... 24ANewEntrant:TheCanvasLMSDevelopedbyInstructure................................................................................. 26
VideoAnalysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27TheAnthropologyofYouTube ........................................................................................................................................... 27VideoandTeacherReflection............................................................................................................................................. 28MediaThreadasanExampleVideoAnnotationTool .............................................................................................. 28VideoAnalysisforDeeperLearning ................................................................................................................................ 29
e-learning and Deeper Learning 3
WestEd—August 2011
Simulations................................................................................................................................................................................ 30InquiryTeamTrainingSimulation.................................................................................................................................. 31TamingAssessmentSimulation......................................................................................................................................... 31TheBigPicture ......................................................................................................................................................................... 32
A Programmatic Case Study: Learnings From SLI’s Transition to Online Teacher Professional Development.............................................................................................. 34Noteworthy ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35Blog ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 35FacilitatorsIntensiveTraining.......................................................................................................................................... 35RentonCommunityCollege................................................................................................................................................ 37LessonsLearned...................................................................................................................................................................... 38TheRoadAhead....................................................................................................................................................................... 38EmergingPrinciplesInformingOurRecommendations........................................................................................ 39
Programs Profiles Introduction...................................................................................... 40ProfiledProgramsList.......................................................................................................................................................... 40Technology Profiles Introduction .................................................................................. 42TechnologiesProfiledList................................................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix A – Program Profiles...................................................................................... 45NewTeacherCenter’sE‐MentoringforStudentSuccess(eMSS) ...................................................................... 45Edutopia’sPBLCamp ............................................................................................................................................................ 48PowerfulLearningPractice ................................................................................................................................................ 50USCOnlineMastersinteaching(MAT@USC)............................................................................................................. 51TeachscapeReflect ................................................................................................................................................................. 54TeachscapeProfessionalLearningSuite ...................................................................................................................... 55ExpeditionaryLearningCommons ................................................................................................................................. 57PBSTeacherLine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59IntelTeach ................................................................................................................................................................................. 62TeachingChannel.................................................................................................................................................................... 64
Appendix B – Technology Profiles ................................................................................ 66VoiceThread .............................................................................................................................................................................. 66GooglePlus ................................................................................................................................................................................ 67Twitter......................................................................................................................................................................................... 68VideoSharing:YouTube,Vimeo&TeacherTube ...................................................................................................... 69Podcasts ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 70Blogs ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 71RSSandGoogleReader......................................................................................................................................................... 73Ning............................................................................................................................................................................................... 74Facebook..................................................................................................................................................................................... 75Skype ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 76Delicious ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 77Diigo.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 78Tinychat ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 79PBworks...................................................................................................................................................................................... 79GoogleAppsEducationEdition ........................................................................................................................................ 80Edmodo ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 81BlackboardCollaborate........................................................................................................................................................ 82SlideShare .................................................................................................................................................................................. 83
e-learning and Deeper Learning 4
WestEd—August 2011
References ........................................................................................................................ 84
INTRODUCTION
TheHewlettFoundation’s“DeeperLearning”focusisaimedatensuringthatallstudents,
particularlythosefromdisadvantagedbackgroundsorunderservedcommunities,haveaccessto
thekindofintegrated,collaborativelearningexperiencesthatwillallowthemtogainthe
knowledgeandskillstheyneedtosucceed—andcontinuetolearn—inpostsecondaryeducation
andintheircareers.AsasupplementtoWestEd'spreviousreport,ananalysisofcurriculaandface‐
to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsthatsupportDeeperLearning,thisreportwilllook
specificallyatonlineteacherprofessionaldevelopment(oTPD).
OURPROCESS
Increatingthisreport,weengagedinthefollowingactivities:
COLLECTEDANDREVIEWEDDATA
Webeganbysurveyingthefield,reviewingseveraldozenonlineprofessionaldevelopment
programsandmanymoretechnologiesandplatforms.Fromthese,weinterviewedseveral
providerswiththegoalofidentifyingsomeoftheimportantwaysthatonlineprovidersare
addressingaspectsofDeeperLearninginoTPD.
CREATEDTHEDEEPERLEARNINGOTPDFRAMEWORK
BasedontheworkbyLindaDarling‐Hammondandothersonbestpracticesinteacher
professionaldevelopment(Darling‐Hammondetal.,2009)andWestEd’spreviousreport,we
developedapreliminarysetofcorequalityindicatorsforoTPD.Thesecorequalitiesarepresented
asaframeworkandwelookedforevidencefortheseindicatorsineachprogramandtechnologywe
reviewed.
IDENTIFIEDIMPORTANTTRENDSINTHECONTEXTOFONLINELEARNING
Duringoursurveyandreview,itbecameapparentthatsomeoftheessentialandpowerful
trendsinonlinelearningareemergingoutsideofthesphereofformalenvironments.Webelieve
thatthereareanumberoftrends,someofwhichare“disruptive,”thatrepresentsignificant
opportunitiestoadvancethegoalsofDeeperLearning.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 5
WestEd—August 2011
PROFILEDPROMISINGPROGRAMSANDTECHNOLOGIES
BasedonthisbroadreviewandtheDeeperLearningoTPDFramework,weattemptedto
capturetheessenceofwhatmadevariousoTPDpracticesnoteworthyinprogramprofiles,toward
thegoalofdocumentingpromisingonlineeffortsaresupportingDeeperLearninggoals.
DEVELOPEDASETOFRECOMMENDATIONSREGARDINGFUTURESUPPORTFOROTPD
Gatheringallthisinformationandanalysis,weofferasetofrecommendationsthatwill
supportoTPDrelatedtoHewlett’sDeeperLearningInitiative.
HOW THIS DOCUMENT IS ORGANIZED
RECOMMENDATIONS
Wepresentfiverecommendations,whichwebelievecansupportHewlett'seffortsto
extendthereachandimpactoftheDeeperLearningInitiative.
DEEPERLEARNINGOTPDFRAMEWORK
WeincludeaworkingsetofqualityindicatorsforoTPD,basedonfindingsfromourreviews
ofvariousprograms.Thisinitiallisting,likeallframeworks,isunderdevelopmentandwillbe
informedbynewworkandrevisedasthefielddevelopsnewandbettertools.
CONTEXT:EMERGINGTRENDSINONLINELEARNING
Inthissection,wediscussemergingtrendsandopportunitiesthatareshapingthecontext
ofprofessionallearningforteachers.Thesetrendsapplytoformalonlinelearningprogramsas
wellasthekindsofinnovativeinformalandhighlysocialwaysthatsometeachersarepursuing
knowledgeonline.Broadly,theseonlinetrendsinclude:PersonalLearningNetworks,Openness,
FutureofLearningManagementSystems,VideoAnalysis,andSimulations.
STRATEGICLITERACYINITIATIVE’SCASESTUDY
ThestoryoftheStrategicLiteracyInitiative(SLI),aprominentproviderofface‐to‐face
professionaldevelopment,anditsrecentforayintoonlinelearning,providesarepresentativecase
studyofthechallengesthatorganizationsencounterwhentransitioningfromface‐to‐facetoonline
professionaldevelopmentenvironments.Wesummarizesomeimportantlessonslearnedand
implicationsfromthiscasestudythatcanbegeneralizedtothelargerfieldandoffer
recommendationsforHewlett'seffortsinthisarea.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 6
WestEd—August 2011
PROGRAMPROFILESINTRODUCTION
ThissectionintroducesthelistofoTPDprogramsthatweprofiled.Theprofileshighlight
featuresthatcansupportDeeperLearninggoals.
TECHNOLOGYPROFILESINTRODUCTION
Thissectionintroducesthearrayofemergingtechnologiesthatweidentifiedthatcanhelp
providersaddresstheDeeperLearningFrameworkforoTPDandemergingtrendsinonline
learning.
APPENDICESA&B
Theappendicescontainprofilesoftheprogramsandtechnologiesreviewedforthispaper.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 7
WestEd—August 2011
RECOMMENDATIONS Basedonourpreliminaryreviewofprogramsandtechnologies,weareconfidentthat
onlinelearningenvironmentsrepresentastrategicopportunitytoscaleDeeperLearningthrough
effectiveteacherprofessionaldevelopment.Weofferthefollowingrecommendationstoextendthe
reachandimpactoftheDeeperLearningInitiative.
1. BuildCapacity
2. SupportRapidPrototypingofToolsandPlatforms
3. CreateAdditionalProofPointsNetworks
4. Monitor,Evaluate,andDisseminateEffectiveOnlineTeacherProfessional
DevelopmentPrograms
5. FosterStrategicAllianceswiththeEducationTechnologyCommunity
Below,wedescribetheseinmoredetail.
1.BUILDCAPACITY
Fundaselectgroupofprovenfacetofaceprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsthatare
alignedwithDeeperLearningprinciplestodevelopandscaleonlinemodels.
Inourreviewprocess,weinterviewedseveralprogramstaffinvolvedinthedevelopmentof
onlineprofessionaldevelopmentefforts.Ineachcase,thefundingforsucheffortsisscarceandthe
costofhighqualitydevelopmentapproachesisprohibitive.Specifically,theseprogramsneed
supportto:
• Accesstechnicalexpertiseandsupport;
• Completeacomprehensiveneedsassessmentandbusinessplanfordevelopingandscaling
onlinelearning;
• Select,fund,use,andmaintainappropriateopensourceandcommercialtechnologies.
2.SUPPORTRAPIDPROTOTYPINGOFTOOLSANDPLATFORMS
Fundaneffort,supportedbyanadvisoryboard,tocreateandfieldtestnewonlinelearning
structuresandenvironments.
Intherapidlyevolvingfieldofemergingtechnologies,programstransitioningtoonline
teacherprofessionaldevelopmentwillbynecessityinnovate,creatingandcustomizingonline
environmentsthatmeettheirneeds.Anumberoftheprogramsprofiledhere,couldbenefitfrom
additionalknowledgeandresourcestoexpandtheironlineefforts.Forexample,theNewTeacher
e-learning and Deeper Learning 8
WestEd—August 2011
CenterandPowerfulLearningPracticeprogramscouldaddvideoanalysisandsimulationstheir
coachingmodels.TheSAMInquiryProcessSimulationscouldbeaddedtotheeitherprogramas
well.ThemobileaspectsofMAT@USCarerelevanttootherprograms.Manyprogramsare
interested,butfromourvantagepoint,theyarehard‐pressedtoenvisiononlineenvironmentsthat
combinesomeofthefollowingpromisingandinnovativestructures:
• Lessonstudymethodology
• User‐generatedvideoofclassroompractice
• Videoanalysistools
• e‐Mentoring
• Socialsoftware
• Simulationplatforms
• AccesstoPersonallearningnetworktools(e.g.blogs,Twitter,wikis,etc.)alreadyinwide
useontheWeb.
Aspecificexampleoflinkingtheabovepromisingstructureswouldcombinesimulationsthatallow
teacherstopracticeskillsinavirtualenvironmentwithanonline“lessonstudy”approachwhere
teacherssystematicallyidentifyachallengeforwhichtheyallplan,teach,analyzevideo,modifythe
lesson,re‐teach,andreflect.
Fromourexaminationofvariousprograms,anadditionalareawhereHewlettmightfocus
researchorsupportistheinclusionofframeworksforeffectiveinstructionalpracticeinvideo
analysisorsimulationplatforms.Someexamplesofinstructionalpracticeframeworksthatmight
applyare:
• CommonCoreStateStandards
• CharlotteDanielson'sFrameworkforTeaching
• DougLemov'sTeachLikeaChampion:49TechniquesthatPutStudentsonthePathtoCollege
• SLI'sVideoCaseProfileProtocols
• SummativeandformativeDeeperLearningassessments
3.CREATEADDITIONALPROOFPOINTNETWORKS
CreateaProofPointsnetwork(similartoonealreadyinexistence)forDeeperLearning
programsusingonlinemodelsinordertosupportknowledgedevelopment,documentation
anddisseminationofsuccessfuleffortsorlessonslearned.
Animportantinsightgainedfromourreviewisthatmanyprogramshavedeveloped
expertiseandsuccessfulmodelsthatcapturesomeimportantqualitiesofprofessional
e-learning and Deeper Learning 9
WestEd—August 2011
development,butnonethatwefoundhavemasteredallareas.Forexample:TheStrategicLiteracy
NetworkandNewTeacherCentercollaboratedoverseveralmeetingsasSLIfirstconsideredhowto
ventureintoonlineprofessionaldevelopment.However,neitherprogramhadthefundingforthe
initialmeetingsorforanyongoingcollaborativelearning.Eachprogramhassolveddifferent
problemsindifferentwaysandhasalottoofferoneanother.AswereviewedExpeditionary
Learning'soTPD,werealizedthatthethreeprograms,andlikelyothers,wouldbenefitfrom
learningabouteachother’sapproaches.Aninitiativetobringstrongearlyimplementerstogether
toshareapproachesandthendocumentanddisseminatenewknowledgewouldimpactthe
discourseanddirectionofotherprogramsinapositiontosupportDeeperLearning.
WesuggestworkingwithprogramsthatshowedstrongalignmentwithDeeperLearning
principles(basedonthepreviousWestEdstudy)toseewhichonesareinclinedtosupportonline
learning.Itwouldalsobeworthwhiletoconsiderincludingschooldistricts(likeVailSchoolDistrict
inTucson,Arizona)thatareofferingoTPDwithDeeperLearningcorequalitiesinaProofPoints
network.Alternatively,aseparatenetworkcouldbecreatedfordistrictsthathavedemonstrateda
commitmenttodeliveringthiskindofoTPD.
4.MONITOR,EVALUATE,ANDDISSEMINATEEFFECTIVEONLINETEACHERPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTPROGRAMS
Fundthestudyofinnovativeonlineteacherprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsingreater
depthandevaluatetheimpactofoTPDonteacherpracticeandstudentachievementasthey
relatetoDeeperLearninggoals.
Thecollectionofprofilesinthisreportisanimportantstepinsurveyingtheever‐evolving
fieldofonlineprofessionaldevelopment.Incompletingourreview,wewereimpressedwiththe
effortsunderwayandawarethatthescopeofthisprojectdidnotallowforatrulycomprehensive
profiling,analysisandsynthesisofdata.Wehavecapturedsomepromisingcorequalities,
indicators,anddescribedprogramsthathavepromisingonlinepracticesexemplifyingthese.Few
programscollectsignificantdataaboutuserbehavioronlinethatmightindicateengagement.While
mostprogramsgeneratesomekindofself‐reportsaboutthelearningexperienceand/orlearner
satisfaction,thereisscantdataabouttheirefficacyandimpact.Giventheemphasisonresearch‐
basedpracticesinthefieldofeducation,andthegrowingprioritizationofdatause,onlinelearning
programswillneedtobeabletomeasureimpactandefficacyastheyscaleup.
Research would be useful in the following two areas:
e-learning and Deeper Learning 10
WestEd—August 2011
Methodsfortransferringthefollowingkindsofprovenstructuresandsupportsintoanonline
environmentinwaysthatmaintaintheirefficacyandsimultaneouslytakeadvantageofthe
emergingtechnologies.
• Personalizedcoaching
• Online“lessonstudy”
• VideoAnalysisusingDeeperLearning‐alignedprotocolsandframeworks
• Assessmentande‐Portfolios
MethodsfortappingemergingtechnologiesthatoffermeaningfulopportunitiestosupportoTPD
• Personallearningnetworksinformalandinformalsettings
• Collaborationandsociallearning
• MassiveOpenOnlineCourses(MOOC)
• Platformopenness‐totherestoftheWebandotherpeople’scontent
• Ubiquitouslearningwithmobiledevices
• Useofsimulationsforpracticinginstructionalandassessmentstrategies
5.CREATESTRATEGICALLIANCESWITHTHEEDUCATIONTECHNOLOGYCOMMUNITY
Schoolsarenotgoingaway,butlearningisshiftingtotheWeb.Face‐to‐facelearningwill
remainvaluable,butsowilllearningontheWeb.Themeldingofthetwowillprofoundlyre‐shape
ourschoolsaswellasthewayteachersaretrained.Theeducationtechnologycommunity,
particularlyteachersinhighereducationwhoarehavebeenworkingtore‐inventtheirteaching,
hasstronglyembracedanumberofDeeperLearningprinciples,e.g.self‐directedlearning,teacher‐
as‐coach,inquirymethods,collaborationandperformanceassessments.Manyleadersinthe
educationtechnologycommunityarecallingforfundamentalschooltransformation(notjust
reform).Theseleadershaveagrowingfollowingaswell.InJuly,over13,000peopleattendedthe
InternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducationConferenceinPhiladelphia.Inhisnewbook
entitledPersonalLearningNetworks,UsingthePowerofConnectionstoTransformEducation,
EdTechbloggerWillRichardsonreflects:
Mostschoolswerebuiltontheideathatknowledgeandteachersarescarce.Whenyouhavelimitedaccesstoinformationandyouwanttodeliverwhatyoudohavetoeverycitizeninaerawithlittlecommunicationtechnology,youbuildwhatschoolsaretoday:age‐grouped,discipline‐separatedclassroomsrunbyanexpertadultwhocanmanagethesuccessfulcompletionofthecurriculumbyahundredorsostudentsatatime....Butwhathappenswhenknowledgeandteachersarenotscarce?Whathappenswhenit'seasytoconnectourpassiontolearntotheresourcestolearnit?Whathappenswhen,inthenextdecadeorso,
e-learning and Deeper Learning 11
WestEd—August 2011
almosteveryonegainsaccesstotheseprofoundlydifferentlearningspacesfilledwithteachersandcontentthroughthedevicestheycarryintheirpocket?...Thingschange.
Peoplewhounderstandthepotentialoftechnology‐enabledlearningareatremendousresourceto
educators.Hewlettcandeepenconnectionsby:
• IntroducingDeeperLearningprofessionaldevelopmentproviderstotheideasofkey
educationtechnologythoughtleaders,suchas,DavidWiley,AlecCouros,DaveCormier,
GeorgesSiemens,StephenDownes,WillRichardson,MichaelWesch,WesleyFryer,and
DavidWarlick,tonameafew.
• Encouragingnewandexistinggranteestonetworkwitheducationtechnologyleaders
• SponsoringaMOOC(MassiveOpenOnlineCourse)orvirtualconferencetoconvene
educationtechnologyandeducationreformleaderstodiscusstheroleofonline
technologiesinteacherprofessionaldevelopment,specificallythefollowingshiftsidentified
byDavidWiley(2009):
analog‐>digital
tethered‐>mobile
isolated‐>connected
generic‐>personal
consumption‐>creation
closedsystems‐>opensystems.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 12
WestEd—August 2011
THE DEEPER LEARNING OTPD FRAMEWORK “DeeperLearning”isanumbrellatermfortheexperiencesthatleadstudentstounderstand
andretaintheknowledgetheyneedtosucceedinbothschoolandcareers.Atitsheartisasetof
skillsstudentsmustmasterinordertodevelopakeenunderstandingofacademiccontent,apply
theirknowledgetoproblemsintheclassroomandonthejob,andbecomelifelonglearners.Deeper
Learningskillsfallwithinthreecategories.Althougheachisassociatedwithadifferentaspectof
education,allareessentialtopreparestudentstoachieveathighlevels.
Category Skills1.MastercoreacademiccontentA.ContentKnowledge2.Acquire,applyandexpandknowledge3.ThinkcriticallyandsolvecomplexproblemsB.CognitiveStrategies4.Communicateeffectively5.WorkcollaborativelyC.LearningBehaviors6.Learnhowtolearn
TakingintoaccountthisdefinitionofDeeperLearning,andwhatarewidelyconsideredto
bebestpracticesinteacherprofessionaldevelopment(i.e.job‐embedded,collaborative,and
ongoing),wecreatedtheframeworkbelowtoreviewonlinelearningprograms.Inorderfor
professionaldevelopmenttobealignedwithDeeperLearninggoals,teachersmustbuildcapacityas
teachers,aswellaslearners.InordertoprovidestudentswithexperiencestogainDeeperLearning
skills,teachersbenefitbyexperiencingprofessionallearningthatembodiesthoseveryskills,asa
waytolearn,andasawaytoorganizelearning.
Thesameistrueforonlineprofessionaldevelopment.Teachersneedtoexperience
authenticlearningonline(i.e.choice,collaboration,contentexpertise,problem‐solving,
communication,andapplicationofinstructionalskills)ANDhaveameaningfulexperiencewith
technologyasacriticaltoolintheprocess.Teachersneedtoparticipateintheverykindsof
learningthattheyplantofacilitateforkids.TheOnlineIndicatorsintheframeworkonthe
followingpagesaretheexperiencesthatonewouldexpecttoseepresentinoTPDthatisin
alignmentwithDeeperLearninggoals.EachprogramprofileinAppendixAdescribeswaysinwhich
thefollowingcoreprofessionaldevelopmentqualitiesmanifestinthatprogram.Eachtechnology
profile(AppendixB)doesthesame.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 13
WestEd—August 2011
OURFRAMEWORK
CoreQualitiesforDeeperLearning
OnlineIndicators
RELEVANCE
• LEARNERCENTERED—Theneedsofthelearnerdrivethecurriculum,thatis,topics,inquiriesand/oractivitiesaredesignedorevolveinresponsetolearnerquestions,needsandinput,sometimeshavinga“justintime”quality.Forexample:posingacollaborativeproblemsolvingactivityonanissueraisedbyparticipants;planninginstructiononatopicteachersselect.
• JOBEMBEDDED—ParticipantsactivelyengagewithlearningexperiencesthataredirectlyapplicabletoclassroompracticeandwillpositivelyimpactDeeperLearninggoals.Forexample:relevantinstructionalstrategiesaredescribed,practicedandtriedintheclassroom.
• SCAFFOLDEDANDDIFFERENTIATED—Learningexperiencesaredevelopmentally
appropriateanddifferentiated,respondingtotheuniquecapacitiesandneedsofindividuallearners.Forexample,accesstoamoreexperiencedotherprovidestherightsupportattherighttimeforindividuallearners;technicalsupportssuchaspulldownmenusandhyperlinksofferlearnersopportunitiesforindividualstoaccesssupport,resourcesorinformationondemand.
• MODELSBESTPRACTICES—Thelearningexperiencesdevelopexperiential
understandingsofpracticesthatsupportDeeperLearninggoals.Forexample,teachersreflectonhow:learningexperiencessupportmasteryofknowledge;activitiesengagelearnersinthinkingcriticallyandcommunicatingeffectively;supportand/orteachcollaboration,learningbehaviors;developmetacognition.
REFLECTION
• CYCLESOFINQUIRYINTOPRACTICE—Professionallearningexperiencessupportinquiryintoteachingandlearningbefore,duringandafterimplementationofinstructionalpracticesthatwilllikelysupportDeeperLearninggoals.Forexample:teachersdesignlessons,implementthem,analyzestudentlearningandredesignlessons;teachersengageincasestudiesorinvestigationsthatengagetheminproblemsolving,designandimplementationofnewpractices.
• LONGTERMLEARNING—Teachersareengagedinongoing,long‐termlearning
experiences.Forexample:learningexperiencesextendoverweeks,monthsorevenayearormore,allowingforcyclesofplanning,implementation,analysisandfeedbackandredesignbasedonlearning.
• TOOLSFORREFLECTIVEPRACTICE—Reflectivelearningexperiencesare
generative,thatis,byparticipatinginthem,teachersdeveloptoolstosupporton‐going,lifelonginquiryintotheirownpracticethatcouldcontinueoncetheonlinelearningexperienceculminates.Forexampleteacherslearntoand/ordeveloptoolstosupport:planning;analysisofstudentwork;rubricsforprofessionalpracticeandgrowth.
(Continuednextpage)
e-learning and Deeper Learning 14
WestEd—August 2011
COLLABORATION
• INTERACTIVETECHNOLOGIES—Technologiessupportinteractionaroundcontent,atleastsomeofwhichisusergenerated.Forexample,teachersmay:sharelessonplansand/orstudentwork;participateindiscussionand/orworkgroups;shareresources.
• SOCIALLYMEDIATEDLEARNING—collaborationskills(suchaseffective
communicationaroundproblemsolving)aresupported,leadingtointeractionsbetweenusersthatleadtoacquisitionmasteryofknowledgeandinstructionalpracticesthatsupportDeeperLearninggoals.Forexample,teacherspracticeandmaylearntoapply:protocolstoguidediscussion;routinesandtosupportcollaborationandproblemsolving.
• CRITICALCONVERSATIONS—asafe,professionallearningenvironmentdemands
andsupportstransparentsharinganddiscussionofcrucialproblemsofpractice.Forexample:teacherspostlessons,studentwork,videoorquestionsandreceivemeaningfulfeedbackthatleadtochangesinpractice;learningactivitieshelpteachersdevelopdispositionsandskilltoofferandreceivefeedback;teachersreflectonfeedbackandsetgoalsforprofessionallearningandpractice.
• EXPERTOTHER—usershaveopportunitiestocontributetheirexpertiseaswellas
benefitfromtheknowledgeandexperienceofotherswithmoreexpertise.Forexample:teachersgeneratenewlessons,resources,content;mentorsand/orfacilitatorsprovideguidance,contentorresources.
CONTENTKNOWLEDGE
• CONTENTAREAKNOWLEDGE—Learningexperiencessupporttheacquisition,applicationandmasteryofknowledgeofthecontentandpracticesoftheteachers’academicdiscipline.Forexample:learningexperiencesdeepenknowledgeofspecifictopics;teachersaccessresourcesand/orexpertsthatsupportlearningofcontent.
• PEDAGOGICALCONTENTKNOWLEDGE—learningexperiencessupportmasterful
teachingthatsupportsDeeperLearninggoalsinanacademicdiscipline.Forexample,teachersdeveloporusetoolsto:addresscommonstudentmisconceptions;supportthinkingandtalkingaboutlearninginthecontentarea;supportdisciplinebasedproblemsolving,communicationand/orpractices.
• TECHNICAL,PEDAGOGICALANDCONTENTKNOWLEDGE—Teachersgain
awarenessofhowthemediumandtoolsoftheironlinelearningexperiencescanhelpthemrealizeDeeperLearninggoalswithstudentstheirclassroom.Forexample,teachersgainpersonalexperiencewithavarietyofWeb2.0toolstocollaborate,reflect,etcandareaskedtoconsiderhowthesetechnologiesarerelevanttostudentlearning.
(Continuednextpage)
e-learning and Deeper Learning 15
WestEd—August 2011
EFFECTIVENESSDATA
• TEACHERCHANGE—theprogramcollectsandusesdataonchangesinteacherpracticethatinforminstructionandthelearner.Forexample:teacherssubmitselfassessmentand/orreflectionontheimpactofthelearningexperience;teachershaveaccesstoPDgoalsand/orbenchmarksforselfassessment;teacherssubmitevidenceofchangefromsamplesoflessonsand/orstudentwork.
• TEACHERENGAGEMENT—theprogramcollectsdataonthelevelofteacher
engagement.Forexample:frequency/lengthofuserinteractionwiththesite;assignmenttracking;participationinactivities,discussiongroups.
• TEACHERSATISFACTION—theprogramcollectsdataonthelevelofteacher
satisfactionwiththeonlinelearningexperiences.Forexample:theprogramadministerssurveys;teacherssubmitevaluations.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 16
WestEd—August 2011
CONTEXT: EMERGING TRENDS IN ONLINE LEARNING
PERSONALLEARNINGNETWORKS:SOCIALANDINFORMALLEARNING
Whenconceivingthisreport,webeganwiththeassumptionthatoTPDwouldprimarily
consistofformallearningexperiences,ofthekindweatWestEdareveryfamiliar.Formallearning
isdesignedandmanagedbyaprogramwithfixedstructures,centralizedcontent,and
predeterminedlearningtasksrangingfrominnovativetotraditional.SLI,Teachscape,PBS
TeacherLineareexamplesofprogramsthatofferformallearningwithnetworksofdedicatedusers.
Toincreasetheirimpactandreach,perhapseventoremaineffective,webelievethatthese
providerswillneedtoofferopportunitiesforinformallearningaswell.Theprimarybenefitsof
informallearningareimmediacyandrelevancy.Informalmethodsoflearningofferlearnersthe
abilitytoaccessinformationandtakeadvantageofitrightawayinapplyittotheirjob.
Below,wereviewasphereoflearningthatisapowerful,emergingparadigmofeducation—
personallearningnetworks.Web2.0toolsprovideuserswithopportunitiestoorganizevast
networksofpeoplewithsimilarinterests,accessvolumesofinformationnearlyinstantaneously
andcreatelearningenvironmentsandstructuresinwhichpeopleseparatedbygeographyandtime
cannonethelesscollaborate,create,learnandproducenewinformationandtools.Learnersare
creatingorganizednetworksofinformalandself‐directedlearning.Howthisspherewillevolveand
itseventualroleandimpactcertainlybearscloseattention;webelieveitwill“disrupt”existing
providers.Weexpect,attheveryleast,thattheseearlyimplementerswillinfluencewhen,where,
andhoweducatorslearninthe21stcentury.
GROWINGPOPULARITYANDREACH
ThenewsisrepletewithstatisticsaboutonlineuseandthegrowingreachoftheInternet.
AsarecentNielsonreportexplains,socialnetworkingismorepopularthanever."…Twothirdsof
usnowusewhatitcalls‘MemberCommunities,’whichincludesbothsocialnetworksandblogs.
MemberCommunitiesnowmakeupthefourthmostpopularcategoryonline–aheadofpersonal
email,"saysNielsenWire(2009).Theothercategoriesaresearch,portals,andPCsoftware.The
followingisaviewprovidedbyAlecCouros,professorattheUniversityofRegina,onthe
networkedworldofa21stcenturyteacher:
e-learning and Deeper Learning 17
WestEd—August 2011
(diagramsource:AlecCouros,http://www.flickr.com/photos/courosa/2922421696/Created
October7,2008.LicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution2.0License)
POTENTIALFORIMPACT
Thehighlydemocratic,almostanarchisticforumthatistheInternetholdsthesamepromise
andweaknessthathasbeenanongoingpoliticalconcernsincethetimeofCaesar:popularityisno
guaranteeofquality.Peoplewillvoteforbreadandcircuses.ThepotentialpowerinWeb2.0tools
andthesocialconnectivityofferedbytheInternetcertainlyofferopportunitiesforveryhighquality
interaction,nearlyinstantaneousandunfetteredaccesstoinformationandlearning.
WhileWeb2.0tools,connectivityandaccessinevitablyleadtotheproductionofcontent
thatmayoverwhelminitsquantityandunderwhelminitsquality,centralizingauthorialpower
doesnotguaranteevalue.Libraries,universities,collegesandschoolboardscontrolaccessto
learningexperiencesandinformation,sometimescreatinghighqualityexperiences;othertimesthe
contentisquestionableandevenobjectionable.Intheonlineworldandthelivedworld,themaxim
is"garbagein,garbageout."AsScottMcleod(2011)writes:
AlthoughthereisalotofnoiseoutthereontheWeb,it'shardtoarguethatthereislittlelearningvalueinsocialmedia.Therearenumerouswaysinwhichteachersand
e-learning and Deeper Learning 18
WestEd—August 2011
administratorscouldbeusingblogs,Twitter,Facebook,onlinevideos,podcasts,onlineslideshows,andothersocialmediatoolstoadvancetheirownpractice.Whetherit'ssubscribingtootherinnovativeeducators'feeds,interactingandsharingresourceswithglobalcolleagues,orconsumingandusinghigh‐qualitypeer‐createdresources,therearemyriadteachingideas,lessonplans,Webresources,conversationspaces,technologytools,reflectionsonpractice,andotherpedagogicalfruitsthatareripeforthepickingbyonline‐savvyeducators.Peer‐to‐peeronlinelearningnetworkscanhelpeducatorssortthewheatfromthechaffandcuratewhat'srelevantandpowerful.
OPENECONOMICSOFPLNS
Whywouldpeopleconstructknowledgeforfree?Wikipediaisnowmorepopularthanthe
NYTimes(Wiley,2010a).AspartoftheWikipediaplatform,peoplearehavingdiscussionsabout
thequalityofinformation,puttingintoplaythe21stcenturyandDeeperLearningskillsthatform
thefoundationoflearninginthisenvironment.Socialbookmarkingoperatesonthesame
principles,whereuseractivitybuildstheapplication.Everytimeusersbookmarkalink,they
contributetotheinformationandstructureinandoftheenvironment.Socialandpeer‐produced
contentisbeginningtoyieldnoteworthyandimportantknowledgeandknowledge‐building
structures(Wiley,2010a).This,webelieve,isthedirectionthatservingstudentsistakingandwill
continuetotakeinthe21stcentury.
Despitethepotentialfordistributingthetaskofcontentcreation,commons‐basedpeer
productioncancreatetensionswithininstitutions.Many,ifnotmost,formaleducationsystems
havenotbeguntocatchupwithnewprocesses.AsKansasStateprofessor,MichaelWesch
describesit,weareapproachinginaworldcharacterizedby“ubiquitouscomputing,ubiquitous
information,ubiquitousnetworks,atunlimitedspeed,abouteverything,everywhere,from
anywhere,onallkindsofdevicesthatmakeitridiculouslyeasytoconnectorganize,share,collect,
collaborateandpublish”(TEDxTalks,2010b).
Criticalopennesstoinformationandknowledgeexchangeneedtobeaddressed.Who
shouldcontroltheeducationalenvironmentandaccesstoinformationonline(andinschools)isnot
aneducationalquestion,butapoliticalone.AsJeffersonexpressed,"Iknowofnosaferepositoryfor
theultimatepowersofsocietybutthepeoplethemselves;andifwethinkthemnotenlightened
enoughtoexercisetheircontrolwithawholesomediscretion,theremedyisnottotakeitfrom
them,buttoincreasetheirdiscretionbyeducation."Socialmediaandpersonallearningnetworks
offeranopportunityforlearnerstoenlightenthemselvesandeachother,using21stcenturyand
DeeperLearningskillstobuild,createandbecomeagentsoftheirlearning.
WHATANETWORKEDWORLDMEANSFORSCHOOLSANDTEACHERS
e-learning and Deeper Learning 19
WestEd—August 2011
Agrowingmovementofteachershasbeguntosay,"IknowwhatIneedandwanttoknow
andI'morganizingmylearningtomeettheseself‐definedgoals."Thesesameteachers,asthey
participateinformallearning,areaskingforchoicesandoptionsonhowbesttolearnnewskills
andgainnewknowledge(Nussbaum‐Beach,2011).Theparticipatorycultureofsocialnetworking
andtheoverallabundanceofinformationavailablehavecertainlycreatedaDo‐It‐Yourselfethos
thatisapositivetrendtoleverage.Asweshiftfromteachingtolearning,wemustimaginethatthe
samegoalsofhighlyadaptive,innovative,collaborative,andcreativestudentsshouldapplyto
teachers.AsHewlettconsidershowtosupportteachersbecominglife‐longlearnersandembracing
DeeperLearninggoals,weadvocatethatitisessentialtotakeintoaccounthowtointegrate,
supportandbuildbroaderaccesstonetworkingtechnologieswithinschoolcontexts.Will
RichardsonandRobMancabelli(2011)write:
Schoolswillneedtoplugintothisvibrantworldwidenetworkoflearningtostayrelevantandtoprepareourchildrenforavastlydifferentlearninglandscape.Thatmeansthatschoolswillneedtoembraceaformoflearningthatisfundamentallydifferentfromtheonetheyhaveknown.Thisisnotacaseforeducation‘reform’inthesensethatweneedtomakethecurrentsystembetterasmeasuredbytraditionalmethods,suchasstandardizedtests.No,topreparestudentstoflourishinthenewlearningworld,schoolswillneedtotransformthemselvesinimportantwaystobecomeplaceswheredeeplearning,inquiry,collaborationandperformancearetheemphasis,notjusttestscores.Webelievepersonallearningnetworksareattheheartofthisshift.
Educationortrainingisnolongersomethingweshouldviewasprovidedtous.Weneedtocreateit
forourselves.Teachersnowhavethetoolstotakechargeoftheirownlearning;withinpocketsof
networkedteachersthereisrenewedenthusiasmovertheideaofbeingactivelearners.
OPENNESS
Opennessisagrowingidealintoday'stechnology‐drivenculture.Previousacademicand
intellectualparadigmswereshapedbytheseparationoftimeandspaceandthechallengeof
creatinganddistributingnewknowledge.Withtoolsofknowledgeproductionbeingscarce(inan
economicsense—libraries,laboratoriesandpressesinvolvingsubstantialfinancialinvestments)
intellectualworkrequiredbenefactorsandwastherealmofthewealthy.Ideasandknowledge
werecarefullyguardedintellectualpropertywithsignificantexchangeratesthathelpedtopayfor
itsgenerationanddistribution.Today,toolsandcommunitiestoresearch,constructanddistribute
knowledgeareaccessibletothemassesthroughtheInternet.Knowledgeisgeneratedatan
astonishingpace,co‐constructedwithinbroadparticipatorycommunitiesofpracticeand
exchangedwithafreedomandopennessthatdisruptspreviousnotionsofintellectualproperty.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 20
WestEd—August 2011
ExamplesofcommunitiesthathavethesecharacteristicsofopennessareWikipedia,MIT's
OpenCourseWareandthePublicLibraryofScience.
Atthecoreofopennessistheactofsharing.Aprimaryroleofnewmediaandnetworked
technologyistoincreaseourcapacitytobeopen,tobegenerous.AccordingtoDavidWiley,
AssociateProfessorofInstructionalPsychology&TechnologyatBYUandChiefOpennessOfficerof
FlatWorldKnowledge,theidealfortechnologyineducationisto"increaseourcapacitytobe
generous."Whensharingknowledge,evenprovidingfeedback,participantsarenotjustcreating
contentforthelearningofothers,theyare“givingoftheirtime”(Wiley,R.2009).
SinceMIT'sOpenCourseWarelaunchedtheOpenEducationalResourcesmovementten
yearsago,educatorshavebeendiscussingandexploringwaystocreateaglobalcommonsofrich
content,wheresharing,lifelonglearning,customization,anddemocratizedaccessarevaluedhighly.
Whilemanyuniversitieshavepostedtheirsyllabi,handouts,andquizzesonline,thiscontent
remainsverymuch“Web1.0.”Thecontentisthere,butoftenlackingisagoodwaytostructure,
contextualize,aggregateandincorporatethecontentintoasociallearningenvironment.Openness,
however,isnotlimitedtosharingmaterialsorcontent.Newformsofopenness,enabledby
technology,havearrivedandtheyhavethepotentialtofundamentallyshapeteachingandlearning
practicesacrosstheeducationsphere.
DIMENSIONSOFOPENNESSFORLEARNINGANDTEACHERPRACTICE
DaveCormierandGeorgeSiemensmaintainthatopennessappliesdirectlytoteachers,
curriculaandstudents.CormierandSiemensdefinethreedimensionsofopenness,whichare
particularlyrelevanttooTPD:
OpenEducators.Theopeningupoftheteachingprocessisanimportantdimensionof
opennessineducationmorebroadly.Increasingly,educatorsareabletoshareand
participateinthetrialsandsuccessesoftheirfelloweducatorsastheytweetandblogabout
theirwork.Thisprocesscanbeassimpleaspostingideasfortheclassroomorasprofound
aspostingdailyreflectionsonthesuccessesandfailuresofdifferentapproaches.
OpenCurricula.Theideaofopennesscanbeappliedtothecurriculumofagivencourseas
well.Ascontentbecomesreadilyavailableandassearchingforitbecomeseasier,allowing
learnerstoparticipateinthecreationoftheirowncurriculumbecomesincreasingly
realistic.Themoveawayfromstandardclassstructuresandtowardalifelonglearning
modelalsoencouragesthis,sinceitallowslearnerswithdifferentinterestsandneedsto
e-learning and Deeper Learning 21
WestEd—August 2011
createtheirownflavorofacoursewithinthecourse.Thecommunity‐as‐curriculummodel
invertsthepositionofcurriculum:ratherthanbeingaprerequisiteforacourse,curriculum
becomesanoutputofacourse.Thisisparticularlyusefulinadultprofessionallearning
environments,wherelearnerscometoacoursewithdiverseskillsandneeds.The
community‐as‐curriculummodelallowsthecurriculumtodivergeonalearner‐by‐learner
basis.
OpenLearners.Learnersthemselveshavebecomeopentoavarietyofnontraditional
learningmodels.Theyarenowable,sometimesthroughtheopenaccessnotedaboveand
sometimesthroughaccesstoothermaterialsandguidance,toengageintheirownlearning
outsideofaclassroomstructure.Althoughthishasalwaysbeenpossible,ofcourse,learners
nowhaveconsiderablymoreaccesstocontentandmoreopportunitiestoengageonline
(throughsynchronoustoolssuchasElluminateandSkype).(Cormier&Siemens2010)
OPENCURRICULA:MASSIVEOPENONLINECOURSES(MOOCS)
MOOCstandsforMassiveOpenOnlineCourse.AreportbyMcAuleyetal.(2010)offersthe
followingdescription:
AMOOCintegratestheconnectivityofsocialnetworking,thefacilitationofanacknowledgedexpertinafieldofstudy,andacollectionoffreelyaccessibleonlineresources.Perhapsmostimportantly,however,aMOOCbuildsontheactiveengagementofseveralhundredtoseveralthousand‘students’whoself‐organizetheirparticipationaccordingtolearninggoals,priorknowledgeandskills,andcommoninterests.
MOOCsarepartcourse,partcommunityandpartevent.AMOOCexpandslearningto
anyoneinterestedinthetopicusingparticipatorylearningandWeb2.0tools.Thetermwascreated
inresponsetoGeorgeSiemensandStephenDownes's2008"ConnectivismandConnective
Knowledge"course.Aninitialgroupoftwenty‐fiveparticipantsregisteredandpaidtotakethe
courseforcredit.Thecoursewasthenopenedupforadditionallearnerstoparticipate:course
lectures,discussionforums,andweeklyonlinesessionsweremadeavailabletonon‐registered
participants.Thissecondgroupoflearners—thosewhowantedtoparticipatebutwerenot
interestedincoursecredit—numberedover2,300.Theadditionoftheselearnerssignificantly
enhancedthecourseexperience,sinceadditionalconversationsandreadingsextendedthe
contributionsoftheinstructors(Cormier&Siemens,2010).
Oneofthekeyreasonsforcreatinganopencourseistobringawidevarietyofperspectives
tobearonagiventopic.InthecaseofSiemensandDownes'scourse,theinstructorswere
interestedinobtainingbroaderinsightintotheirideas.Enoughstructureisprovidedbythecourse
e-learning and Deeper Learning 22
WestEd—August 2011
thatifalearnerisinterestedinthetopic,heorshecanbuildsufficientlanguageandexpertiseto
participateperipherallyordirectly.Theconversationsoccurinvariousforums:blogs,Twitter,
coursediscussionboards,commentingtools,virtualworlds,andinsomecases,face‐to‐face.
Participantscancreatestudygroupstodiscussandcollaboratearoundareasofinterest.Insum,a
MOOCisanonlinelearningecosysteminwhichknowledgeemergesfromparticipantinteraction.
SomeexamplesofMOOCscanbefoundat:
• PLENK2010:PersonalLearningEnvironments,NetworksandKnowledge
http://connect.downes.ca/
• eduMOOC2011:OnlineLearningToday…andTomorrow
https://sites.google.com/site/edumooc/home
WedidnotencounteranyMOOCsfocusedK‐12education,butwethinkthattheyrepresent
anewenvironmentforhighly‐participatoryprofessionaldevelopmentandavaluableopportunity
forteacherstobuildtechnologyskills,professionalnetworks,andtheirdigitalidentity.
OPENEDUCATORS:THEROLEOFFACILITATORSINONLINEENVIRONMENTS
Onlinelearningrequiresthatteachersassumenewroleswithrespecttoaccesstocontent
andinteractivetechnologies,whichareincreasinglyunderthecontrolofthelearner.Educators
continuetoplayanimportantroleinfacilitatinginteraction,sharinginformationandresources,
challengingassertions,andcontributingtolearners'growthofknowledge.CormierandSiemens
(2010)offerthefollowingmapofimportantonlinefacilitatorrolesandmethodsandtechnologies
thatsupportthem.
RolesofFacilitatorsinOnlineEnvironments
FacilitatorRole ActivityofFacilitator TacticsandTools
Amplifying Drawingattentiontoimportantideas/concepts
Twitter,blogs
Curating Arrangingreadingsandresourcestoscaffoldconcepts
Learningdesign,tutorials,adjustmentofweeklyactivitiestoreflectcourseflow
Wayfinding Assistinglearnerstorelyonsocialsense‐makingthroughnetworks
Commentsonlearners'blogposts,helpwithsocialnetworkformation,"liveslides"method
Aggregating Displayingpatternsindiscussionsandcontent
GoogleAlerts,RSSreader,visualtools(e.g.,ManyEyes)
Filtering Assistinglearnersinthinkingcriticallyaboutinformation/conversationsavailableinnetworks
RSSreader,discussionofinformationtrust,conceptualerrors
Modeling Displayingsuccessfulinformationandinteractionpatterns
Alluseoftoolsandactivitiestoreflecteducators'modelingofappropriatepractices
e-learning and Deeper Learning 23
WestEd—August 2011
StayingPresent Maintainingcontinualinstructorpresenceduringthecourse,particularlyduringnaturalactivitylulls
Daily(orregularnewsletter),activityinforums,videoposts,podcasts,weeklylivesessionsinsynchronoustools(e.g.,Elluminate)
(Cormier&Siemens2010)
OPENPRESENTATIONS
Opennessprinciplescanshapeonlinepresentations(Webinars),apopularwayformany
programstodeliveroTPD.Inarecentpresentationtoagroupoflibrariansonthefutureof
libraries,DaveCormierusedtheElluminateWebcastingplatformtodeliverwhatheterms"live
slides."Insteadofpresentingfactsorideas,eachslideofferedarelevantquestion(e.g."Whatisa
library?""Whatisalibrarian?").Participantswereaskedtoentertheirresponsesandthoughts
directlyintotheslide.Astheanswerswereentered,andasthegroupcouldseethemappearing,
Cormiernarratedtheknowledgethatemergedfromthelearnerswithhiscommentaryand
analysis.Cormier'sapproachensureshighaudienceengagementand,withgoodfacilitation,that
thelearningisvaluable.Theentirepresentationcanbearchivedandsharedforotherstoview.
AccordingtoCormier(2009),the"liveslides"method"presentsafarmorerealisticvision
forknowledge.Whenaskedaquestionlike‘Whatisalibrary?”asinglepersonhastocomedownto
asingledefinitionthatcan’tpossiblyencompassthefullculturalimpactofaword.Ifyoulookatthe
firstquestionslideofthepresentationyou’llseeaverybroadrangingdefinitioncreatedbya
collaborativeofpeople…thedefinitionisrhizomatic,createdintime,andtherecordpresentedhere
isasnapshotofit…anarchiveofalivemomentofknowledge.”
ANOPENEDUCATORMANIFESTO
Thenotionofopennessasatransparentwayofpracticeforeducatorsisarelated
byproductofthenumerousopentechnologiesavailableforlearning.Arecentblogentryat
http://www.connectedprincipals.comdemonstrateshowpowerfullyopennessismanifestinginthe
practiceofaprincipalatDalianMapleLeafForeignNationalsSchool,locatedinDalian,China.
MyOpenEducatorManifesto
‘We’educatefuturecitizensoftheworld
Teachingismyprofessionalpractice
ISharebydefault
IamOpen,Transparent,Collaborative,andSocial
Mystudentsowntheirown:(Learning)
e-learning and Deeper Learning 24
WestEd—August 2011
• learningprocess
• learningenvironment
• learningproducts
• learningassessment
Mystudentsbelongtolearningnetworks
Everystudentdeservescustomizedlearning
• Studentvoice
• Studentchoice
Everyeducatordeservescustomizedlearning
Ihavehighexpectations
ICare,Share,andDare
Iamarolemodel
IamthechangeIwanttoseeinEducation!
(Truss,2011)
THEFUTUREOFLEARNINGMANAGEMENTSYSTEMS
WHATISALEARNINGMANAGEMENTSYSTEM?
ALearningManagementSystems(LMS)isasoftwareapplicationfortheadministration,
documentation,tracking,andreportingofonlineeventsore‐learningprograms.AccordingtoRyan
Ellis(2009),editorofLearningCircuits,arobustLMSshouldbeabletodothefollowing:
• centralizeandautomateadministration
• useself‐serviceandself‐guidedservices
• assembleanddeliverlearningcontentrapidly
• consolidatetraininginitiativesonascalableWeb‐basedplatform
• supportportabilityandstandards
• personalizecontentandenableknowledgereuse.
Inhighereducationcircles,itiswidelybelievedthatweareataninflectionpointinwhatit
canmeantoteachandlearnonline.Theprimarychallengeoflearningplatformsinhigher
educationishowtoaddresstheissuesofinformallearning,socialnetworking,assessmentanda
mobilelearningenvironment.Asiscurrentlythecase,thetechnologiesdevelopedorusedin
responsetothechallengesinthehighereducationspacewilllikelyinfluencethetechnologiesthat
e-learning and Deeper Learning 25
WestEd—August 2011
areusedinotheradultlearningprograms.Therearemanydifferenttechnologiesthatcandeliver
effectiveoTPD.Someoftheprogramsweprofileinthisreport(e.g.PowerfulLearningPracticeand
PBLCamp)donotuseaLearningManagementSystem.Rather,theyuseacollectionofWeb2.0
toolstodeliverandfacilitateRelevance,Collaboration,ReflectionandContentKnowledge.Yet,a
numberofotheroTPDprograms(e.g.eMSS,PBSTeacherLine,andSLI)haveadaptedLMS'sthat
weredevelopedoriginallyforuniversityuse.Moodle,Sakai,Blackboardareallestablishedsystems
thathavebeenusedwidelybyuniversitiesforyears,butthearerelativelyinflexible,closedsystems
intoday'sincreasingly"open"world.Systemstomanagecontentandtracklearningarenecessary
formanyformalprograms,sogivingthoughttothefutureofLearningManagementSystemsis
importanttoourgoalofunderstandingwhichtechnologiesaregoingtobeeffectivetoolsforoTPD.
Belowaresomethoughtssharedbyleadingtechnologists,educators,andvendorsina
recentpaneldiscussiononhowtomaketheLMSintegralto21stcenturylearning.Theseideasare
worthconsideringforthepurposesofimagininghowournation'steacherswillLEARNandTEACH
inthenearfuture.(CampusTechnology,2011)
JoshBaron,Senioracademictechnologyofficer,MaristCollege(NY)
"Today'slearning,whetheronthegroundoronline,tendstotakeplaceinfairlyclosed
learningenvironmentsthatareisolatedfromtherealworld.IftheLMSbeginstoembrace
themovementtowardsopennessineducation,itwillbegintobreakdownthisartificial
barrier,allowingknowledgeandlearningexperiencestoflowmoreeasilyacrossit.Asecure
butpermeableLMSofthisnaturewouldfacilitateregularinteractionsbetweenstudents
andexpertsfromindustryaswellaspeersfromotherculturesandsocieties.Atthesame
time,itwillpromotetheuseofOpenEducationalResources(OER)aswellasthe
disseminationofstudent‐generatedcontentforusebythoseoutsidetheinstitution.Andthe
integrationoftheLMSwithelectronicportfolios,particularlythosethatsupportstructured
assessment,willprovideinstructorswithpowerfultoolstoassessstudentlearninginmore
authenticwaysthantraditionalmultiple‐choicetests.Wemaybeenteringanew
assessmenterainwhichstudentswillgraduatenotwithasingle‐pagetranscriptbuta
media‐richportfoliothatprovidesdirectevidenceoftheirachievements."
BrianWhitmer,Co‐founder,Instructure‐developerofCanvas
ThetraditionalLMSisawalledgarden.It'sdatain,nothingout.TherearepowerfultoolsallovertheInternet,andeducationcompaniesneedtolearnhowtoworkwiththesetoolsinsteadoftryingtorewriteandreplacethem.ThismeansthatLMS’saregoingtohaveto
e-learning and Deeper Learning 26
WestEd—August 2011
becomemoreopenandflexible,becausethewalled‐gardenapproachwon'tworkanymore…Mobiletechnologyisgoingtogivebirthtonewformsofcommunicationsandcollaborationthatwillimpactonlinelearning.Sincetypingonamobiledeviceishardforlongmessages(writingatermpaperonaniPhonesoundslikeanexerciseinfutilitytome),Ithinkwe'llstarttoseevideomessagingbecomemorecommon.
MarkFrydenberg,Seniorlecturerandinstructionalsoftwarespecialist,BentleyUniversity(MA)
Inthefuture,LMS’swilladapttoastudent'slearningstyle,actuallymanaginglearningmorethanlearningmaterials.Theywillknowinwhatareasastudentneedshelp,provideadditionalrelevantevaluationexercises,andsuggesttheyseetheirinstructorsinpersonforhelp.Perhapsstudentswillbeabletospeaktheirresponses,andtheLMSwillbeabletoevaluatewhattheysay.
MattLeavy,CEO,PearsoneCollege
Analyticshavethepowertodrivetheevolutionofpedagogyandthestudentexperience.Therearetwoprincipalaxesalongwhichanalyticswillpropellearning.Thefirstaxisistowardpersonalization.Thereal‐timeevaluationoflearningandactivitydataallowsoursystemstoadapttoprovidealearningexperiencethatisindividuallyappropriatetoagivenstudent.Thecurrentstateofpersonalizationtendstobebasedontrackingthedevelopmentofonlineworkandidentifyinginterventionsthathaveworkedinthepastforstudentswithcommondatapatterns.Asweadvanceintowhole‐programandlearner‐lifecyclesystems,sophisticatedlearnerprofilesarebeingdevelopedfromwhichmorepreciseandefficientlearningpathswillemerge.Thesecondaxisistowardcontentandpedagogyimprovement.Notalllearningexperiencesarecreatedequalandwecanevaluatethedifferencethroughanalytics.Bytrackingcarefullydevelopedlearningobjectsinrepositoriesandusinganalyticstomeasuretheimpactofexposinglearnerstothoseexperiences,wewillbeabletodemonstratequalityataverygranularlevel.
ANEWENTRANT:THECANVASLMSDEVELOPEDBYINSTRUCTURE
Canvas(http://www.instructure.com)isanewonlineapplicationthatinstructorscanuse
tomanagelessonplans,schedulecourses,andimprovestudent‐teachercommunication.Canvas's
interfacedesignisbeingwidelypraisedforitsverycleanfeatures.Canvasisalsohighlyadaptable
(notacommonLMStrait),soteachersortrainerscanusethesysteminwhicheverwaystheyseefit.
CanvascantakeasnapshotofanythingontheWebandpullitintothefeedback(grading)interface.
Ablogpostfromateacher’sownWordPressinstallationoravideopostedtoYouTubecanbeeasily
submittedandreviewed.WithaWebcamandbuilt‐inmic,facilitatorsorcoachescanrecordvideo
commentaryrightfromthefeedbackinterface,cultivatinganincreasedsenseofpresencethatisso
importantinsuccessfulcoaching.Infact,Canvasmakesvideoconferencingandvideorecordinga
corepartofitsplatform,givingitaprivilegedplaceonthemainmenu(Feldstein,2011).
e-learning and Deeper Learning 27
WestEd—August 2011
InthewordsofLMSexpertMichaelFeldstein,“IfIhadtosummarizeInstructure’sstrategy
inonesentence,itwouldbe‘TheyusethelessonslearnedbyconsumerWebcompaniestoclearthe
clutteroutofLMSsoftwaredesignandbusinessmodel.’…Theyarelookingatcoreusecasesand
tryingtomakethemassimpleaspossible,throwingoutsomeoutdatedLMSdesignassumptionsin
theprocess(Feldstein,2010).”
OneofthechallengeswiththeLMS(asimpliedinthequotesabove)isthattherehasbeen
norevisitingofbasicdesignandarchitecturalassumptionsinthepasttenyears—andperhaps
sincetheproductcategorycameintoexistence.Canvas,ontheotherhand,wasdesignedfromthe
groundupwithtoday'slearningconcepts.Facilitatorsandteachersareabletousemultiplemodes
forcommunication—email,Facebook,Twitter,textmessaging,Skype,etc.Canvashasarichsetof
personalizedcommunicationpreferences,whichmakepossiblethekindofqualitycontactand
collaborationthatissocriticaltoonlineteacherprofessionaldevelopment.Inaddition,Canvas
calendarsintegratewithGoogleCalendar,iCalandOutlook.
VIDEOANALYSIS
THEANTHROPOLOGYOFYOUTUBE
ThepopularityofvideosharingontheInternetdemonstratesourculture’sstrongdesireto
viewandshareimages,aswellastoconnectwithothersaroundthoseimages.Upuntil2005,itwas
difficulttouploadvideototheWeb.YouTubechangedeverything.Now,peopleallagesreadily
captureimagesusingcellphones,tabletsordigitalcamerasandsharethesephotosandvideosof
themselvesthroughoutthe"mediascape;”i.e.,YouTube,Facebookandothermediasharingsites.As
peoplebecomemoreaccustomedtoseeingimagesofthemselves,inhibitionsaboutbeingviewedby
strangersarefallingaway—youth,inparticular,oftenoperateina"postfirst,thinklater"mode.
Thistrendhasthepossibilityofdisruptinganimplicitnorminthecultureofeducationagainst
sharingandcritiquingpractice.
Inhistalk,AnAnthropologicalIntroductiontoYouTube,totheLibraryofCongress,Michael
Wesch(2008)reviewsthehistoryofYouTube,itsnewformsofempowerment,community,and
possibility,andofferstheobservationthat"[a]tthecenterofthismediascapeisus.Idon'tthinkof
mediaascontentandIdon'teventhinkofmediaasjusttoolsofcommunication.Ithinkofmediaas
mediatinghumanrelationships.Whenmediachanges,humanrelationshipschangeandthat's
wheretheanthropologycomesin."DigitalmediaisforcingustorethinkwhattheWebisallabout.
It'snotreallyaboutlinkinginformationanymore;it’saboutlinkingpeopleinwaysthatwe'venever
beenlinkedbefore(Wesch,2008).
e-learning and Deeper Learning 28
WestEd—August 2011
VIDEOANDTEACHERREFLECTION
Forthemostpart,teachinghappensbehindthecloseddoorsoftheclassroom,inisolation
fromone'speers.Insideofschools,sharingpracticehasincreasinglybeenconnectedtohighstakes
evaluationsratherthantoon‐goingprofessionallearning.Forobviousreasons,teacherscan
bereluctanttoshareimagesoftheirwork.Asyoungerteachers,withnewdigitalhabitsandcell
phonesdoublingasvideocameras,entertheteachingcorps,newculturalnormswilldevelop
aroundsharinginstructionalpractice,bringinganewexpectationofopennessandthrowingopen
thedoorsofclassroompractice.MAT@USC&TeachscapeReflectareexamplesofprogramsthatare
exploringtheusereflectionaroundonlinevideotoimproveinstruction.
Videohaslongbeenusedtocapturemicroteachingevents,illustrateclassroomcasesand
practices,andtoreviewteachingpractices(Rich&Hannifin,2009).Forthepastdecade,logistical
andfinancialobstacleshavedictatedthatonlinevideoanalysiswasperformedprimarilyonclipsof
otherpeople'steachingpractice.Videocasescontinuetobeanimportantstrategytosupport
teacherprofessionaldevelopment.Infact,TeachscapeReflecttechnologywasdevelopedoutofthe
MeasuresofEffectiveTeaching(MET)project,inpartnershipwiththeBill&MelindaGates
Foundation.TheMETprojecthascapturedandevaluatedmorethan20,000lessonsinover3,000
classroomsnationwideforuseincreatingteachingexemplars.TeachingChannel,profiledinthis
paper,alsorepresentsavideoshowcaseofeffectiveteachingtechniquesandlessonideas.
MichaelPrestonoftheColumbiaCenterforNewMediaTeachingandLearning(CCNMTC)
writesthat“thein‐depthstudyofvideos—particularlyifthevideoscapturesituationsthatreveal
somethingaboutchildren’sthinking—createsacontextinwhichteacherscanactasresearchersby
gatheringevidence,developinghypotheses,andcoordinatingthisinformationasaguideforfurther
inquiryandteaching.Overtime,closeandrepeatedviewingandanalysisofvideohelpsshiftfocus
awayfromtheteacherandtothechild,andallowsforaricherconceptionoftherelationship
betweenchildren’sperformanceandunderstanding[ormisconceptions],tohelpbetterinform
teaching”(Preston,2010).
MEDIATHREADASANEXAMPLEVIDEOANNOTATIONTOOL
Recentdevelopmentsinonlinevideoannotationtoolscanhelptoextendandaugment
teacherself‐reflection.In2006,CCNMTCstartedaprojecttitledVideoInteractionsforTeachingand
Learning(VITAL).Thegoaloftheprojectwastodevelopanddistributearesourcetoenhance
teacherpreparationinearlychildhoodmathematicseducation.TheVITALtoolhassinceevolved
intoatoolcalledMediaThreadthatofferstheabilityforteacherstobringtheirownvideosintothe
onlineenvironment.TheMediaThreadplatformallowsteacherstocreatemini‐clipsoutofavideo
e-learning and Deeper Learning 29
WestEd—August 2011
(whetherofthemselvesoranotherteacher)andembedtheseclipsintoatextanalysis.Theclipsact
likemediacitationsallowingateachertoproduceareflectiononatopicusingpreciseexamplesor
occurrencesfromavideosinsertedintothenarrative.
MediaThreadlinksthevideoanalysistogroupinteraction,bringingmediaintoacommunal
spaceandencouragingpeopletoworktogetherandconnectwitheachotheraroundexamplesof
practice.Teacherscanworkingroupsandlinkupinwaysthatwouldbedifficulttodoinageneral
library.Socialfeaturesalsoallowstudentswhoareworkingwithacommonpieceofmediatobe
alertedoftheconnection.ClassdiscussionsareavailableinMediaThreadand,whenonepoststoa
discussion,onehasaccesstoallsavedclipsandotherpeople’sclipstoinsertintothepost.
VIDEOANALYSISFORDEEPERLEARNING
Videoannotationtoolsnowofferthepotentialtosupportboththereflectionandanalysisof
one'sownteaching,aswellastheabilitytoassociatecapturedvideowithrelatedstudentand
teachingevidenceandchangesindevelopmentovertime(Rich&Hannifin,2009).Watchingand
reflectingonone’sownpractice,almostuniversally,enablesteacherstoseeandbelievethingsthat
theyotherwisecannotordonotseeandbelieveabouttheirpractice.Thesamecanapplyfor
teachers'perceptionsoftheirstudents(Rich,2011).Thekindofonlinevideoanalysisthatwouldbe
supportiveofDeeperLearninggoalswouldbeusedinaregular,collaborative,andfacilitated
fashion.
Forexample,everythreeweeks,teachersmightconveneonline,ingroupsofthreetofourin
avideochatspace,todiscusstheirsubmissions.Inadvance,eachteacherwouldhavecreatedshort
clipsandpreparedananalysisofeachclipbasedonapredeterminedareaoffocus.Theannotation
toolwouldallowtheanalysistobeaffixedtoeachinstructional“scene.”Duringagroupvideochat,
teacherswouldtaketurns,spending30minutestopresenttheirclips,providetheiranalysisandto
getgroupfeedback.
Therearemanybenefitstodoingvideorefectioningroups.Forexample,colleaguestendto
seeone'spositivesmorereadily.Whenpresentingingroups,thereisalsomoreaccountabilityand
follow‐throughduetotheexpectationthatprogresswillbeshownatthenextconvening.Progress
tendstooccurwhenawarenessishigh.Furthermore,theexpectationofpresentingavideocan
raisetheawarenessleveltoapointwhereteachersareoftentryingtoperformfortheirpeersin
positivewaysthatbenefitkids.
Inaddition,reflectionovertimecanbeverypowerful,especiallyifguidedbyanonline
facilitatorwhocanprobeteacherreflections.Afacilitatorcanfocusthereflectionononestrategyat
e-learning and Deeper Learning 30
WestEd—August 2011
atime,useaninquiryapproach,andsensewhenitistimetomoveon.Facilitatorscanalsohelp
withteacherreadinesstoreceivefeedbackorlearning.
Insum,withtherightplatform,acollegialcommunity,goodfacilitation,andawell‐focused
inquiryor“lessonstudy”approach,videoanalysisisapowerfulwaytoaddressallfiveofthecore
qualitiesforoTPDalignedwithDeeperLearning:Relevance,Reflection,Collaboration,Content
KnowledgeandDataEffectiveness.Digitalmediaallowsteacherstoparticipateintheirlearningand
connectwithpeersintransformativeways.Asvideocommunicationbecomesmoreaccessibleand
sophisticated,capturingandanalyzingimagesofone'sownteachingpracticewillbecomea“new
normal”foroTPD.
SIMULATIONS
Thesubstantialfinancialresourcesavailableforresearchanddevelopmentinmilitaryand
corporatesectorsaregivingrisetoinnovativetrainingmodels.DevicesliketheiPadand
smartphone,coupledwithothertechnologyadvances,havetransformedhowweconsumemedia.
Thesechangeswilllikelyseeourprimaryformofmobilecommunicationshiftfromatextualmode
towardsmoreseamlessinteractiveexperiences,includingvideo,animations,andimmersive
environments.Thisshiftincommunicationisnaturallyaffectinglearningprograms.TheUS
DepartmentofDefense,IBM,Cisco,LockheedMartin,leadingfinancialandpharmaceutical
corporationsareexperimentingwithimmersivelearningenvironments.Intheseenvironments,
learningissituatedinonlinevirtualworlds.Game‐likesimulationshavebeenusedextensivelyto
train,assessandenhancecriticalfunctionalandsoftskillssuchasleadership,decision‐makingand
problemsolving.
Inourreview,weencounteredtwointeresting,low‐budgetonlinesimulationsforteacher
learningdevelopedbyTheSchoolofPublicAffairsatBaruchCollege,oneofthecollegesoftheCity
UniversityofNewYork.WorkingwiththeNewYorkCityDepartmentofEducationandsupport
fromtheCarnegieFoundation,theyhavedevelopedtheScaffoldedApprenticeshipModel(SAM).
SAMisanapproachtoschoolreformthatintegratesimprovementinstudentachievementwith
instructionalandleadershipcapacitybuildingandsuccessionplanning.Asanapprenticeship
model,SAMembedslearninginthedailyroutinesofaschool.Theprogram’ssuccessdoesnot
dependuponthesizeoftheschool,thewayitisorganized,studentdemographics,teacher
credentialsoranyparticularmethodofteachingorlearning.AsteachersworkwithintheSAM
model,theyencounterandpracticeusingasetofideas,whichareembeddedinthework.Theseare
explicitatfirstandthenfadeasteachersapplytheminavarietyofcircumstancesandforvarying
purposes,eventuallydevelopingthehabitsofmindthatSAMisintendedtoinstill.Thefollowing
e-learning and Deeper Learning 31
WestEd—August 2011
twosimulationsareusedwithinSAMinconjunctionwithface‐to‐facecoachingandcanbeaccessed
forfreeathttp://acceleratelearning.net/.
INQUIRYTEAMTRAININGSIMULATION
TheInquiryTeamTrainingsimulationwasdevelopedtosupporttheNewYorkCity
DepartmentofEducationincomingtoscalewiththeChildrenFirstinquiryteaminitiative.The
simulationisdesignedtobeusedbyfacilitatorstofamiliarizeteamsofteachersandadministrators
withthecoreelementsoftheinquiryteamprocessandsurfacesomeoftheissuesthatarelikelyto
ariseasteachersimplementtheinitiativeintheirschools.Thegoalofthesimulationistoaccelerate
thelearningoftwostudentssothattheyprogressasfaraspossiblefromtheirbaseline
performancelevels.Toaccomplishthistask,participantsassembleaninquiryteam,the
compositionofwhichwillaffecttheirabilitytoimplementchangestrategiesduringthecourseof
thesimulation,andselecttwostudentsstrugglingtolearnreadingskills.
Duringthesimulatedschoolyear,theteamhassevenopportunitiestoimplement
instructionalchangestohelptheselectedstudentsachieve(orexceed)theidentifiedgoals.
Participantsselectonechangestrategyforeachofthesevenopportunities.Oncethestrategyhas
beenimplementedparticipantsreceivefeedbackonhowmuchprogresseachhasmadetowardthe
identifiedgoals.Thetwodifferentstudentneedsandonechangestrategydesignisintendedto
raiseparticipantawarenessoftheneedfordifferentiatedinstructionalresponses.Althoughthe
simulationhasa“gamelike”quality,itsprimarypurposeistostimulaterichconversationsabout
thelinkbetweeninformationandeffectiveinstructionaldecision‐makingtoaccelerateprogressfor
strugglinglearners.Currently,theseconversationshappenface‐to‐face,butcouldbehostedonline
aswell.Inadditiontoitsuseasatrainingtool,schoolshaveusedthissimulationaspartofthe
interviewprocesswhenhiringnewstaffmembers.
TAMINGASSESSMENTSIMULATION
TheTamingAssessmentsimulationwasdevelopedtosupporttheNewYorkCity
DepartmentofEducation’sefforttohelpteachersgetthemostoutoftheassessmenttoolsavailable
tothem.Itisbaseduponcurrentresearchontheuseofassessmentstoidentifywhatstudentsare
strugglingwithwhentheyarestrugglingtolearnandtheNewYorkStateandCityassessment
systems.StudentperformancepatternsonmiddleschoolmathematicsassessmentsacrossNew
YorkCitypublicschoolsareusedtoinformthesystem.TamingAssessmentisastrategygamein
whichtheuserattemptstoidentifyahiddenmisconceptionorgapinstudentknowledgeinterfering
withmasterybyusingassessmentinformationandnarrowingthepossibilitiesofwhatneedstobe
e-learning and Deeper Learning 32
WestEd—August 2011
taughtinordertoacceleratelearning.Thesimulationconnectstheuserwithamiddleschoolmath
teacherandagroupofstudentshe/sheisworriedabout.Whiletheuserisuncoveringand
addressingthestudent’shiddenmisconception,theteacheriscontinuingtoteachtheprescribed
curriculum.Thelongerittakestheusertoidentifyandaddressthestudent’smisconception,the
furtherthestudentfallsbehind.
Theobjectofthegameistoidentifyandaddressthestudent’shiddenmisconceptionas
quicklyaspossible.Toaccomplishthisgoal,theuserworkswiththreetypesofassessments,
summative,formative,diagnostic,andvariouslevelsofanalysis(e.g.aggregate,disaggregate,item
error).Thelearneractsbasedupontwochoices,toASSESSortoTEACH,usingtheinformation
alreadyuncovered.Aftereachdecisionismade,theuserreceivestwotypesoffeedback–timeand
progress.Thesimulationisdesignedtoaddresstheperceivedresistancetoexpendingtimeon
administeringassessmentsandanalyzingtheresults,sothattosuccessfullycompletethe
simulationbeforetheclockrunsout,teachersmustuseassessmentresultstostrategicallytarget
theirinstruction.Individualsorgroupsofteacherswithorwithoutthesupportofafacilitatormay
usethesimulation.
THEBIGPICTURE
AccordingtoLizGewirtzman,SAMProjectDirector,"WithinanyHOWareaWHATandaWHEN.
Teachingisatitscoreadecisionmakingenterprise"(2011).Whilevirtualsimulationsofreallife
situationsarenotcommoninteacherprofessionaldevelopmentprograms,theSAMexamples
revealtheirpotential.Withgreaterresources,asimulationenvironmentcouldbedevelopedto
addressDeeperLearningissuesteacherfaceonaday‐to‐daybasis,takingteachersthroughvarious
decisionmakingscenarioswhileexposingthemtopromisingpracticesandoptimaldecision
makingtrees.Guidedthroughtheirpathsbyvirtualmentorswhodiscreetlybutintuitivelytake
themthroughdifferentoptions,teacherscouldrole‐playcriticalandoften‐encounteredclassroom
situationsinProjectBasedLearningorotherDeeperLearninginstructionalstrategies.Decision
makingsimulationscouldalsoallowteachersandtheircoachestocapturedecision‐pathsfor
purposesofanalysis,reflectionandfurtherinquiry.
Imaginethefollowingnewsimulation/gamescenario:providedwithacurriculumanda
learningobjectiveandfacedwithaclassroomfullofstudentswithvaryingneeds,theteacheris
promptedtoidentifytheteachablemomentsanddecidewhichteachingstrategies(acollectionof
possiblestrategieswouldbeavailabletotry)toemploy—sometechniquesworkbetterforsome
thingsandwithsomestudentsthanothers.Thegoalwouldbetomaximizethelearningofthe
e-learning and Deeper Learning 33
WestEd—August 2011
greatestnumberofstudentswithintheconstraintsofthe“game,”oneofwhichis,onceateachable
momentisgone,it’sgone.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 34
WestEd—August 2011
A PROGRAMMATIC CASE STUDY: LEARNINGS FROM SLI’S TRANSITION TO ONLINE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Since2000,theStrategicLiteracyInitiativeatWestEdhasprovidedface‐to‐face
professionaldevelopmentforsecondaryteachersinReadingApprenticeship,aninstructional
frameworktoacceleratestudentliteracyinthecontentareas,includinggrades6‐12and
communitycollege.SLI’sface‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentishighlydesignedandaddresses
thesamecriticalqualitiesofoTPDlistedearlier.
Tenyearsofresearch,includinglarge‐scalerandomizedcontroltreatmentstudies,have
shownthattheReadingApprenticeshipinstructionalmodelandprofessionaldevelopmenthavea
positive,statisticallysignificantimpactonstudents’academicliteracy.TheReadingApprenticeship
frameworkfocusesonstudents'abilitiestomasteracademiccontent,acquire,applyandexpand
knowledge,thinkcriticallyandsolvecomplexproblems,communicateeffectively,collaborate,and
discusstheirlearning,readingandthinkingprocesses.
Asatightlystructuredface‐to‐facemodel,SLIfacedchallenges(sharedbyNewTeacher
CenterandExpeditionaryLearningSchools)whentransitioningtoanonlineprofessional
developmentapproach:howtoreplicatetheinquiry‐based,highlycollaborative,learner‐driven
activitiesthattheyhadbeensuccessfulwithinface‐to‐facesettingsinanonlineenvironment?What
wouldbetherolesofthefacilitator,coach,mentorandorganizationinthisnewparadigm?
Inthismini‐casestudy,weofferexamplesofoneorganization’sattemptstoenterintothe
onlinemarket.OfparticularnotearethewaysinwhichSLIhasintegratedmembersofits
communityofteacher‐practitionersandprofessionaldevelopmentconsultantsintheir
collaborativeeffort,ofteninresponsetopressurefromusersoftheonlineproducts.SLIconsidered
onlinelearningformanyofthesamereasonsotherprogramshave:theywanttoscaleup,budget
constraintsandlogisticsofasmall,leanprogrammakeextensivetraveluntenable.Inaddition,
moreandmoregrantorsexpectanonlinepresence.Indeed,thenewi3grantfromtheUS
DepartmentofEducationstipulatedthecreationofnewonlinelearningforums.Priortothatgrant,
SLIconsideredimprovingandextendingitsonlinepresence,largelyformarketingpurposes.
Initially,thisconsistedofestablishingnewWebpages.Then,theprogramventuredintocreatinga
blogandlateritcreatedtwoseparateonlinecourses,oneforPDconsultantsworkingforSLIand
anotherincollaborationwithRentonCollegeforitsfacultyandstaff.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 35
WestEd—August 2011
NOTEWORTHY
SLIhasanongoingprofessionalinquiryquestionaboutoTPD:howcanonlinestructures
andprogramssupporttherobust,inquirybased,collaborativelearningenvironmentsthatweknow
workinface‐to‐facesettingsandstillofferimportantinputandaccesstotheknowledgebasethat
hasbeengeneratedthroughthecollaborativeeffortsofthiscommunity?Thisquestion—closely
relatedtoquestionsofauthorityandtherolesofteachersandlearnersinconstructivistlearning
environments—guidestheevolutionofSLI’sonlineofferings.Aswedescribebelow,SLIhasthree
majoronlineinteractivelearningenvironments,allofwhichareshapedandinfluencedbyusers.
AlthoughSLIstillmaintainsmuchauthorialcontrolovertheprocessesandproducts,the
communityofusershasdirectandimmediateinfluenceinthesespaces.
BLOG
TheblogwasSLI’sfirststepintoaninteractiveandcollaborativeonlinespace.Initially,blog
postswerewrittenandeditedbySLIstaff,andthen,perWestEdpolicy,vettedbystaffinthe
communicationsdepartment.Verysoon,SLIdiscoveredthatthefinancialandtimeinvestmentin
thisprocesswasunsustainable.Aswell,alargeproportionofSLI’scommunityofpracticing
teachersandPDconsultantswantedandexpecteddeeperonlinelearning,socialnetworksand
collaboration.Eventually,thiscommunityofSLIdigitalpioneersbegantoshapeandinfluenceSLI’s
onlinepresence.WhenSLIstaffbegantoignoretheblog,membersoftheSLIcommunityinsisted
onkeepingitaliveandvolunteeredtogeneratepostseachweekfortheirownpurposesand
learning.SLIstaffnowplayaminimalrole,managingtheproductionscheduleandeditorialprocess.
Thecommunityitselfdrivesthecontent.
Thiswasanimportantdiscovery:theblog,initiallyconceivedofasawaytoincreaseSLI’s
onlinepresenceandpotentiallyreachnewaudiencesandclients,turnedoutinsteadtobean
importantcollaborativelearningenvironmentforeducatorstoshare,commentandreflectonone
another'spractice.Thiswas,evenintheconceptualstages,asecondarygoalfortheblog,butturned
outtobethedrivingpurposeandfunction.Largelybecausetheorganizationhasfromitsinception
beenateacher‐researchercollaborativeinwhichteachersandresearcherslearntogether,
constructnewknowledgeandtools,fieldtesttheseandanalyzeandreflectonoutcomes,SLIwas
well‐positionedtowelcomeandleveragethisuser‐directedcollaboration.
FACILITATORSINTENSIVETRAINING
Asrequiredbyitsi3grant,SLIrecentlybegandesigningandpilotinganonlinelearning
experienceforacoreofPDconsultantsinvolvedinscalingupReadingApprenticeshipinBiology,
e-learning and Deeper Learning 36
WestEd—August 2011
HistoryandEnglishLanguageArts.Thiswastheonlyonlineeffortthathadanyfunding.Assuch,
SLIwasabletocontracttheservicesofWestEdInteractivetosupporttheneedsassessment,design
process,andeducateSLIstaffinthemanagementofthelearningenvironment.Thisprofessional
supportwasonecriticalelementinthesuccessofthisfirstformaleffort.
Ofparticularnoteisthatminimalfundingforthiseffortfromthei3grantwasenoughtoget
SLIstarted.SLIalsohassomeinternalcapacityandresources.Onestaffmemberispursuinga
MastersinEducationthroughanonlineprogram,andsheusedtheSLIworktocompleteseveral
classprojects.Thisprovidedaccesstoaknowledgebaseandoutsidesourcesofinformationand
mentoring—animportantsupplementtothesupportfromWestEdInteractive.Inaddition,strong
professionalconnectionsbetweenSLIandthedirectoroftheNewTeacherCenterallowedthese
twogroupstoengageincollaborationthroughseveralmeetings,inspiteofthefactthattherewas
nofundingoneithersideforthiswork.
Core Qualities of oTPD Consistent with Deeper Learning RelevanceTheonlinePDexperiencesweredesignedtomirroractivitiesthatconsultantswouldbeleadingin
face‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentastheysimultaneouslybuiltcontentknowledge.
ReflectionConsultantsengagedinreflectionontheirownexperiencesandcollaborativeinquiryintoproblems
ofpractice.Followingthefacilitationofinstitutes,consultantteamswereinvitedtopostreflections
ontheirexperiences,newinsightsandsuggestionsforfutureinstitutesandteams.
CollaborationPriortotheface‐to‐faceFacilitatorIntensiveTraining,consultantsweredividedintosmallgroups
andprovidedwithopportunitiestoreflecttogetheronprofessionalreadingandtheproblemsof
practicetheseraised.Followingtheface‐to‐facetraining,newlearningspacesweredesignedto
supportcollaborationwithinteamsoffacilitatorsandinteractionbetweenteams—attherequest
oftheconsultants.Theprimarytoolforthelearningenvironmentisawiki(PBworks),alimited
platformthatSLIhasstretchedbeyonditsintendeduse.Inordertoexpandthisprogram,SLIwill
needtoworkwithmorerobustcollaborativetechnologies.
ContentKnowledgeTheactivitieswerespecificallydesignedtoengagepriorknowledge,surfacemisconceptionsand
buildknowledgeoftheReadingApprenticeshipmodel—thecontentoftheprofessional
e-learning and Deeper Learning 37
WestEd—August 2011
development.Consultantswereabletoaccessanddownloadmaterialsfortrainingaswellaspost
questions,commentsandreflectionsandgethelpfromeachotherandSLIstaff.
EffectivenessDataSLIstafftrackuserdataregardinginteractionwithcontentonthesiteandbetweenusers.There
hasbeenunevenparticipation,butobservationsofconsultantsintheirowntrainingandinthefield
arestronglysuggestiveoflearning.Forexample,teamsaredownloadingandusingaddendato
agendasandsuggestionsfromotherteams.
RENTONCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE
TheReadingApprenticeshiponlinecourseisofferedforRentonCommunityCollege(RCC)faculty
asacollaborativeeffortofSLIandRentonCommunityCollegeSLIconsultants.WhileSLIwas
exploringonlinelearningstructuresandopportunitiesaspartofanewDOEi3grantexpectation,
RCCstaffmemberswereenthusiasticallyrequestingpermissiontocreateanonlinecoursefortheir
community.SLIstaffinitiallyrespondedwithreluctance.Thiswasanunfundedeffortthat
potentiallycouldtakeagreatdealoftimeandexpenseforunknownoutcomesandnofinancial
benefit.GiventheearlyandnearlyconcurrentexperiencewithFIT,SLIadministrationmadea
strategicdecisiontobootstrapfundsanddonateasignificantamountofstafftime(primarily
directors)tothisneweffort.WithouttheexperienceoftheblogandFIT,itishighlyunlikelythis
wouldhavehappened.
Core Qualities of oTPD Consistent with Deeper Learning RelevanceAllofthelearningactivitiesweredesignedtoengageteachersinlearning,planning,
implementationandreflectiononpractice.IneachweekoftheRCCcourse,teacherswereaskedto
tryaspecifiedstrategyintheirclassrooms.
ReflectionTeachersengagedincyclesoflearning,planning,implementationandreflectiononpractice.
ContentKnowledgeItisclearfromworksubmittedthatteachersengagedinthecourselearnedagreatdealaboutthe
ReadingApprenticeshipmodelandintegratednewapproachesintotheirteaching.AswithSLI’s
face‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopment,itisexpectedthatthesechangesinpracticewillleadto
positiveimpactonDeeperLearninggoalsforstudentsatRentonCommunityCollege.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 38
WestEd—August 2011
EffectivenessDataMoodle,theLMSusedbytheRCCCourse,tracksdataonuserinteraction,primarilybynumberand
lengthofposts.Posts,comments,andcoursepapersaresubmittedforassessmentandgrading.
Theseincludeteachers'reflectionsonimplementation.Inaddition,amemberofSLI’sresearchstaff
andothersanalyzedstudentworkandcomparedthesetotherubricusedtogradepapersaswellas
lookforevidenceoflearningusingSLI’sprofessionaldevelopmentgoalsforparticipants.Therewas
substantial,qualitativeevidenceofstudentlearningthroughthesemeasures.
LESSONSLEARNED
DuringtheSLIandRCCfacultydebriefingsessions,severalpeoplediscussedtheimportance
ofcollaborationintheSLIPDmodel.Ofparticularinteresttoresearchstaffwasthelimitednature
ofcollaborative,student‐to‐studentdiscussionintheonlineenvironment,comparedtowhatSLI
hascometoexpectintheface‐to‐faceenvironment.Drawingonresearchfromthefieldofonline
learning,somesuggestionsweremaderegardingtherolesofpromptsandtheinstructor.For
example“Postyourthoughtinresponsetotheassignment”didnotleadtocollaborationwhereas
“Postyourownresponsetotheassignmentandbeginadiscussionaboutatleastonepostfrom
yourpeerswithanextensionquestion”mighthaveledtogreaterinteractionandcollaborative
discussion.Interactivityandcollaborationarecertainlyimpactedbydesignattheinstructional
level,howeverinanonlinelearningenvironment,attentionmustalsobepaidtothelimitsand
affordancesoftechnologicaltools.
MoodleandPBworksaretheplatformsthatSLIbeganwithtoprototypetheseventures
becausetheywereaccessibleandtheydidnotrequiresignificantcapitalinvestmenteitherinstaff
learningorengineeringtostart.However,bothplatformshavesubstantiallimitations.Theyare
separateandrelativelyclosedsystemsthatarenoteasilytiedtotheday‐to‐daycommunication
methodsofSLIlearners.Withoutsignificantengineering,theyusefairlysimplediscussionboards
andcommentingfeatures.Whiletechnologicaltoolsexistwhichcouldsupportthefield‐tested,
complexcollaborativeprotocols(suchasThinkAloudandvideocaseanalysis)thatarecoretoSLI’s
professionaldevelopmentexperience(seeforexample,theprofileofVoiceThreadinAppendixB
andthesectiononVideoAnalysis),itisunlikelythatSLIorRentonCommunityCollegewillbeable
todevelopthisbootstrapthiseffortfurtherwithoutnewfunding.
THEROADAHEAD
AsSLIlooksintothefuture,onlinelearningmustnecessarilyplayacentralroleinthemajorscale
upeffortunderway.Notonlyisthescaleupleadingtoarapidlygrowingcommunityofteacher
e-learning and Deeper Learning 39
WestEd—August 2011
practitionerswhoaredemandingmoreconvenientaccesstoSLI’sdocuments,productsand
learningnetworksonline,italsoiscreatingpressuretobuildastablecommunityoffacilitators,
coachesandmentorswhocansupportthispopulation.Overtime,SLI’ssixfull‐timePDstaffwillnot
beabletoadequatelysupport3,000teachersandteacherleadersinfivestatesserving400,000
students.SLIwillneedtodevelopwaystoleverageitsnascentonlineworktoprovidemorehigh
qualityleadership,andquickly.MuchcouldbegainedfromcreatingPLNs,buildingonthe
structuresthatsupportmentoringandcoachingdesignedatNTC,andevenintroducingvideo
analysistoolsintomix.Inaddition,opennessandtwo‐wayaccesstootherlearningcommunities
andtheirproducts(suchasthepublicfacingsiteofExpeditionaryLearning)wouldservetoenrich
SLIanddistributeknowledgebuiltwithinitscommunities.
EMERGINGPRINCIPLESINFORMINGOURRECOMMENDATIONS
Understandingthechallengesoftransitioningfacilitated,collaborativelearningexperiences
intoanonlineenvironmentiscriticalforthescalingofDeeperLearninggoals.If,asDarling‐
Hammondandothershavesuggested,collaborationiscriticalfordeep,lastingandsystemic
professionallearning,thenonlineprofessionaldevelopmentwillneedtogobeyondsimply
providingaforumforteacherstotalk.Teachersneedtopracticeactiveteaching,assessment,
observation,andreflectioninsocialsettingswherefeedbackisreadilyavailable.
Threeimportantconceptsemergedfromthiscasestudythatinformourprevious
recommendations:First,financialsupportisessentialifnon‐profitswithprovenface‐to‐face
modelsaretobuildonlinelearningenvironmentsequalinqualitytotheirexistingface‐to‐face
models.Secondly,additionalfundingforcollaborationbetweenhigh‐qualityearlyimplementers
likeSLI,RentonCollege,NTC,EL,[email protected],rapidand
collaborativeprototypingofplatformsintegratingnewandemergingtechnologiescouldaccelerate
theprocessofsuccessfulface‐to‐faceprogramsdeliveringtheirservicesatscale.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 40
WestEd—August 2011
PROGRAMS PROFILES INTRODUCTION Thispaperprofilesarangeofonlineteacherprofessionaldevelopment(oTPD)programs
thathavepromisingindividualqualities.Takenasagroup,theseprogramspresentopportunities
forteacherstoleadtheirownlearningprocess,toengagemeaningfullywithcontent,shareand
applyknowledge,reflectindividuallyandcollectivelyontheirpractice,anddemonstratetheir
learninginwaysthatsupportthegoalsofHewlett'sDeeperLearningInitiative.Particularstrengths
ofeachprofiledprogramarehighlightedandorganizedusingtheframeworkofcoreprofessional
developmentqualitiespresentedpreviously.Thecorequalityindicatorsthatwelookedforwere:
Relevance,Reflection,Collaboration,ContentKnowledgeandEffectivenessData.
Theprogramswehavechosenarenotselectedasexemplarsofcompleteandsufficient
practice.Rather,eachhassomethingtoofferHewlettandthefieldintheformofcreativestrategies
todelivereffectiveteacherprofessionaldevelopmentinanonlineenvironment.Surelythereare
otherprograms,nationallyandabroad,thatmightbeequallyormoreaccomplished.Theseprofiled
programshavenotsolvedallofthethornychallengesthataccompanyonlinework,i.e.providing
greatcontent,effectivecoaching,robustinquiryprocesses,sociallearning,informallearning,and
assessment.Moreover,thedataoneffectivenessismostlyqualitativeatbest,oftenmerely
anecdotalandrarelycollectedovertime.Nevertheless,theseprogramshavehelpedtoinformour
recommendationsandrepresentavaluablestaringpointforHewletttobegintounderstandhow
oTPDmightplayanimportantroleinscalingDeeperLearning.
Whilewelookedatdozensofonlineprograms,weinclude10profilesinourpaper.Afewof
theseprogramshavebeenreferencedthroughoutthebodyofthepaperandtheyareofparticular
interestbecause,notonlydotheydisplaynoteworthypresenceofthecorequalityindicators,but
theyalsoaddress,insomeform,oneormoreoftheidentifiedemergingtrends.Weofferthe
followinglistofprogramsandsomekeyhighlightsasaguidetotheexplorationofthe10full
profilesinAppendixA.
PROFILEDPROGRAMSLIST
ProgramHighlights
NewTeacherCenter’seMSS IntensiveCoachingSubjectMatterExpertsSelf‐selectedTeacherInquiry
EdutopiaPBLBootCamp ProjectBasedLearningLearnerDriven
e-learning and Deeper Learning 41
WestEd—August 2011
Web2.0TechnologiesHighlyCollaborative
PowerfulLearningPractice LearnerDrivenWeb2.0TechnologiesActionResearchHighlyCollaborative
MAT@USC SynchronousVideoChatRegularVideoAnalysisMobileAppsHighlyCollaborative
TeachscapeReflect VideoCapture,Storage&AnalysisEffectiveTeachingFramework
TeachscapeProfessionalLearningSuite
ExpertInterviewVideosVideosofPracticeClassroomResourcesDiscussions
ExpeditionaryLearningCommons
CollaborativeProjectDesignToolMentorFeedback
PBSTeacherLine MastersLevelCoursesClassroom‐EmbeddedCourseworkTools&SupportforCoaches
IntelTeach 21stCenturySkillsReflectiveCourseDesignStudent‐CenteredApproaches
TeachingChannel High‐QualityVideoVideoAnnotationToolCommonCoreStandardsAligned
StrategicLiteracyInitiative(profiledinthebodyofthispaper)
ReadingApprenticeshipApplicationofPracticeFollowedbyReflection
e-learning and Deeper Learning 42
WestEd—August 2011
TECHNOLOGY PROFILES INTRODUCTION IfteachersaretofosterDeeperLearningskillsintoday’sstudents,theywillneedtobeable
toleveragetechnology,integratingitinthelearningexperience.TheNationalEducation
TechnologyPlan2010,inaveinrelatedtoDeeperLearningskills,refersto“aconnectedteaching
model,”consonantwithteachingandlearningenvisionedintheDeeperLearningInitiative,where
“classroomeducatorsarefullyconnectedtolearningdataandtoolsforusingthedata;to
content,resources,andsystemsthatempowerthemtocreate,manage,andassessengaging
andrelevantlearningexperiences;anddirectlytotheirstudentsinsupportoflearningboth
inandoutofschool”(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,2010).
Ourresearchandcompilationinthispapercorroborateswhatthenationalplanargues:“the
technologythatenablesconnectedteachingisavailablenow,butnotalltheconditionsnecessaryto
leverageitare”(2010).Oneoftheseconditionsisclearlycontentpedagogicalknowledgerelatedto
theuseoftechnologytosupportlearning.
IsourcurrentteachingforcereadytofullyembracethismodelanddeveloptheDeeper
Learningthatstudentssodesperatelyneed?Thenationalplanrecognizesthat,“manyofour
existingeducatorsdonothavethesameunderstandingofandeasewithusingtechnologythatis
partofthedailylivesofprofessionalsinothersectors.Thesamecanbesaidofmanyofthe
educationleadersandpolicymakersinschools,districts,andstatesandofthehighereducation
institutionsthatprepareneweducatorsforthefield”(2010).
ThisidentifiedneedforteacherdevelopmentaroundtechnologyisechoedinTheNMC
HorizonReport:2011K12Edition,wheretheauthorsexplain,
“digitalmedialiteracycontinuesitsriseinimportanceasakeyskillineverydisciplineand
profession.Thechallenge[ineducation]isduetothefactthatdespitethewidespread
agreementonitsimportance,trainingindigitalliteracyskillsandtechniquesisrarein
teachereducationandschooldistrictprofessionaldevelopmentprograms”(Johnson,2011).
AnewvisionofeducationmustnotonlyinvolveteachersinauthenticDeeperLearning
experiences—thosethatincludecollaboration,reflection,problem‐solving,buildingcontent
knowledge,andusingdata—butalsomustcallformeaningfulexperienceswithtechnologicaltools
asintegralsupportsintheirlearningprocesses.As“digitalnatives,”today’syouth—and
increasinglythenewestgenerationsofteachers—livetheirlivesonline.As“digitalimmigrants,”
manyeducatorswillbethesecondlanguagelearnersinthisnewculturethatisincreasinglyshaped
e-learning and Deeper Learning 43
WestEd—August 2011
bytheuseoftechnology.Schoolsmustsupportthisshift,buildingcommunitiesthatuseandvalue
newtechnologicaltoolsforlife‐longlearning(OECD,2008).
OnenoteworthydistrictinTucson,Arizona,VailSchoolDistrict,isleveragingtechnologyto
aidinbothcollaborationandprofessionaldevelopmentofitsteachingforce.Challengedbyreduced
budgetsandsubstandardtestscores,thedistrictsetouttoreinventitsapproachwithcurriculum
andinstruction.Thedistrictrealizedthatsomethingabouttheircurrentsystemwashinderingtheir
studentsfromexcellingonthestateassessments.Eitherthetextbookswerenotalignedtothe
assessmentscloselyenough,orteacherswerenotabletocoverallofthecurriculumintimetotake
thetest.
Insteadoflettingtextbooksdrivewhatwashappeninginclassrooms,thedistrictdecidedto
startwiththestandardsandenlistteachersateverylevelandeverysubjectareatolocateresources
forteachersandstudentstouseformasteryofthestandards.FindingresourcesontheInternet
waseasy,butorganizingthemintoalogicalandapproachablemethodprovedtobemoredifficult.
Vaildecidedtousewikitechnologytoliststandardsateachgradelevelandsubject,andthen
cataloguedresourcesthatcouldbeusedtoteachthosestandards.Thewikifeatures“pacing
calendars”thatguidesalogicalsequenceforteachingthestandards.BecauseitisWeb‐based,
“Teachersusethewikitoreviewthecurriculumandcalendars,locateandshareresourcematerials,
andcommunicateandcollaboratewithpeersacrossthedistrictwhousethesamecurriculumbut
whowouldnototherwisebeavailabletoshareresourcesandprovideothersupport”(Carney,
2011).
TheindividualtechnologiesreferencedinAppendixBcansupportDeeperLearninggoals
whenintegratedeffectivelyintoprofessionaldevelopmentprograms.Inourreview,weobserved
manyofthesetoolsbeingusedindependentlyandinformallytosupportlearning,providing
creativevisionsofhowexistingprovidersmightusethemmoreproductively.Wehaveprofiled
thesetechnologiesasaresourcetoHewlettanditsgranteestobetterunderstandhowthesetools
cansupportbothadultandstudentlearning.Themajorityofthesetoolscanbeusedatlittleorno
cost.ManyprogramsprofiledinthispaperrelyontoolsfromthislisttosupporttheDeeper
LearningqualityindicatorsforoTPD.
Whileallofthefollowingtechnologieshavepromisewhenusedinformaland/orinformal
learningenvironments,onetechnologyhasparticularlyhighpotentialtosupportaneffectiveonline
coachingandfeedbackprocesses.VoiceThreadisaveryexcitingtool,andthisfallitwillbe
launchingamobileversion.WeheardonereportfromauniversityprofessoratBYUaboutteaching
assistantswhowereusingVoiceThreadtocorrespondwithstudentsanddoofficehours,etc.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 44
WestEd—August 2011
StudentsreportedfeelingmoreconnectedandsupportedbytheirTA’swhowereusing
VoiceThreadthanthosetheyweremeetinginsmallface‐to‐facegroups.Foranyprogram
attemptingtooffercoachingordirectpeer‐to‐peerfeedback,VoiceThreadisworthaseriouslook.
TECHNOLOGIESPROFILEDLIST
VoiceThread
Google+
VideoSharing:YouTube,Vimeo,TeacherTube
Podcasts
Blogs
RSSandGoogleReader
Ning
Skype
Delicious
Diigo
Tinychat
Wikis
GoogleAppsforEducation
Edmodo
BlackboardCollaborate
Slideshare
e-learning and Deeper Learning 45
WestEd—August 2011
APPENDIX A – PROGRAM PROFILES
NEWTEACHERCENTER’SE‐MENTORINGFORSTUDENTSUCCESS(EMSS)
BACKGROUNDTheNewTeacherCenterinSantaCruz,California,hasbeenprovidingface‐to‐facetrainingforteachercoachesandsite‐basedmentoringandcoachingfornewteacherssince1998.NTClaunchedeMSS,e‐MentoringforStudentSuccess,tobroadentheirreachandimpact:“beginningmath,science,andspecialeducationteachersarematchedwithamentorbasedonsimilarteachingassignmentsandgradelevelratherthanonproximityorconvenience.WithInternetaccess,alleMSSactivitiesanddiscussionscanbedone“anytimeandanywhere."Fromthe2011FinalReport:e‐MentoringforStudentSuccess(eMSS)completeditsninthyearasahighlyinteractiveonlinescienceandmatheducationcommunityandsawtheadditionofthefirstfullyearofeMSS‐SpecialEducation.TheeMSSprogramoriginatedfromapartnershipoftheNationalScienceTeachersAssociation(NSTA),theNewTeacherCenter(NTC),andtheScienceMathResourceCenteratMontanaStateUniversity(MSU)withfundingfromtheNationalScienceFoundationtodevelopanationalnetworkforonlinementoringforbeginningscienceandmathteachers.In2007,fundingwasreceivedfromGoldmanSachstodevelopeMSS‐Math.WiththefinancialsupportofthestateDepartmentsofEducationofNevada,Louisiana,andfundsfromtheUSDepartmentOfEducation,OSEPtodeveloptheinfrastructure,eMSSembarkedonsupportingspecialeducationteachersinthespringof2010.NOTEWORTHYNTCsface‐to‐faceprofessionaldevelopmentisatightlystructured,highlydesignedmodel.TheyfacedchallengessharedbyStrategicLiteracyInitiativeandExpeditionaryLearningSchoolswhentransitioningtoanonlineprofessionaldevelopmentmodel:howtosupportaninquiry‐based,highlycollaborative,learner‐drivenlearningmodelthattheyhadbeensuccessfulwithinface‐to‐facesettingsinanonlineenvironment?Whatwouldbetherolesofthefacilitator,coach,mentorandorganizationinthisnewparadigm?Inthisprofile,weofferexamplesofwaysthatNTChasbeguntodevelopstructuresandsupportsforcollaborativeinquiryintopracticebasedontheircoachingandmentoringmodel.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevanceTheeMSSprogram,drawingonNTCsprovenmodelofstructuredcoaching,engagesteachersinavarietyoflearningexperiencesthatextendoverthecourseofayear,describedbelow.Thesecoreactivitiesarehighlyrelevant,job‐embeddedinquiriesintopractice.
• Inquiries,whichformthecoreoftheeMSSprogram,areeightweek,onlineconversationsbasedonclassroompractices.Menteesself‐selectinquiriesbasedoninterestorneedandeachInquiryisflexibleandadaptableforamentee'sownuniqueteachingsituation.Agroupofmenteesandmentors,guidedbyafacilitator,worktogetheronanInquiryoveraperiodofeightweeks.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 46
WestEd—August 2011
• Dilemmasareshort,open‐endedscenariosthatposeaquestionaboutaspecificteachingissue.FacilitatorsdesignthescenarioinresponsetoMenteequestionsraisedindiscussionforums.MenteesandmentorsparticipateinonlinefacilitateddiscussionsofferingpossiblesolutionstoaDilemma.ThenatureandstructureofaDilemmainvitesawiderangeofideas,offersopportunitiestoexchangecontrastingviewpointsandmotivatesteacherstorespond.
• ContentFocus.eMSSdifferentiatesitselffromotheronlineprogramsbyprovidingaccesstocontentspecialists—practicingscientistsfromuniversitiesintheareasofphysics,lifescience,chemistry,earthscienceaswellasmathematicseducators.Thebeginningteachershaveauniqueopportunitytoengagewithuniversityscientistsandmathematiciansonadailybasis.
ReflectionTheeMSSprogramengagesteachersindeepreflectionandcriticalanalysisofpractice.NTC’stoolsforreflectiononpracticearewell‐testedintheface‐to‐facesetting,andtheextenttowhichtheseareintegratedintheironlinemodelisofvaluetoothers.
• InquiriesfollowaPlan,Practice,andReflectcycle.TherearethreesessionsofInquiriesofferedduringtheyear:fall,winter,andspring.Eachsessionoffersachoiceoftopicssomenteescanselectanarearelevanttotheirteaching.InquiriesfollowaPlan,Practice,andReflectcycle.Thiscycleallowsmenteestodigdeepintoatopicinamannerthatcanbeappliedtootheraspectsoftheirteaching.DuringInquiries,menteespostplansforinstructionandreflectionsonimplementationandreceivefeedbackfrommentorsandpotentiallyothermenteesintheinquirygroup.
• Skypeandvideoanalysisofclassroompractice.Mentorsmeetonlinewithmenteesandofferpersonalcoaching,usingNTCsprovenprotocolsforcriticallyexaminingclassroompractice.
• Basedonthesecoachingconversations,menteesengageinDilemmasandContentFocusedforumstoexploreandbuildknowledgeaboutareasofpracticethey(andtheirmentors)identifyasareasforprofessionalgrowth.
CollaborationSeveralaspectsoftheeMSSsupportcollaboration.Muchofthiscollaborationisbetweenmentorsandmentees,andsonecessarilylimited,however,thedepthofcriticalconversation,accesstoexpertiseandthewaysinwhichmentorsandfacilitatorssupportmeaningfulsocialinteractionisnoteworthyandworthexaminingfurtherasamodelofthetransformedroleoftheteacherinaonlineenvironment.
• HighQualityeMSSTrainedMentorsSupportMentees.Whileasmallstaffmanagestheprogram,itisthementorsandfacilitatorswhoseday‐to‐dayinteractionswiththebeginningteacherscomprisetheheartoftheeMSSprogram.ThementorsselectedforeMSShaveanimpressivearrayofcredentialsandmustsuccessfullycompleteathree‐week,onlinesummerintensiveprofessionaldevelopmentwiththegoalsofbuildingtrustingrelationships,strengtheningonlineskills,andunderstandingtheroleofamentorandtheonlinelearningenvironment.Mentorssupportcriticalconversation,surfaceandofferexpertiseandguidesociallyconstructedcollaborativeconversationthatisuncommonifnotunique.
• Criticalconversationsandsociallymediatedlearning.Facilitatorsandmentorsprovidesignificantscaffolding,posingquestionsandothersupportivemodelsofeffectivecommunicationfocusedoninquiryandcriticalconversationaboutpractice.Thisisnoteworthyinaprofessionthathastraditionallynotsupportedthiskindofprofessionalconversation.Asprofessionaldevelopmentprovidersdeveloponlinemodels,findingnew
e-learning and Deeper Learning 47
WestEd—August 2011
rolesforthe"teacher"inthissettingiscrucial.NTChasfoundroleswherethevoiceoftheteacherispresentasasourcebutnotarbiterofexpertise.
• Videoanalysisandpersonalizedcoaching.eMSSisusingoccasionalvideoanalysistofacilitatementoringfeedback.Thisisworthfurtherstudy.
ContentKnowledgeOfparticularnoteintheNTCmodelisthesupportfordevelopmentofcontentknowledgethroughthecommunity,contentfocusedforums,combinedwithcontentpedagogicalknowledgedevelopmentintheInquiries,Dilemmasandpersonalizedcoaching.Few,ifany,programs,havesuchatightlyintegratedandcloselysupportedmodel.
• Contentspecialists.eMSSdifferentiatesitselffromotheronlineprogramsbyprovidingaccesstocontentspecialists—practicingscientistsfromuniversitiesintheareasofphysics,lifescience,chemistry,earthscienceaswellasmathematicseducators.Thebeginningteachershaveauniqueopportunitytoengagewithuniversityscientistsandmathematiciansonadailybasis.
EffectivenessDataNTC,withfundingfromNSTAandNSF,hascontractedwithHorizon,anoutsideevaluator,tocollectandanalyzedataaboutteacherengagementanduseoftheonlineenvironmentandimpact.TheseareincludedintheFinalReportsinappendixB.NTCusesthisdatatoinformnextstepsforimprovingtheonlinelearningmodel.ResourcesandReferenceseMSSWhitePaper:AnOnline,Content‐FocusedMentoringProgramforSecondaryMathandScienceTeachers.Preparedby:LynnKepp,AlysonMike,NewTeacherCenteratUniversityofCaliforniaSantaCruz,January20092010‐2011eMSS‐SCIENCEFINALREPORT.725FrontStreet,Suite400,SantaCruz,CA95060
e-learning and Deeper Learning 48
WestEd—August 2011
EDUTOPIA’SPBLCAMP BACKGROUNDInthesummerof2010,EdutopiahostedaProject‐BasedLearning(PBL)Campasanonlineprofessionaldevelopmentexperienceforeducatorsaroundthecountry.Thedrivingquestionforthecampwas:“HowcanweturntheGulfdisasterintomeaningfullearningopportunitiesforourstudents?”Thisexperiencewasonlyofferedonce.Anonlinecommunity‐‐includingteachers,pre‐serviceeducators,administrators,andtechnologyintegrationspecialists‐‐cametogethertoplanstudentprojectsinresponsetotheGulfofMexicooilspill.PBLCampwasfacilitatedbySuzieBoss,anEdutopiacontributorandco‐authorofReinventingProjectBasedLearning.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevance
• Thelearningprocesswasself‐directed,jobembedded.• Teachersputthemselvesintogroupsbasedontheprojectstheywereinterestedinworking
on.• Awikipagewascreatedasamatchingservicetoallowteacherstoproposeprojectideas
andtofindprojectsthatmightinterestthem.• Thegoalofthecampwastolearnmoreaboutprojectbasedlearningbydesigningaproject
withotherteachersthatcouldbetaughtintheupcomingyear.Collaboration
• ThePBLCampusedthePBworkswikitooltobuildacommunitywithuserprofilesandorganizealltheresourcesforthree‐weekexperience.
• Theparticipantsusedacommonplanningtemplateandthecommentingfeaturestodesigntheproject.
• Eachprojectplancouldbeeditedbyanyoneworkingontheproject.• Acommentfeaturewasenabledonthesamepageoftheplantoallowforteammembers
andothersinthecommunitytoprovidefeedback.ReflectionReflectionandfeedbackwasbuiltintothedesignandplanningprocess.Becauseitwasabriefsummerexperience,therewasn’ttimetoallowforfeedbackfromstudentorteachershavingtriedtheactualproject.ContentKnowledgeSuzieBossusedPBLstrategiesthroughoutthecampsothatparticipantswouldhavetheexperienceofparticipatinginacollaborativeproject(whilealsoplanningaprojectfortheirstudents).Forexample,thecampincorporatedthesePBLfeatures:
• Drivingquestion:HowcanweturntheGulfdisasterintomeaningfullearningopportunities
forourstudents?• Entryevent:Akick‐offwebinarwasdesignedtosparkinquiry,justasentryeventsareused
tolaunchprojectsintheclassroom.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 49
WestEd—August 2011
• Experts:Variousexperts(i.e.,wildlifescientistsandresidentsofGulfregionaffectedbythespill)sharedinsightsduringPBLCampinresponsetoquestionsparticipantswereasking.
• Teams:PBLCampersself‐organizedintosmallteams,typicallyaroundgradelevels,contentareas,orsharedinterestsandcollaboratedonprojectplanning.
• Technology:Avarietyoftechnologytoolswereintroducedandusedforauthenticpurposes.Examples:Elluminateforwebinars,Twitterforsynchronouschats,Edutopiagroupsforasynchronousdiscussions,wikiforcollaborativeprojectplanningandresourcesharing,Deliciousforresourcesharing,blogsforreflection,andPBworksforprojectplanningandorganization
• Culminatingevent:PBLCampconcludedwithseveralteamsofparticipantssharingtheirprojectplanswithanauthenticaudience(viaElluminate)andreflectingontheexperience.
Thefollowingtechnologytoolswereintroducedandusedforauthenticpurposes:
• Elluminateforwebinars• Twitterforsynchronouschats• Edutopiagroupsforasynchronousdiscussions• PBworksforcollaborativeprojectplanningandresourcesharing• Deliciousforbookmarksharing• Blogsforreflection
EffectivenessDataAsafreeprofessionaldevelopmentprogram,theinitialinterestinparticipatingwasextremelyhigh.Edutopiadidnotformallytrackthenumberofparticipants;however,registrationwascappedat1,000andthisnumberwasreachedwithinaweekofannouncingthecamp.Somefolksdroppedout,somefolksdippedinandout,buttheonesthatstuckwithitandformedproductiveteamsgotveryfarandplannedcompellingunitsthatwereusedinclassroomsthispastyear.OneteacherbecamesopassionateabouttheworkthathedecidedtodevotehisentireteachingpracticetothePBLapproach.Anotherteachercreatedabloggingspacecalled“VoicesoftheGulf.”ManyoftheprojectplansareavailableforviewingonthePBLBootCampwiki(www.pblcamp.pbworks.com)WhatisEdutopia?Edutopia.orgisaninteractivewebsitedesignedtodisseminateinnovativeeducationalpracticesforgradesK‐12intheformofin‐deptharticles,videoclips,interviewsandlinkstoothersites.Edutopiahopestoconnectandinspirepositivechangeinallareasofeducationbyoffering“practical,hands‐onadvice,real‐worldexamples,livelycontributionsfrompractitioners,andinvaluabletipsandtools.”Thesite’smanyvideoscanhelpeducatorsandparents,aswellasbusinessandcommunityleadersvisualizethekindsofinnovationsthatmightbepossibleintheircommunities.Edutopia’scoreconceptsincludeIntegratedStudies,ProjectLearning,Social&EmotionalLearning,TechnologyIntegration,andTeacherDevelopment.CostPBLCampwasofferedatnochargetoparticipants.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 50
WestEd—August 2011
ResourcesandReferenceshttp://www.edutopia.org/project‐based‐learning‐summer‐camp
POWERFULLEARNINGPRACTICEBACKGROUNDPowerfulLearningPractice(PLP)issmall,privatecompanyrunbyWillRichardsonandSherylNussbaum‐Beach.PLP’sprimaryofferingisayear‐longprogramofexperiencesthatasksteacherstoconductcollaborativeactionresearchthatmoldsteachersintoconnectedlearners.AccordingtoNussbaum‐Beach,“becomingalearnerfirstandteachersecond,iswhatitmeanstobea21stcenturyeducator?PLP’scoreprogramisayear‐longblendofface‐to‐faceandjob‐embeddedonlinelearning.Itisofferedinthreeone‐yearsegments.Learningcommunitiesofapproximately100arebuiltbycombining5‐memberteamsfrom20differentschoolswithinageographicareatoprovidearichanddiverselearningexperience.Eachyearoflearningincludestwodaysofface‐to‐facesessions.Thefirstface‐to‐faceeventisafulldayofrelationship‐buildingandintroductiontonormsandgoals.Theyearendswithaculminatingeventwhereteamssharetheirinquiryworkwiththerestofthecommunity.Duringtheyear,fivetwo‐houronlinesessionsareprovided,aswellasongoinginstruction,peer‐to‐peercollaborationandsupportinanonlinelearningcommunitysupportedbythePLPleaders.Communitiescancontinueforuptothreeyears.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevanceAtthecoreofthecommunityworkiscollaborativeactionresearch.Eachfive‐memberteamdevelopsanactionresearchplanand,withthesupportofacoach,pursuesaquestionofinterestandpossiblesolutions.Forexample,“Howdoyoutieintostudentpassionandstillmeetstatemandates?”ReflectionTestimonial‘..theexperienceshookmeoutofacomfortablepositionofbeing“TheTeacher”andencouragedandcajoledmebackintobeing“TheStudent.”PLPgavemeaforumwithinwhichtostretchmyself.Itgavemepeopletotalktoalongtheway,toshareconfusionsandfrustrationsaswellassuccessesandjoys.Itallowedmetomoveslowly,stepbystep,outofonecomfortzoneintoanother,onewherethecolleaguesIshareandlearnfromcircletheglobe.AsIlivethat,Icanshareitwithmystudentsandempowerthemfortheworldthatwillbetheirfuture.’‐HadleyFerguson,SpringsideSchoolCollaboration
• Teamsworkaspersonallearningnetworks,connecting,havingfun,harvestinglinks,designingtheirownlearningandexcitedtobelearnersagain.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 51
WestEd—August 2011
• TeachersuseNing,wikis,Twitter,Delicioustoshareideasandconducttheiractionresearchwiththeircoachesandoneanother.
• Everysixweeks,awebinarconvenestheentirecommunitytofocusonlearninganewtoolforstrengtheningthecollaboration.
• Attheendoftheyear,aculminatingeventoccursinwhichtheistheActionResearchresultsarepresentedinperson.
• Coachesbringinexperiencedvoices,teachersorexpertsintheareaofresearch,toworkwiththeteams.
• Inbetweenthewebinarsthereisonlineinteraction,sometimesonadailybasis.ContentKnowledge
• Teachersareabletoexperienceauthenticlearning(i.e.collaboration,contentexpertise,problem‐solving,communication,instructionalskills,andhaveameaningfulexperiencewithtechnologyasacriticaltoolintheprocess.
• Teachersparticipateintheverykindsofnetworkedlearningthattheymustfacilitateforkids.Whilemorenationalorganizationsarecallingfortheteachingofthese21stcenturyskills,fewmodelsexistforpreparingclassroomteacherstodelivertheseliteracies.
• Experiencedvoices(practitioneroracademic)arebroughtinbycoachestoworkwiththeteams.
PotentiallimitationsInyearone,theactionresearchislessfocusedonclassroompracticeandmoreongroupsystemsinaschoolordistrict.Inyeartwotheactionresearchtendstofocusmoreonclassroompractice.Videoanalysistoolswouldbeawelcomeadditionhere.CostThecostforaoneyearprogramwhichincludestwofull‐dayworkshops,fivewebinarsandavarietyofonlinetoolsforcontinualcollaboration,is$1,500ayearperperson.ResourcesandReferenceshttp://plpnetwork.com/
USCONLINEMASTERSINTEACHING(MAT@USC) BACKGROUNDTheMAT@USCisayear‐longmastersinteachingprogramdeliveredentirelyonlinetostudentsacrosstheUSandaroundtheworld.TheMAT@USCisspecificallydesignedtopreparecurrentandaspiringteacherswiththeknowledge,skillsandexperienceneededfortoday’sclassrooms.Itiscombinesinteractiveonlinelearningwithintensive,school‐basedfieldworkexperiences.SinceUSCfirstlaunchedMAT@USCfouryearsago,over1,500studentshaveenrolledintheprogram.Studentscomefrom45statesand25countries,includingTurkey,JapanandSouthKorea.TheMAT@USCnowisthecountry'sfastestgrowingteacherpreparationprogramsandhasplacedstudentsatmorethan700schooldistrictsand1,400individualschoolsaroundthecountryforpracticum.ItistheonlyonlineMATprogramfromaneliteresearchuniversity.TheMAT@USCprogramenrolled144studentsduringitsfirstyear,2009.In2010,itenrolled1,000students,anditexpectsanenrollmentofaround2,000studentsin2011.MAT@USCisonpacetobecomethecountry'slargestnot‐for‐profitteacherprepprogramby2013.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 52
WestEd—August 2011
MAT@USCisuniquefromotheronlineprogramsbecauseitstrivestoofferatrueclassroomexperiencewheremeaningfulrelationships(personalandprofessional)arefostered.Asonestudentreports,"...allstudentsarefacingeachotherandtheprofessorthroughoutthewholeclass.Theymightbeindifferentcities,states,orcountries,buttheyinteractinanon‐the‐spotmanner,sometimesinteractingwiththewholeclass,sometimesinbreak‐outgroups,andothertimesinstudygroups.ThatsaidIamdelightedwhenIamabletointeractwithmyclassmatesoutsideofclass."Whenstudentsentertheonline“classroom,"theyseeaBradyBunchstylematrixoflive‐streamvideoheadshotsof10‐12studentsandtheprofessor.Duringclass,whichisscheduledseveraltimesthroughouttheweek,studentscantakenotes,viewslides,discussquestionsonaTwitter‐likechatpod,breakintogroups,orvirtually“raisetheirhand”toansweraquestion.Studentscompletethestudentteachingcomponentoftheprogramatoneoftheirlocalschools.StudentperformanceisevaluatedbyasupervisingteacheratthatschoolandtheUSCinstructor,whowatchesvideosthatthestudentstakeofthemselvesteaching.About80%ofthefirstclass,accordingtoUSC,iscurrentlyemployedasteachers.TheprogramhasasignificantFacebookpresenceaswell.Over11,330people"like"theMasterofArtsinTeachingatUSCpage,wherestudentsandtheirfriendscansendbadges,takepolls,viewvideos,andshareteachingstories.Mobile:USChasrecentlyteamedupwithNewYorkbasedTouchAppMediaand2tor,Inc.tointroduceoneofthefirstmobileappsforhighereducation/teachertraining.“YoucandoeverythingontheiPadappthatyoucoulddoonyourlaptop,”saysSundt,associatedeanofacademicprogramsatUSC’sRossierSchoolofEducation.2torprovidesaplatformforonlinegraduatedegreeprogramsthatusesreal‐timetechnologytomimicaphysicalclassroomascloselyaspossible.Thepremiseof2toristhatexcellentlearningcanoccuronlineiftheuniversitycontrolsthefaculty,thecurriculum,andtheselectiveadmissions,while2torprovidesanexceptionallearningenvironment.Startinglastspring,Georgetown'sSchoolofNursingandHealthStudiesofferedamaster'sprogramforfamilynursepractitioners.JulieDeLoia,theschool'sinterimdean,claimsthat"Fiveyearsagoweneverwouldhavedonethisbecausethetechnologywastoostatic,itwastoolinear,soitwasaone‐wayconversation.Inthelastfewyearsthetechnologyissuchthatwecanhavedynamicengagement."The2torplatformisasmuchapersonalteachingenvironmentandsocialnetworkasitisacoursemanagementsystem.PotentialLimitations:MAT@USCisstillaclosedplatform.Thenextstepwouldbetoopenitup.MeloraSundt,associatedeanofacademicprograms,wantstobuildanalumniwikinetworkthatcouldco‐writelessonplansandsharebestpracticesfromaroundtheworld.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 53
WestEd—August 2011
2torisacommercialsoftwarethatmaynotbeaffordabletomanynon‐profits.SomedownsidestoMAT@USC’smobileapparecontentcreation(it’shardtotypepapersonaniPhone)andfilesharing(documentscreatedontheiPadcan’tbetransferredeasilytodifferentapps).Butasnewtechnologiescomealongtostreamlinetheonlinelearningenvironment,thisshouldimprove.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevance
• Studentsattendliveonlineclasssessionsonaweeklybasiswheretheycanactivelyengagewiththeirprofessorandclassmatesinreal‐time,face‐to‐facediscussions.
• Thereisliveonlinechatassistance.Reflection
• StudentsreceivefeedbackclassroomteachingexperiencesbyuploadingvideosofworkanddiscussingthemwiththeirprofessorsandGuidingTeacher.
• Studentsuploaddailyvideosoftheirclassroomexperience.Collaboration
• Studentscanchatwithclassmates,postandcommentontheirwalls,joincommunities,andformstudygroups.
ContentKnowledge
• Courseworkismadeupoforiginaldocumentary‐stylevideos,readingmaterials,andclassassignments.
• Theschoolisexperimentingwithrecordedorsimulatedlessonsfortopicstheycan'tfilmaseffectivelyoncamera.
ResourcesandReferences:http://mat.usc.edu/FacebookPagehttp://www.facebook.com/MATatUSC2tor,thecompanythatcreatesthetechnicalsideoftheMAT@USCplatformhttp://2tor.com/Mashable,"TheCasefortheVIrtualClassroom,"bySarahKesslerhttp://mashable.com/2011/01/03/virtual‐classroom/DailyTrojan,"USCNowRebrandsOnlineEd"byRachelBrackerhttp://dailytrojan.com/2011/06/07/uscnow‐rebrands‐online‐ed/TheAtlantic,College?There'sanAppforThat:HowUSCBuilta21stCenturyClassroom,byDerekThompson,May27,2011http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/college‐theres‐an‐app‐for‐that‐how‐usc‐built‐a‐21st‐century‐classroom/239554/
e-learning and Deeper Learning 54
WestEd—August 2011
TEACHSCAPEREFLECT BACKGROUNDTeachscapeReflect(TR)isaprofessionaldevelopmenttoolthatcombinesa360‐degree,panoramicvideocapture,onlinetoolsforcollaborationandframeworkstomeasureeffectiveteaching.WhileateachercanuseTRforself‐reviewandself‐reflection,instructionalleaderscanuseTRtosupportbothindividualcoachingandprofessionallearningcommunities.TRenableseducatorstocaptureacompleteviewoftheclassroom,andthenuseweb‐basedsoftwaretoreview,comment,andsharethevideowithcolleagues.Setupandrecordingiseasy.PanoramicvideosareautomaticallyuploadedandsavedtoTeachscape’ssecurewebsitewheretheycanbeviewedon‐demand,commentedupon,andsharedfromanyinternet‐connectedcomputer.AllteachersandadministratorsinaschoolhaveaccesstoTRhardware,videocapture,andonlinetoolstoview,share,catalog,commentupon,orpublishvideos.InpartnershipwiththeBill&Melindagatesfoundation,theTRtechnologywasdevelopedoutoftheMeasuresofEffectiveTeaching(MET)project,inpartnershipwiththeBill&MelindaGatesFoundation.Ithasbeenusedtocaptureandscoremorethan20,000lessonsinover3,000classroomsnationwide.TRenablesthemeasurementofteachingpracticeagainstCharlotteDanielson'sinstructionalframeworkordistrict‐createdframeworks,makingthetoolequallyvaluableforlearningandevaluation.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNING RelevanceThroughvideo‐basedself‐reflection,teacherscantakecontroloftheirownprofessionallearning.Teacherscanworkonspecificareasofpracticeinwhichtheywanttoimprove.TRenablesthecaptureofentirelessonsaswellastheuploadoflessonartifactssuchaslessonplansandstudentwork.Teacherscanchoosetowhichlessonsorartifactstoshare,inordertoprovidepeerswithexamplesofsuccessfulteachingortoseekcommentsforgrowthandcollaboration.Panningaroundtheclassroomorzoominginandoutonstudents,theteacher,ortheboard,allowstheanalysistofocusonparticularactivitiesorbehaviors.Teacherscanalsoassessstudentengagementandevaluatehowstudents’learningneedswereaddressed.TRprovidesthetoolstodevelopacommonlanguageofeffectiveteachingandtoshareconcretevisualexamples.Thepanoramicvideocaptureprovidesteachersandadministratorswitha“visualdictionary”foridentifying,discussing,andpromotingeffectivepractices.ReflectionTeacherscanview,reflecton,andanalyzetheirownclassroominstructionanditsimpactonstudentlearningfromhome,fromschool.fromanywhere.Teacherscangainperformananalysisoftheirteachingstrategies,getfeedbackfromtheircoaches(notprovidedbyTeachscape)andmakeadjustmentsthatimprovetheirpractice.CollaborationAsharedvideolibrarythatallowsteacherstolearnfromoneanother.Teacherscanrevieweachother’slessonsonline,orjointlyview360‐degreeclassroomfootagetodiscussspecificstrengthsorimprovementareas.Searchtoolsalloweasyretrievalifrecordedlessonswithinyourvideolibrary.Instructionalleadersandcoachescanreviewvideofootageoflessonsalongsideteachersandidentifyspecificgrowthopportunities.InstructionalleaderscanalsouseTeachscapeReflecttocultivateanddeepenaschool‐
e-learning and Deeper Learning 55
WestEd—August 2011
widecultureofcontinuousimprovement.ContentKnowledgeContentexpertsfromacrossthedistrictcanjointheviewingsessions.EffectivenessDataAnentireschooldistrictcanbenefitfromsharedvideolibrariesthatprovidelocallydevelopedexamplesofexcellentteachinginspecificcontentareas,andcommentsprovidedbytheentireprofessionallearningcommunity.TeachscapeReflectcomespre‐loadedwiththewidelyusedandhighlyrespectedFrameworkforTeachingcreatedbyCharlotteDanielson,providingaresearch‐basedfoundationforasystematicandscalableteacherevaluationsystem.Evaluatorscanusethepanoramicvideostoevaluateandscoreclassroomvideos.ResourcesandReferenceshttp://www.teachscape.com/reflect
TEACHSCAPEPROFESSIONALLEARNINGSUITE
BACKGROUNDTeachscapeProfessionalLearningSuite(PLS)deliversonlinelearningmodulesandprofessionallearningcommunities.PLSprovidesaover10,000resources,including:videos,activities,discussions,casestudies,aswellascoursedevelopmentandcoachingtools.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevance
• Provideseasy‐to‐usefunctionsforcustomizingandarchivingpersonallycreatedcollectionsofprofessionaldevelopmentmaterials.Userscandraganddropitemsfromthemultimediadatabaseintofolderstheyhavecreatedintheirownlibraries.Theseitemscanthenbeannotated,ordered,editedandsaved.
• Afine‐grained,multi‐criteriasearchandretrievalfunctionallowsuserstoquicklylocatethesystemresourcesmostrelevanttotheirparticularneedsorinterests.Thumbnaildescriptionsandcontentmapsareprovidedforeachitemreturnedbyasearch,makingiteasyforuserstoquicklybrowsethroughandselectmaterialsforuse.
• Interviewswithresearcherswhoareexpertwiththestrategies.• Teacherscanviewexamplesofteachersteachingthestrategiestobelearnedandread
commentaryfromthefilmedteachers.• Teacherscansubmittheirownprofessionallearningresources,uploadvideosofteaching,
andsharelessonplansandstudentwork.Reflection
• Reflectionisencouragedinthediscussionarea.• Resourcescanbeannotatedforfuturereference.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 56
WestEd—August 2011
Collaboration
• Discussionsallowteacherswithinschoolsandacrossadistrictsharecontentfromtheonlinemodules.Throughouteachmodule,teachersareencouragedtoengageindiscussionaboutthecontentandpeer‐to‐peerbrainstorming.
• Teachersareabletosetuptheirownschool‐based,on‐linelearninggroupsthroughwhichmemberscanshareresources,participateindiscussions,andengageincollaborativeworkonanon‐goingbasis.
• Teacherscanpushtheirownvideocases,resources,orstudentworktoateamofcolleaguesaswellasassessstudentworkproductsandshareactionresearch.
• Teachershaveaccesstoapublicdiscussionareawheretheycanmonitorandparticipateinthreaded‐discussiongroupsthatareopentothelargerprofessionalcommunity.Participationinthiscommunityallowsuserstotapintoexpertisethatmightbebeyondwhatisavailableintheirlocalcontext.
ContentKnowledgeVideoresourcesinclude:
• Best‐practicevideosthatshowresearch‐basedpracticesinactionintheclassroom• Commentariesbynotedresearchersthataredesignedtoprovidearesearch‐based
perspectiveonthepracticesillustrated• Teacherreflectionstopromotebetterunderstandingofthefeaturedteacher'sinstructional
decisions• Studentcommentaryonthefeaturedclassroomprocessesandstudents'experienceofthe
instructionTextresourcesaredesignedtodeepencontentunderstandingandmayinclude:
• Backgroundmaterialfocusedonbuildingacademicbackgroundknowledgeandthefeaturedpedagogy
• Researchsummariesthatsupportthefeaturedpracticeandhelpteachersunderstandwhyandhowthepracticeworks
• Classroomresources,includinglessonplans,samplestudentworkproductsfromthefeaturedlesson,assessments(includingrubrics)forassessingthestudentwork,andsuggestionsforaddressingthediverselearningneedsofstudents
Graphicalmodelsenableteacherstomanipulateandengagewiththecontentinorderto:• Deepencontentknowledgeforteaching• Promotegreaterunderstandingofcomplextopics• Illustratekeyideas
ResourcesandReferenceshttp://www.teachscape.com/txl/
e-learning and Deeper Learning 57
WestEd—August 2011
EXPEDITIONARYLEARNINGCOMMONS
BACKGROUNDTheExpeditionaryLearningWebsitehasapublicfacingsideandamembers'onlyarea.Thepublicfacingside,designedtoextendtheprogram'svisibilityandimpact,offersinformationforthepublicabouttheefficacy,theoreticalbaseandhistoryofOutwardBound'sExpeditionaryLearningSchools.Whileitobviouslyreachespotentialnewmarkets,isalsoeducative,offeringresourcesincluding:samplesofstudentprojects;ablogsharingvignettesofbestpractice,research,andnewsaboutExpeditionaryLearning;andaprofessionalreadinglibrary.TheExpeditionaryLearningCommons,thepasswordprotectedareaaccessedfromtheELhomepage,isanareaforteacherswithintheExpeditionaryLearningSchoolsNetworktoaccessresourcesandcollaboratewithothersintheExpeditionaryLearningnetworkofschools.ExpeditionaryLearning(EL)isacharteredentityofOutwardBound.Throughprofessionaldevelopment,onsitecoachingandsupportandwholeschooldesign,OutwardBound,incooperationwiththeHarvardSchoolofEducation,seekstobringessentialelementsofKurtHahn'sexperientialeducationmodel‐‐activepedagogy,leadership,service,craftsmanship,self‐reliance,reflection,amongothers‐‐intopublicschools.TheELCommons,thenameoftheirweb‐basedonlineprofessionallearningsite,isaneweffort,designedtosupporttheExpeditionarySchoolsprofessionallearningcommunityandincreaseinteractionbetweenschoolsandteachersacrossthenetwork.ExpeditionaryLearninghasbeeninvolvedinHewlett'sDeeperLearningInitiative,whichsupportssomeofthedevelopmentofthisweb‐basedlearningcommunity.Manyoftheresourcesaccessiblethroughthepublicfacingpartofthewebsitehavebeendevelopedandvettedwithinthemembers'onlyELCommons.TheCommonshasthreeareasvisibletoteachersandschoolleaders:Planner,DocumentLibraryandStudentProjectArchive.Theseprovidestrongsupportsforface‐to‐facecoachingatindividualschools.Afourtharea,StaffLibrary,isvisibleonlytoELadministrativestaffandcontainsmaterialsandresourcestosupportprofessionaldevelopmentandtheadministrationoftheELSchoolsNetwork.EachELschoolhasaschooldesigner,asitebasedleaderwhoprovidesindepth,longtermcoaching,face‐to‐facePDandleadershipdevelopment.TheschooldesignershavebeentrainedtohelpteachersandschoolsiteadministratorsaccessandusetheCommons.PLANNERTeacherscollaborateonprojectsrangingincomplexityfromExpeditions(fulllengthunitsofinstruction)toProjects(severalthematiclessons)andLessons(shorter,self‐containedunitsofinstruction).ThePlannerhasatemplatewithpromptsandresourcestohelpteachersintegrateELprinciplesandcorepractices.Forexample,asateacherorteambeginsplanninganewlesson,projectorexpedition,theybeginattheSTAtab(standards,targetsandassessments).Thistabcontainsatemplatewithpromptstoselectstandards(academic,21stCandCCSS)bystateandgradelevel,andlinkstoreadingsaboutELplanningstructuresandcriteriaforquality.Commentandsharingfunctionstoallowgroupsofteacherstocollaborateandschooldesignerscanprovidementoringandsupportduringthedesignprocess.Projectscanbepostedforsharing,andpostedprojectscanbeviewed,cloned(downloadedandedited).ELadministrationcurrentlyreviewsallpostedprojects"unshares"thosethatdonotyetmeetthecriteriaforqualityandcontactstheauthorandteamwithsuggestionsforrevision.Aspreviouslymentioned,projectsdevelopedinthisareathathavebeenevaluatedandmeetthequalitycriteriaareoftenpublishedthepublicfacingsideofthesite.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 58
WestEd—August 2011
ELadministrationiscurrentlydevelopingadditionalcollaborativefunctionsforthisarea,whichtheyintendtohaveinplacebySeptember.Thereissubstantialevidenceofteacherworkandinteractioninthisarea.Itisaveryinterestingandpromisingmodelofsupportforacollaborativelearningcommunity.Memberscancommentonlessonsthathavebeenshared.DOCUMENTLIBRARYHere,teachersandschoolleaderscanaccessfoundationalreadingsoncorepracticesandtheELmodel.Currently,thisfunctionsstrictlyasanonlinelibrary,withtheintentionthatthereadingswillbeaccessedandusedforface‐to‐faceprofessionallearningatschoolsites.Itisarich,voluminouslibraryprovidingaccesstoextensiveresources.STUDENTPROJECTARCHIVENetworkmemberscanaccessprojectscompletedbyELstudentsandvettedforqualitybyELadministrativestaff.Thesitecanbebrowsedorsearchedbygradelevel,academicdiscipline,projectformatordateposted.Eachprojectcontainssamplesofstudentwork,anoverview,suggestionsforhowtheprojectmightbeusefulandconnectionstoacademicand21stCenturystandards.ELadministrationisintheprocessofmappingCommonCoreStateStandardsontoexistingprojects,aprocessthatwillbeintegratedintothedesignofnewprojects.Memberscanmarkprojectsasfavorites,savingthemtotheirownfavoritespage,andrateprojects.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevance
• ThePlannerandProjectArchivearedesignedtosupportteachersindesigningandimplementingEL’smodel.
• TeachersrefinetheirsearchesintheDocumentLibrary,projectarchivetomatchtheirneeds(bygradelevel,discipline,standard,topic,etc.)
• Theplannersupportsproblemsolvingandintegrationofnewpedagogies.Reflection
• Theplannerprovidesopportunitiesforin‐processfeedbackondesignprocess.• Theprojectarchivehasaratingfunction,providingsomepublicfeedbackoncompleted
projects.Theprocessofcreatingaprojectforthearchivepresentsopportunitiestoretrospectivelyanalyzestudentworkandreflectoninstruction.
Collaboration
• ThetemplatesinthePlannersupportinteractionwithcontentandthecommentfunctionsprovidesupportforonlinecollaboration.ELadministrationisdevelopingadditionaltoolstoincreasethiscollaborationandsupport.
• Membersuploadandsharevolumesofcontent,muchofitveryhighquality.ContentKnowledge
• AstructureoftheELmodelisSTAs(Standards,TargetsandAssessments).TheStudentProjectArchive,PlannerandDocumentsLibraryallsupportteacherattentiontostandardsandstandardsbasedassessment.
• Richsamplesoffinishedstudentworkarecapturedinthearchive.EffectivenessData
e-learning and Deeper Learning 59
WestEd—August 2011
• Currently,ELadministrationistrackingthetotalnumberofmembersandindividualmember'sworkwithinthePlanner.
PBSTEACHERLINE
BACKGROUNDPBSTeacherLineisaproviderofonlineprofessionaldevelopmentforeducators.Itoffersinexcessof130graduatelevelfacilitated,onlinecoursesforteachersthataddress:Reading/LanguageArts,Mathematics,InstructionalTechnology,InstructionalStrategies,andScience.PBSTeacherLineisfundedbyagrantfromtheU.S.DepartmentofEducationtohelpeducatorsacquiretheskillstheyneedtobecome—andstay—thehighlyqualifiedteachers.PBSTeacherLinecoursesarehostedinMoodle,anopen‐sourcelearningmanagementsystem.PBSTeacherLinealsooffersPBSTeacherLinePeerConnection,aprofessionaldevelopmenttoolforinstructionalcoachesthatfacilitatesonlinecommunication,collaboration,andcontent.Itprovidesaflexiblesetoftoolstohelpcoachessearchforappropriateprofessionaldevelopmentresources,savetheseresourcesusingauniquecustomlabelingsystem,andsharethemwiththeeducatorstheyarecoaching.NOTEWORTHYPBSTeacherLinehasbeenrecognizedforexcellencebyorganizationssuchastheUnitedStatesDistanceLearningAssociation,NationalEducationalAssociation,andtheSoftwareandInformationIndustryAssociation."Curriculumofferings(K‐12)aredevelopedinconsultationwithrecognizedexpertsinthefieldwithcollaborationfromprofessionalorganizations.Amongothers,theseinclude:theInternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducation(ISTE),theNationalCouncilofTeachersofMathematics(NCTM)andtheNationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish(NCTE)(Donlevy,2005)."COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevancePBSTeacherLine'scoursecatalogcanbesearchedbyeitherSubjectorGradeLevel.Manycoursesaredesignedfora"ClassroomLink‐Accesstostudentsrecommended."ClassroomLinkcoursesasklearnerstoimplementlessonswiththeirclassorwithasmallgroupofstudents;however,optionsforlearnerswithoutaccesstostudentsareavailable.PBSTeacherLinePeerConnectionalsosupportscoachingviaCoachingModules,collectionsof“justintime”resources—videos,onlineinteractives,articles,videos,andmore—thatinstructionalcoachesandmentorscansharewithteachers.Themodulesprovideguidelinesandsuggestionstohelpcoachesandmentorsusetheseresourceswithteacherstoaddressspecificprofessionaldevelopmentneeds.Professionaldevelopment(PD)modulesarecollectionsofresourcesspeciallydesignedtohelpcoachesandmentorsbuildtheirskills.Themodulesareself‐pacedandprovidecoachesandmentorswithsuggestionsforstudy,reflection,andplanning.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 60
WestEd—August 2011
ReflectionPBSTeacherLineengagesbothinstructorsandparticipantsindeepreflectionandcriticalanalysisofpractice.
• "Reflectionlogspromptedinstructorstoarticulateareasforimprovementintheirownperformance,whichconvergedacrosscourseterms:landscapeposts,presenceonthediscussionboard,andprovidingconstructive,valuableandspecificfeedbacktolearners(Storandt,2010)."
• IneachPBSTeacherLinecourse,teachersarerequiredtoadaptthecontenttouseintheirclassroom,tocreatetheirownlibraryofteachingresources,andtomodifytheirteachingpracticebyincorporatingthenewstrategiestheyarelearning.
Becausethecoursesaresixweekslong,teachershaveadequatetimetopracticewiththeconceptsandtheyareencouragedtodothisbythecoursefacilitators.Also,discussionsgiveteachersanopportunitytosharetheirexperiencesintheclassroomwithcolleagueswhoarefacingsimilarchallenges.InthecourseRDLA155:TeachingPhonemicAwarenessandPhonics(GradesPreK‐3)participantsstudythestagesofliteracydevelopmentandpracticeassessingtheperformanceofdevelopingreaders.Inonesession,theyviewthevideo,“AssessingPhonologicalandPhonemicAwareness”thatshowsakindergartenteacherworkingwithfourstudents.Participantsdiscusstheleveloflinguisticdevelopmentindicatedbythesestudents.InanothersessioninRDLA155,teacherswatchanothervideo,“TeachingPhonologicalAwareness,”thatshowsfirst‐gradestudentslearningletter‐soundcorrespondence.ThentheyareaskedtocompleteaSelf‐Assessmentontheactivityandwriteintheironlinejournalabouthowthatactivitymight(ormightnot)beeffectivewiththeirstudents.Theyareaskedtodiscussthefactorsthatinfluencechoiceabouthowmuchandwhatkindofphonicsinstructionastudentneeds.ThesearetypicalexamplesofhowthePBSTeacherLinecoursesstimulatereflectionthroughjournaling,writtenpapers,anddiscussions.Coursesalsoincludeevaluationactivitiesgivenatthebeginningandagainattheendofthecoursethatpromptparticipantstorecordtheirchangingexpectations,goalsandlearning.Throughthesevariousreflectionactivities,thecoursesdrawastrongconnectionbetweencoursecontentandtheteachers’practiceandimplementationintheirclassrooms.(PBS/TeacherLine,2005)
Collaboration"Usingdiscussionboards,video,audioandinteractiveenhancements,TeacherLinecoursesinvolveteachersinup‐to‐datedialoguesusingrobustcontentpresentedandformattedbyexperts.Moderateddiscussionsguideinformationsharingandallowforcollaborativeandcooperativelearningexperiencesonline(Donleavy,2005)."APeerConnectionnetworkisacommunityofeducators—coaches,mentors,teachers,andothers—whocometogethertoshareideasandresourcesandlearnfromeachother.Individualsautomaticallybecomeamemberofaschool/districtsnetwork.Groupsareformedwithinnetworks.Anymembercanjoinapublicnetworkorgroupbylocatingapublicnetworkorgroupandclickingonthe“jointoparticipate”link.ContentKnowledge
e-learning and Deeper Learning 61
WestEd—August 2011
WhenbrowsingthePBSTeacherlLnecoursecatalog,coursetitles,descriptions,andsyllabiclearlypointtoafocusonthedevelopmentofcontentknowledgeinparticipants.Independentresearchistooyieldingstrongevidenceofthesame.Followingareamongthemanystrongindicatorsthatteacher'scontentknowledgeincreasedwiththecompletionofaPBSTeacherLinecourse.AccordingtoastudyconductedbyLearningPointAssociates,
• "Eighty‐fourpercentofparticipantsincreasedtheirratingsoftheirknowledgeofbothcontentandinstructionalstrategiesfrompre‐surveytopost‐survey(Margolin,Gibbs,&Tucker,2010)."
• "NearlythreequartersofthosesurveyedaftertakingacoursereportedincorporatingcontentknowledgefromaPBSTeacherLinecourseintotheirteachingpractice(Margolin,Gibbs,&Tucker,2010)."
EffectivenessDataInstructorsratethequalityofPBSTeacherLine’sprofessionaldevelopmentandsupportveryhighly;superiortomostofthepreparationtheyhavereceivedfromotheronlinecourseproviders.Further,instructorshaveveryfewunmetspecificlearningneedsrelatedtoonlineinstruction.Aninstructor’sperformanceduringacoursetermwasassessedinthreeways:byinstructorsthroughreflectionlogs,byPBSTeacherLinewhousedanevaluativerubric,andbylearners(i.e.k‐12teachers)whocompletedpost‐coursesurveys.Allfeedbackonaninstructor’sperformancefromeachsourcewasaggregatedintoonedocumentandreturnedtoinstructorsthrough3Dcoursereviews.Keyfindingsfromthe3Dcoursereviewprocessinclude:
• Asawhole,PBSTeacherLine’sinstructorsexcelat:courseclimateandcommunitybuilding,instruction,interactionanddiscussionfacilitation,courseorganization,andimplementationofassessments.
• ParticipationinPBSTeacherLine’s3Dcoursereviewprocesspromotescriticalself‐reflection,withinstructorsgainingthecapacitytocriticallyassesstheirperformanceovertime.
• Learnerevaluations,examinedinaggregateacrossinstructorsandterms,alsorevealhighqualityonlineinstruction.TheiraggregateratingsofinstructorperformancealignwithPBSTeacherLine’sratings,andbotharehigherthaninstructors’self‐assessments.Learners’satisfactionwithcourseexperiencesandtheirdescriptionsofinstructorexcellencereinforcethesefindings.
• Mostk‐12teacherlearnerswillimmediatelyapplywhattheylearnedfromthecoursesofferedbyPBSTeacherLineasaresultoftheirinstructor’shighqualityperformance.
(Storandt,2010)Cost $125‐$350percoursenotincludinginstitutionalcredits ResourcesandReferencesDonlevy,Jim.(2005).InnovativeTeacherProfessionalDevelopment:PBSTeacherLine.InternationalJournalofInstructionalMedia,32(3),205‐207.RetrievedJuly28,2011,fromProQuestEducationJournals.(DocumentID:1041520121).Storandt,Barbara.(2010).Professionaldevelopmentforandevaluationofonlinecourseinstructors:Research‐basedbestpractices.ALTASolutionsGroup,LLC.Retrievedfromhttp://sloanconsortium.org/effective_practices/professional‐development‐and‐evaluation‐online‐
e-learning and Deeper Learning 62
WestEd—August 2011
course‐instructors‐research‐basedPBS/TeacherLine(2005).TheAlignmentofPBSTeacherLinetotheReadingFirstProgram:AWhitePaper.Availablefromhttp://www.unctv.org/education/teacherline/resources/readingfirst.htmlMargolin,Jonathan,DebbieDavidson‐Gibbs,andNatalieTucker.(2010).“PBSTeacherLinePre‐SurveyandPost‐SurveyEvaluationReport,”conductedbyLearningPointAssociatesandfundedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducation’sReady‐to‐Teachgrant.Availablefromhttp://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/common_documents/research/teacherline_program_evaluation‐learningpt.pdf.
INTELTEACH
BACKGROUNDTheIntelTeachprogram(IT)providesprofessionaldevelopmentthatsupports21st‐centuryskills.IntelTeachcoursespromotestudent‐centeredapproachesandhelpteachersengagestudentsindeeplyrelevantways,withappropriateuseoftechnologyforlearning,creativity,andcommunication.Originallydesignedbyclassroomteachersforin‐serviceprofessionaldevelopment,theprogramwasexpandedtosupportteacherpreparation.Pre‐serviceinstitutionsaroundtheworldnowincorporatetheprogram'scurriculuminrequiredcoursework,withresearchevidencedemonstratingpositiveimpact.TheIntelTeachEssentialsCourse,whichprovides40hoursofonlineinstructiondeliveredin10modulesoveronetotenweeks,isconsistentwithcallsforsustained,intensiveandclassroom‐focusedprofessionaldevelopment.Additionally,teachershavetheopportunitytoparticipateinfollow‐upprofessionaldevelopmentthroughtheIntelTeachThinkingwithTechnologyCourse.NOTEWORTHYIThasbeenrigorouslyevaluatedinanongoingbasis.Evaluatorsusesurveys,sitevisits,classroomobservations,andphoneinterviewswithprogramparticipantsandadministratorstodeterminewhetherandhowthisprogramisreachingitscoregoalofimprovingtheintegrationoftechnologyintoK‐12classrooms.COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevanceITprogramofferingsallowteacherstofindcoursesthatarechallenging,substantive,andhaveanimmediatepracticalimpactoninstruction.Anemphasisontheteacher’sownclassroomisatthecenteroftheIntelTeachexperience.Thisemphasismirrorsresearchrecommendationsthatcallforstrong,clearconnectionsbetweenteachersparticularclassroomexperiencesandtheconceptsaddressedinprofessionaldevelopmentsettings.IntelTeachElementsprovidesfree,just‐in‐timeprofessionaldevelopmentthatisavailableanytimeandonline.Itisaseriesofcoursesthatprovidesdeeperexplorationof21stcenturylearningconcepts.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 63
WestEd—August 2011
ReflectionFortheEssentialsCourse,sevenofeightmodulesincludeactivitiesthatcallonteacherstoreflect.Examples:Activity1:ReflectingonMyStudentSample.Activity5:ReflectingonMyLearningandPlanningAheadReflectionisalsopresentedasacorefeatureofproject‐basedlearningandteachersproduceunitsthatincludefrequentopportunitiesforstudentreflection.CollaborationIntelEducationTeachersEngageisaglobalonlinecommunityofeducatorsthatsupportsresearch‐basedbestpracticesineffectiveuseoftechnology,Project‐BasedApproaches,andassessmentof21stcenturyskills.Thesiteoffers:
• Networkingopportunitieswithexperteducatorsworldwide;• Theabilitytocreateagrouptosupportyourlearningcommunitywithblogs,collaborative
workspace,andwikisallinonespace;and• Chancestoparticipateinfreewebinarsorhostoneforthecommunity.
ContentKnowledgeParticipatingteachersintheEssentialsCoursedevelopaproject‐basedunitofinstructionbaseduponmaterialtheyareteaching,alignedtostandardswithmultipleformsofstudentassessment.Thegoalisforeachteachertogainafoundationofskillstofullyintegratetechnologyintoexistingclassroomcurriculaandpromotestudent‐centeredlearning.EffectivenessDataEvaluationfindingsfromparticipantsinclude(Light,2007):
• "75%ofrespondentsreportedthattheyhadusedtheunitplantheycreatedduringtheworkshopatleastoncewiththeirstudents,ifnotmoreoften."
• "77%ofsurveyrespondentsreportedthattheyhadengagedstudentsinnewICT‐basedactivities(inadditiontotheirunitplans)sincethetraining,suggestingthattheEssentialsCoursehelpsteachersusetechnologywithstudentsbeyondjustthatoneunitplan."
• "81.9%ofrespondentsreportedthattheyhadusedICTmorefortheirownlessonplanningandpreparation,suggestingthatthecourseisintroducingteacherstonewprofessionalresources."
• "58.6%ofrespondentsreportedthattheyhadincreasedtheiruseofproject‐basedapproacheswiththeirstudents."
ResourcesandReferences:Light,Daniel,WendyMartin,VeraMichalchik,andWillowSussex.(2007).EvaluationSummary:Intel®TeachandIntel®Learn.Availablefromhttp://download.intel.com/education/EvidenceOfImpact/Evaluation_Summary.pdf.IntelTeachProgramUShttp://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/programs/intelteach_us/index.htmIntelTeachEvaluations,CaseStudies,andReportshttp://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/programs/evaluations/teach.htm
e-learning and Deeper Learning 64
WestEd—August 2011
TEACHINGCHANNEL
BACKGROUNDThestatedgoalofTeachingChannel,anewlylaunchedvideoshowcase,toshineaspotlightoninspiredK‐12teachinginAmerica'spublicschools.ThereisastrongalignmentwithCommonCoreStateStandards.TeachingChannelisfreeanditoffers:
1. InspiringTechniques&Ideas:Avideolibraryofuseful,inspiringclassroomtechniquesandlessonideas.
2. CommunitySharing&Support:Agrowingcommunityofdedicatedteacherssharingbestpracticesandclassroomideas.
3. PersonalWorkspace&GreatTools:IndividualscancreatetheirownpersonalworkspacetostorefavoriteideasforlateruseandtryoutgreattoolslikeTeachingChannelNotes.
COREQUALITIESOFoTPDCONSISTENTWITHDEEPERLEARNINGRelevanceThecollectionissearchablebysubject,gradelevel,andortopic.ReflectionThereisalsoaninteractivenotesfeaturethatallowsviewerstotimestampanotethatisembeddedinthevideo.Notesareprivate,butcanbesharedwithothers.CollaborationDiscussionsareprovidedforchannelmemberstobringtheirexperience,knowledge,andvulnerabilitiestothetable,providingmorevaluableinformationandsupportthanvideosalonecouldeveroffer.ContentKnowledgeAtpresent,thereare40videosonthesitecoveringthesubjectareasofEnglishLanguageArts,MathandScience.Belowisanexampleofalessonthatisavailableonthesite:AlgebraTeam:OverviewofTeachingStylesgrades6‐8,math,factoringCommonCoreStandards:Math.MP.1,Math.A‐SSE.3.ahttp://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/algebra‐team‐overview‐of‐teaching‐stylesLessonObjective:Seeaco‐plannedlessonunfoldintwodifferentclasses(1of4)‐Length:10minQuestionstoConsider*Howhasthetwoteachers'collaborationimpactedtheiralgebraprogram?*Howdoesthewarm‐uppreparestudentsforthelesson?*Howdostudents"tigerup"andlearnthatstruggleisagoodthing?PotentialLimitationsManyschoolsandbusinessesuseafirewalltoblockaccesstoYouTube.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 65
WestEd—August 2011
ResourcesandReferenceshttp://www.teachingchannel.org/
e-learning and Deeper Learning 66
WestEd—August 2011
APPENDIX B – TECHNOLOGY PROFILES
VOICETHREAD
VoiceThreadisanonlineplatformforpostingandcommentingonmedia.Thesitehasbeenusedbymanyteacherstopostandsharelessonplans,content,studentworkandvideosofclassroompractice.AlloftheVoiceThreadK‐12ProductsuseEd.VoiceThread,oursecureandaccountableenvironmentfoundated.voicethread.com.AVoiceThreadisacollaborative,multimediaslideshowthatholdsimages,documents,andvideosandallowspeopletonavigateslidesandleavecommentsinfiveways‐usingvoice(withamicortelephone),text,audiofile,orvideo(viaawebcam).Userscandoodlewhilecommenting,usemultipleidentities,andpickwhichcommentsareshownthroughmoderation.VoiceThreadscanevenbeembeddedtoshowandreceivecommentsonotherwebsitesandexportedtoMP3playersorDVDstoplayasarchivalmovies.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoAtkinsonandBurden,"Reflectionandpeerreviewwerecentraldesignelementsinthemodulestructureandstudentswererequiredtopostbothpersonalandpublicreflectionsaroundtheirlearningandtheartifactswewereusingineachunit.Thereforewewereconsciousoftheneedtofindanonlinetoolthatwouldenableasynchronouscommentsandfeedbackfromstudentsandtutorsalikearoundpiecesofmediasuchasvideoclips,imagesandpresentations.InVoiceThreadwebelievewehavefoundatoolthatmeetsmost,ifnotall,ofourrequirements(Atkinson&Burden,2008)."InaSwedishcasestudythatfeaturedVoiceThreadasaWeb2.0technology,GunnarAugustssofoundthat,"theresultsshowthatuseofWeb2.0:a)supportsstudents'reflectionsconcerningtheirownandothers'thoughtsandemotions,b)supportsindividualstudentsandintegratesthemintoaworkgroup,andc)developsstudents'identificationandawarenessinrelationtoself,ataskandothers."PotentialLimitationsFreeaccountsarelimitedtothreeVoiceThreads.Microphone(ortelephoneaccess)andsoundcardneededforeffectivecommenting.CostPermonthlyfeesrangefromfree(Free)to$59.95(VoiceThreadPro).K‐12&HigherEducationhavemultiplesubscriptionpathsandoptions.ResourcesandReferencesAtkinson,Simon.Burden,Kevin.EvaluatingpedagogicalaffordancesofmediasharingWeb2.0technologies:Acasestudy.PublishedintheproceedingsofAscilite,2008(Melbourne,Australia).Retrieved3/30/11from:http://hull.academia.edu/KevinBurden/Papers/73672/Evaluating_pedagogical_affordances_of_media_sharing_Web_2.0_technologies_A_case_study
e-learning and Deeper Learning 67
WestEd—August 2011
Augustsso,G.Web2.0,pedagogicalsupportforreflexiveandemotionalsocialinteractionamongSwedishstudents.TheInternetandHigherEducation.SpecialIssueonWeb2.0.Volume13,Issue4,December2010,Pages197‐205.Retrieved3/30/11from:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.05.005http://www.voicethread.com/
GOOGLEPLUS
GooglePlus(alsoGoogle+orabbreviatedasG+)isasocialnetworkingservicelaunchedinJune2011inaninvite‐only"fieldtesting"phase.ThesinglemostconvenientthingaboutGoogle+isthatitautomaticallyintegrateswiththeotherGoogleapps—suchasGmail,PicasaandGoogleDocs—thatarealreadyawonderfulresourceforeducatorsandintroducesasetofnewsociallyfocusedservices:Circles,Hangouts,Sparks,andHuddles.Theproductwillalsobeavailableasadesktopapplicationandasamobileapplication,butonlyonAndroidandiOSoperatingsystems.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationAccordingtoJohnT.Spencer,TeacherandBloggeratEducationRethink,"GooglePlusletstheusersdefinerelevanceforthemselves.Insteadofbeingdifferentiated,it'strulypersonalized.Insteadofofferingchoice,itoffersfreedom.Icansortbymedium,byinterestorbysocialcommunities."LizDwyer,EducationEditoratGOODEducationsaid,"I'vewrittenbeforeaboutthehealthysharingofideasamongteachersonTwitter,andhoweducatorsareusingittoengageintrovertedstudentsinlearning.ButTwitteralsohasitsdisadvantages—namely,thatit'snotarchived.Educatorscanhaveagreatconversationaboutatopic,butonceadayortwohasgoneby,thosetweetsareburiedinauser'stweetstream.Incomparison,Google+willallowteachers(orstudents)tohavediscussionswitheachotherwithouta140‐characterlimit.Andifauserwantstoaccessthediscussionacouplemonthslater,they'llbeabletodoso."JeremyLittauofLeighUniversitysaid,"Asateachingtool,Plusintriguesme.I’malreadyplanningonholdingHangoutofficehoursthisfallforstudents,wheretheycangetonandaskquestionsaboutclassmaterial.Andbecauseit’smulti‐user,otherscanhangoutintheloungeandlisten.SometimesIgooverthesamestuffwithmultiplestudentsinmultiplemeetings;thiscouldstreamlinethatprocess."Hegoesontosay,"Theabilitytosharevideosyoucanallwatchatthesametimeishugeforme.IcaninitiateaHangoutwithastudentinmymultimediaclasses,watchoneofthevideostheymake,andthengooveritwiththem.Realtimefeedbacksimilartoapaperconference."PotentialLimitationsOnechallengewithadoptingGoogle+attheK‐12levelmaybewhethersomeschooldistrictscontinuetoblockaccesstoGoogle.CostFree
e-learning and Deeper Learning 68
WestEd—August 2011
ResourcesandReferences"WhatGooglePlusCouldTeachUsAboutEducationReform"ByJohnT.Spencer,TeacherinPhoenix,AZwhoblogsatEducationRethink.http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2011/07/what‐google‐plus‐could‐teach‐us‐about.html"WhyGoogle+IsanEducationGameChanger"ByLizDwyer,EducationEditorhttp://www.good.is/post/why‐google‐is‐an‐education‐game‐changer/"WhyLehigh(andeveryother)UniversityneedstobeonGplus.Now."ByJeremyLittau,JournalismProfessorandBloggerhttp://www.jlittau.net/?p=1621
Twitterisasocialnetworkingandmicrobloggingservicethatallowsuserstobroadcastshorttextmessages140charactersinlength,called"tweets",toyourfriends,or"followers."Thebrevityofthetweetisadefiningcharacteristicoftheservice,allowinginformalcollaborationandquickinformationsharing.Twitteringisalsoamoreopenmethodofcommunication:youcanshareinformationwithpeoplethatyouwouldn'tnormallyexchangeemailorIMmessageswith,openingupyourcircleofcontactstoanever‐growingcommunityoflike‐mindedpeople.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationAccordingtoLizDwyer,EducationEditoratGOODEducation,"Twitterhassimplybecomeoneofthebestplacesforteacherstocollaborate,sharesolutionstocommonclassroomproblems,anddiscusseducationpolicy."WithTwitter,ateacherhasaccesstowidevarietyoffilteredinsights.Dwyernotes,"Typethehashtag#edchatinthesearchbox,andyou'llseeareal‐timestreamofdiscussionaboutanunlimitednumberofeducationaltopics.It'sprettyclearteachersarecollaboratingwitheachotherbysharingsolutionstotheirchallenges—linkstoarticles,resourcesandpracticalideas..."ManyteachersbuildvaluablepersonallearningnetworksthroughTwittersharingwhattheyarelearningandaskingforhelpwhenneeded.Andsomejustfollowhigh‐profileedubloggersorprominentexpertsintheirfieldwhosharetheirinsightsfromafarviaTwitter.AsoneOregonteacherstates,"Theyaresoconnected.It'sneattobeabletopiggybackonthat.Throughthem,myworldisexpandinggreatly."AnotheraspectofTwitter'scurrentusehasbeenhoweducatorshaveembracedthetechnologyforaccessingthebackchannelateducationaleventsorconferences.Colleagueswhoarenotpresentatliveeventscanreceiveinstantupdatesandlinksduringapresentation.Apresentationtoroomof400twitter‐enablededucators(sayatanISTEevent)isineffectbeingbroadcasted,insnippets,tothousandsofTwitterfollowers.PotentialLimitations
e-learning and Deeper Learning 69
WestEd—August 2011
ManypeopleuseTwittertobroadcastpersonalinformationandaconstantstreamofupdates,whetherpersonalorprofessional,requiresgoodfilteringsystem.CostFreeResourcesandReferences"Twittering,NotFrittering:ProfessionalDevelopmentin140Characters"BySuzieBoss,EdutopiaBloggerhttp://www.edutopia.org/twitter‐professional‐development‐technology‐microbloggin"TwitterIsaTeacher'sBestTool"ByLizDwyer,EducationEditorhttp://www.good.is/post/why‐twitter‐is‐a‐teacher‐s‐best‐tool/VickiDavis,aGeorgiaTeacherhasover22,000Twitterfollowershttp://twitter.com/#!/coolcatteacherhttp://www.twitter.com
VIDEOSHARING:YOUTUBE,VIMEO&TEACHERTUBE
VideoSharing:AvideohostingservicethatallowsindividualstouploadvideoclipstoanInternetwebsite.Thevideohostwillthenstorethevideoonitsserver,andshowtheindividualdifferenttypesofcodetoallowotherstoviewthisvideo.Thewebsite,mainlyusedasthevideohostingwebsite,isusuallycalledthevideosharingwebsite.YouTube:individualshaveuploadedMostofthecontentonYouTube,althoughmediacorporationsincludingCBS,BBC,Vevo,Hulu,andotherorganizationsoffersomeoftheirmaterialviathesite,aspartoftheYouTubepartnershipprogram.Videosthatareconsideredtocontainpotentiallyoffensivecontentareavailableonlytoregisteredusers18yearsoldandolder.Vimeo:doesnotallowcommercialvideos,gamingvideos,pornography,oranythingnotcreatedbytheusertobehostedonthesite.TeacherTube:isdesignedtoallowthoseintheeducationalindustry,particularlyteachers,toshareeducationalresourcessuchasvideo,audio,documents,photos,groupsandblogs.Thesitecontainsamixtureofclassroomteachingresourcesandothersdesignedtoaidteachertraining.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoCyndiDanner‐Kuhn,EducationTechnologyIntegrationCoordinatorfortheKansasStateUniversityCollegeofEducation,TeacherTubeis,
"…alwaysconcernedaboutthesafetyandsecurity….Asaresult,theyarenowmoderating100%ofallaudioandvideocontentuploadedtothesite.Thatway,theycanhelpensurequality,copyrightfreepodcasts,musicinstruction,songdemos,audioteaching,andmore
e-learning and Deeper Learning 70
WestEd—August 2011
areavailableforourcommunityofeducators.TeacherTubehastonsofresourceincludinganewsectionofTeacherresources.TheyhavepartneredwithTeacherVision.Subject,gradeandthemeorganizeTeacherVisioncontent.Themepagesfeaturecross‐curricularlessonsforeveryareaoffocus,makingitsimpleforteacherstocreateastudyunitthatisinclusiveandvaried(Danner‐Kuhn,2011)."
DerrikWaddell,InstructionalTechnologySupportSpecialistforCullmanCountySchoolsandBlogger,
"Afriendandfelloweducator,NikkiRobertson,isbeginningastringofprofessionaldevelopmentactivitiesforthestaffatAuburnHighSchool.WhenshepostedthescheduleonTwitter,Iwasinterestedinlearningmoreaboutsomeofherchosentopics,soIaskedifshewasplanningtodoanyrecordingorpostingafterward.ItopenedupaconversationthathasledtoanexcitingopportunityforeducatorsandedtechprofessionalsinAlabama.ThisweekwewilllaunchaYouTubechannelforAlabamaeducatorstopostandwatchtutorialsandhow‐tovideospertainingtoedtech(Waddell,2011)."
PotentialLimitationsSomenetworkadministratorshavebannedYouTubeandothervideosharingsitesoneducationnetworkscitingreasonssuchasinappropriateusageofresources,excessivebandwidthusage,andsecurityconcerns.CostStartoutfree,increasedbandwidthandfeatureswithfee‐basedaccounts.ResourcesandReferenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_hosting_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtubehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimeohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachertube"TeacherTube:Asuperresourcefortheclassroom"ByCyndiDanner‐Kuhn,EducationTechnologyIntegrationCoordinatorfortheKansasStateUniversityCollegeofEducationhttp://www.technologybitsbytesnibbles.info/archives/4599"GuestPostByDerrickWaddell"http://educationrejuvenation.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest‐post‐by‐derrick‐waddell.htmlAlabamaEducationalTechnologyProfessionalDevelopmentYouTubeChannelhttp://www.youtube.com/AlabamaEdTechPD
PODCASTS
Apodcastisaseriesoffreedigitalmediafiles(eitheraudioorvideo)thatarereleasedinaseriesandcanbesubscribedtoordownloadedasdesired.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 71
WestEd—August 2011
CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ContentKnowledgePodcastsprovideforademocracyofvoicebecausetheycanbecreatedbyanyoneanddistributedwidethroughdeepchannelslikeiTunesorviaaprivatewebsite.Afewexamplesofpopulareducationpodcaststhatstrivetosupportteacherlearningarelistedbelow.Limitations:Podcastsareanexcellentwaytodisseminateprovocativeinterviewsorconversations.Becausetheytaketimetoproduce,andarearelativelypassivelearningexperience,theyarenotlikelytoseemajoradoptioninPDprograms.Cost:FreeReferencesandResources:TheEducationPodcastNetworkhttp://epnweb.org/MovingattheSpeedofCreativityhttp://itunes.apple.com/podcast/moving‐at‐speed‐creativity/id78007370ESLTeacherTalkhttp://www.eslteachertalk.com/
BLOGS
Ablog(ablendofthetermweblog)isatypeofwebsiteorpartofawebsite.Blogsareusuallymaintainedbyanindividualwithregularentriesofcommentary,descriptionsofevents,orothermaterialsuchasgraphicsorvideo.Entriesarecommonlydisplayedinreverse‐chronologicalorder.Blogcanalsobeusedasaverb,meaningtomaintainoraddcontenttoablog.Mostblogsareinteractive,allowingvisitorstoleavecommentsandevenmessageeachotherviawidgetsontheblogsanditisthisinteractivitythatdistinguishesthemfromotherstaticwebsites.Manyblogsprovidecommentaryornewsonaparticularsubject;othersfunctionasmorepersonalonlinediaries.Atypicalblogcombinestext,images,andlinkstootherblogs,Webpages,andothermediarelatedtoitstopic.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoKarlFisch,DirectorofTechnologyatArapahoeHighSchoolinCentennial,CO,hisblogwas"…conceivedasablogtosupportourstaffdevelopmenteffort….Inthebeginning,theblogwassimplyaplaceto"continuetheconversations"wehadinstaffdevelopmenteverytwotothreeweeks,toextendthediscussionsbeyondthetimewehadfacetoface.Astheyearprogressed,I
e-learning and Deeper Learning 72
WestEd—August 2011
startedtopostmoretotheblogaboutrelevanteducationalissues,newtechnologies,andwhateverelseIthoughtmightberelatedandthought‐provokingforourteachers,evenifitdidn'tdirectlyrelatetowhatwehadjusttalkedaboutinstaffdevelopment."BiancaHewes,Englishteacher,authorandbloggeroffersthisvisionforteacherprofessionaldevelopment,
"Eachteacherwillbeaskedtocreateadrivingquestionthatrelatesdirectlytohis/herspecific[keylearningarea]KLAandtechnology.Forexample,‘Howcanbringingtechnologyintotheclassroomhelpmystudentstobebetterwriters?’(ENGLISH)or‘HowcanhavingaccesstotheInternetintheclassroomhelpmystudentsbecomebetterresearchers?’(HISTORY)or‘Howcanhavingaccesstoalaptophelpmystudentstounderstandtheroleoflanguagesinthe21stcentury?’(LOTE)[Language(s)OtherThanEnglish]Theteacherswillbegivenapproximately5weekstoinquireintothisproblem,completeatleast5blogpostsontheirfindings(includingposingquestionsrelatingtothedrivingquestiononsocialnetworkingsiteslikeEdmodo,Yammer,Twitter,Facebook),implementsomeofthenewstrategiesdevelopedinhis/herclassroomandthenpresentonthesefindingstothewholeteacher‐bodyataspecifiedstaffmeeting.(Yes,theproductishypocritical–itisteacher‐centered,butlet’sfaceitthisisgettingtheball‐rolling,theyaremodelinginquiry‐learningtootherteachers,whohopefullywillbeinspiredtotakeuptheirownprojects!)."
PotentialLimitationsIthasmassivebenefits(followingandcontributing),yetbloggingalsorequiresahugetimecommitment.CostFreeandhostedversions.ResourcesandReferenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog"AboutThisBlog"ByKarlFisch,DirectorofTechnologyatArapahoeHighSchoolinCentennial,COhttp://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/06/about‐this‐blog.html"TeacherProfessionalDevelopment–aninquiryapproach"ByBiancaHewes,TeacherandBloggerhttp://biancahewes.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/teacher‐professional‐development‐an‐inquiry‐approach/Blogger:isablog‐publishingservicethatallowsprivateormulti‐userblogswithtime‐stampedentries.ItwascreatedbyPyraLabs,whichwasboughtbyGooglein2003.http://www.blogger.com/WordPress:isanopensourceblogtoolandpublishingplatformpoweredbyPHPandMySQL.http://www.wordpress.orgWordPress.com:ahostedversionoftheopensourcepackagewhereyoucanstartabloginsecondswithoutanytechnicalknowledge.http://www.wordpress.com
e-learning and Deeper Learning 73
WestEd—August 2011
OpenessManifestohttp://www.connectedprincipals.com/archives/3225TeacherBlogshttp://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/http://www.thethinkingstick.com/http://budtheteacher.com/blog/DanMeyerblogsat:http://blog.mrmeyer.comSearchforhis"Whatcanyoudowiththis?"posts,andbesuretoreadthecomments.FrankNoscheseblogsatAction/Reaction:http://fnoschese.wordpress.comHislatesthottopicisusingAngryBirdsinphysicsclass.https://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/angry‐birds‐in‐the‐physics‐classroom/
RSSANDGOOGLEREADER
RSSstandsfor"ReallySimpleSyndication"andisastandardforprovidingupdatestoweb‐basedcontent.WebcontentprovidersuseRSStopublish"feeds"towhichreaderscansubscribetoblogs,podcasts,andnews.RSSallowsyoutostaycurrentwithalotofinformationeasily.ApopulartooltomanageRSSfeedsisGoogleReader,whichcanaggregateallofyourfeeds(e.g.)inasingleplace.GoogleReadercanalsocollectthetweetswithaspecifichastag,aswellastrackallofthegreatsitesthatpeoplearesavingtoDiigo.EvenFlickrphotosandYouTubevideosearchescanbesubscribedtoinGoogleReader.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandReflectiveInquiryProcessDescribingthebenefitsofRSS,JoAlcock,anacademicresearchlibrarianbasedintheWestMidlands(UK)states,"I'vebeenanaviduserofRSSfeedsforanumberofyearsnow,mainlyusingthemtosubscribetolibraryblogs.WhenIfirststartedbloggingin2007(andfollowingotherblogsbeforethat),mostofthelibrarybloggersIcouldfindwerebasedintheUS.RSSmeantthatIcouldreadallabouttheinnovativethingstheyweredoingatthelibrariesandIfounditreallyinspiring."AccordingtobloggerWillRichardson,"TheprincipalofanelementaryschoolinPortland,Oregon…isinfusingWeblogsthroughouthisschool.TheMeriwetherLewisElementaryWebsite[http://lewiselementary.org/]featuresthelatestinnewsandeventsascollectedfromaseriesofseparateWeblogsthatarehookedtogetherusingRSS.Notonlydoesthisallowfortheschool'sWebsitetobeatimelysourceofinformation,itallowsanumberofstaffmemberstocontributeinwhatisamoredistributedcontentcreationmodel:Themusicteacherkeepsalogformusicnews,andPTAmemberscontributetotheirownsite.[Theprincipal]keepshisownWeblogforhispersonalmessagestostaffandthecommunity."PotentialLimitations:WhenonesubscribestoahugenumberofRSSfeeds,onecouldeasilyendupspendinghour’severydayjustreadingfeeds.ToavoidRSSoverload,it’sagoodideatofocusone'sconsumption,notonlyforone'sownlearningbutalsoforone'sabilitytomodelRSStoone'sstudentsandcolleagues.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 74
WestEd—August 2011
CostFreeResourcesandReferences"Thing4‐Currentawareness:RSS"By,JoAlcock,anAcademicResearchLibrarianandBloggerfromtheUKhttp://joeyannecpd23.blogspot.com/2011/07/thing‐4‐current‐awareness‐rss.html"8UsefulTipsToManageAndAvoidRSSOverload"ByAbhijeetMukherjee,WebPublisheranBlogger‐‐JeetBloghttp://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/06/8‐useful‐tips‐to‐manage‐and‐avoid‐rss.html"BloggingandRSS—The"What'sIt?"and"HowTo"ofPowerfulNewWebToolsforEducators"ByWillRichardson,EducatorandBloggerforInformationToday,Inc.http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss
NING
Ningessentiallybundlesseveralseparatetechnologiesintoasingleunified,hostedplatform.Thetechnologiesinclude,ablog,wiki,forum,photo/videogallery,microfeed,eventscalendar,membermanagementandmore.Ningsareapopularwayforteacherstonetworkwithotherteachersandsharesimilarinterests.Althoughtheyarenolongerfree,theyarenotexpensiveandprovideeasy‐to‐navigateonlinesoftwarethatallowsyoutocreateasocialnetwork.Oncecreated,itcanbeusedasaplatformforsharingbestpractices,documents,links,media,andconnections.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationExampleOrganizationalUseAccordingtoMatthewMartz,Principal,"Currentlyinourdistrict,weuseinstructionalcoachesandteacher‐ledprofessionaldevelopment.Weareslowlygaininggroundinbuildingavirtuallearningcommunityforourdistrict(seehttp://saintjosephschools.ning.com),andevenexpandingourlearningopportunitiesthroughouttheworldwidewebthroughTwitter,blogging,Diigo,etc.IaminterestedinlearningmoreabouthowIcoulduseinstructionalroundsandhowweasadistrictcancreateanexpertvideocliplibraryinordertosupportteacherlearningandgrowth."ExamplesDiscipline/FocusUseEnglishCompanion(28,483members):http://englishcompanion.ning.com/WhereEnglishteachesgotohelpeachother,toaskquestionsandgethelp.Acommunitydedicatedtohelpingteachersenjoytheirwork.“Acafewithoutwallsorcoffee:justfriends.”Classroom2.0(58,126members):http://www.classroom20.com/AsocialnetworkforthoseinterestedinWeb2.0andSocialMediaineducation.Participantsareencouragedtoparticipateinthegreatdiscussions,toreceiveeventnotifications,andtofindand
e-learning and Deeper Learning 75
WestEd—August 2011
connectwithcolleagues.PotentialLimitationsCanberatherdisappointing,duetothesparseactivity.Socialcommunitiesneedtobetended;memberengagementismorethanjustsocialnetworkingbuzzwords.It'sthedifferencebetweenasuccessfulNingNetworkandastaleWebsite.CostPermonthlyfeesrangefrom$2.95(forsmallgroups)to$59.95(forlargescaleandcustomsites)ResourcesandReferences"EffectiveSupervision"By,MatthewMartz,PrincipalandBloggeronthePrincipal'sPenhttp://matthewmartz.edublogs.org/2011/07/16/effective‐supervision/WhatIsMemberEngagement?http://creators.ning.com/hc/memberengagement.phphttp://www.ning.com/
FacebookisasocialnetworkingserviceandwebsitelaunchedinFebruary2004.Usersmaycreateapersonalprofile,addotherusersasfriends,andexchangemessages,includingautomaticnotificationswhentheyupdatetheirprofile.Facebookusersmustregisterbeforeusingthesite.Additionally,usersmayjoincommon‐interestusergroups,organizedbyworkplace,schoolorcollege,orothercharacteristics.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationCommentonEmergingEdTechblogpostedbySheilaDymond,"Wow!FascinatingtoreadallaboutthetechnologyIhavedismissedasfrivolous.ImustrethinkmyviewsofFB!Nevermindalltheamazingtechnologyavailableformykids!IamreallyexcitedtobeginteachinginournewIPREPtechnologymagnetnextyearwithalltheinfocloseathandinacommunitythatissoopenandwillingtoshareexperienceswithastranger!"PDFacebookExamples:ProfessionalDevelopmentattheCaliforniaScienceCenterProfessionalDevelopmentInstitutePro.T‐ProfessionalDevelopmentConferenceforEnglishTeachersFableVisionProfessionalDevelopmentPotentialLimitationsThemajorityofthesocialnetworkingaccountsareblockedincorporateoffices,schools,workplaceandeducationalinstitutions.Also,whenFacebookisusedwithstudents,itisimportanttosetexpectationsforitsuseandapolicythatdiscouragesandsetsconsequencesforderogatoryreferencestotheschoolorschoolorganizationand/ormembersoftheschoolororganization.
e-learning and Deeper Learning 76
WestEd—August 2011
CostFreeResourcesandReferences"FacebookInTheClassroom.Seriously."ByK.Walsh,BloggeronEmergingEdTechhttp://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/03/facebook‐in‐the‐classroom‐seriously/"100WaysYouShouldBeUsingFacebookinYourClassroom"Anonymous,OnlineCollegehttp://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/10/20/100‐ways‐you‐should‐be‐using‐facebook‐in‐your‐classroom/FacebookinEducationAFacebookPageforinformationabouthoweducatorscanbestuseFacebook.ObjectiveofthisPage:ToserveasanongoingresourceforinformationabouthoweducatorscanbestuseFacebookhttp://www.facebook.com/
SKYPE
SkypeisasoftwareapplicationthatallowsuserstomakevoiceandvideocallsandchatsovertheInternet.CallstootheruserswithintheSkypeservicearefree,whilecallstobothtraditionallandlinetelephonesandmobilephonescanbemadeforafeeusingadebit‐baseduseraccountsystem.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationJacquelineBotterillleadsSkype’sCSR(corporate/socialresponsibility)initiativesforSkypeinEurope.SkypeintheClassroom,whichlaunchedMarch30th,2010,isoneofthecompany’sfirstforaysintotheeducationsphere.”WecreatedSkypeintheClassroomtohelplike‐mindedteacherscollaborateonprojectsandshareresources.Skypecanconnectchildrengloballyforsharedlearningexperiencesandislow‐costandsimpletouse,”shesays.Sinceit’slaunchover12,000teachershavesignedupforSkypeintheClassroom."AccordingtoStevenKrasner,ProfessionalDeveloperandBlogger,hehasconductednumerousprofessionaldevelopmentsessionswitheducatorsacrossthecountry,but2010markedthefirsttimehe,"Wasn'tphysicallyintheroomwiththeeducationprofessionals….[ViaSkype}Iwaspleasantlysurprisedathowinteractivewecouldbe!Theplacementofthecameramadeitdifficultformetoseeeveryone,butIcouldhearjustfineanditwasnoproblemfrommyendtoofferthemsuggestionsastohowtheycanmotivateand"nudge"theirstudentsalongthepathtobecomingindependentandenthusiasticwriterswhilestillbeingabletointegratethecurriculumandaddressanytestingissues."
e-learning and Deeper Learning 77
WestEd—August 2011
PotentialLimitationsSomenetworkadministratorshavebannedSkypeoncorporate,government,home,andeducationnetworks,citingreasonssuchasinappropriateusageofresources,excessivebandwidthusage,andsecurityconcerns.CostFreeandVariousPricingPlansforPremiumServicesResourcesandReferences"HowtheInternetisRevolutionizingEducation"ByCourtneyBoydMyers,EastCoasteditorofTheNextWeb(TNW)http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/05/14/how‐the‐internet‐is‐revolutionizing‐education/"ProfessionalDevelopmentViaSkype"ByStevenKrasner,ProfessionalDeveloperandBloggerhttp://www.nudgingtheimagination.com/blog/2010/10/21/professional‐development‐via‐skype.htmlSkypeintheclassroomSkypeintheclassroomisafreecommunitytohelpteacherseverywhereuseSkypetohelptheirstudentslearn.It’saplaceforteacherstoconnectwitheachother,findpartnerclassesandshareinspiration.http://education.skype.com/http://www.skype.com/
DELICIOUS
Delicious(formerlydel.icio.us,pronounced"delicious")isasocialbookmarkingwebserviceforstoring,sharing,anddiscoveringwebbookmarks.Thesitewasfoundedin2003.Delicioususesanon‐hierarchicalclassificationsysteminwhichuserscantageachoftheirbookmarkswithfreelychosenindexterms(generatingakindoffolksonomy).Acombinedviewofeveryone'sbookmarkswithagiventagisavailable;forinstance,theURLdelicious.com/tag/wikidisplaysallofthemostrecentlinkstagged"wiki".Itscollectivenaturemakesitpossibletoviewbookmarksaddedbyotherusers.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationAccordingtoJuliaHengstler,EducationalTechnologist&Instructor,"Whileyoucanonlyseeabout3monthsofmytweetsherehttp://www.twitter.com/jhengstler.YoucanseealmostalltheresourcesI'vebookmarkedsinceonlyearly2009onthedeliciouspage:http://delicious.com/jhengstler.Twitter+DeliciousbecameanunbeatablecombinationformeasIcouldsharemyfoundresourcesquicklyinbothTwitter&Delicious.InTwittertheywouldgoouttomy"followers"orbeseenthroughthewebpage.InDelicious,theycouldsimilarlybeseeninthewebpage,butpeoplecouldalsoaddmetotheirDelicious"network"tofollowanyresourcesI
e-learning and Deeper Learning 78
WestEd—August 2011
posted‐‐likeasubscription."PotentialLimitationsThebiggestDeliciousflawisnotallowingspacesinkeywords,wheremoderntaggingsystemssuchasDiigoandGoogleBookmarksdo.Additionally,sometimeago,YahooboughtDeliciousandwassettoclosetheservice.Anewcompanyhaspurchasedtheservice,butitsfutureisn'tcertain.CostFreeResourcesandReferences"UsingTwitter(andDelicious)forProfessionalCollaboration,Development,andInstruction"ByJuliaHengstler,EducationalTechnologist&Instructor‐‐FacultyofEducation,VancouverIslandUniversityhttp://shiftinglandscapes.pbworks.com/w/page/8818814/Using‐Twitter‐%28and‐Delicious%29‐for‐Professional‐Collaboration,‐Development,‐and‐Instruction"Delicioustore‐launchlaterthisyear"ByMartinBryant,TheNextWeb'sEuropeanEditorhttp://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/07/11/delicious‐to‐relaunch‐later‐this‐year/http://www.delicious.com/
DIIGO
Diigo(pronounced/ˈdiːɡoʊ/)isasocialbookmarkingwebsitewhichallowssigned‐upuserstobookmarkandtagwebpages.Additionally,itallowsuserstohighlightanypartofawebpageandattachstickynotestospecifichighlightsortoawholepage.Theseannotationscanbekeptprivate,sharedwithagroupwithinDiigooraspeciallinkforwardedtosomeoneelse.Thename"Diigo"isanacronymfrom"DigestofInternetInformation,GroupsandOtherstuff".CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoKeithOzsvath,aself‐professedtechieandblogger,"WhenmymiddleschoolbandswereparticipatinginaLewis&ClarkExpeditionCross‐CurricularUnit,IcreatedaprivategroupofbookmarkedwebsitespertainingtotheLewis&ClarkExpedition.Iwasabletosharetheprivategroupwithmy2colleaguessowecouldcollaborateusingthesamewebsitesandresourcesthatwerebookmarkedinthegroup.Commentingandtaggingtheselinkswerealsoveryusefulforourplanning."PotentialLimitationsItaddsatoolbartothetopofyourbrowserpage‐‐makingitlessconvenientmovingamongcomputers.Itisanewmethodfororganizingbookmarks,whichnoteveryuserwillbecomfortablewith.Cost
e-learning and Deeper Learning 79
WestEd—August 2011
FreeResourcesandReferences"UsingTwitter(andDelicious)forProfessionalCollaboration,Development,andInstruction"ByKeithOzsvath,Teacher,ProfessionalDeveloper,&Bloggerhttp://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2011/07/12/pln‐challenge‐7‐using‐diigo‐as‐part‐of‐your‐pln/DiigoEducatorAccountshttp://www.diigo.com/educationhttp://www.diigo.com/
TINYCHAT
TinychatisanInternetchatservicethatallowsuserstocommunicateviainstantmessaging,voiceandvideochat.Itoffersthousandsofchatroomsandtheabilityforuserstocreatetheirownvirtualchatroomonanytopicandcategory.Tinychatisaweb‐basedsystemthatalsoworksonsomesmartphones.Thechatroomscancontainarollingmaximumof12videofeedsanddozensofaudiofeedsatthesametime.Onecanbeinseveralsuchroomsatthesametime.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:CollaborationTeacherPDprogramscanprovidelearnersasynchronouscollaborationspace(videochatrooms)bysimplyembeddingTinychatontheirnativewebsite.CostFreeResourcesandReferences:http://tinychat.com/
PBWORKS
PBworkshostsover300,000educationalworkspaces,andhashelpedtransformteachingandlearningformillionsofstudents,parentsandteachers.Itisacommercialreal‐timecollaborativeediting(RTCE)system.Userscanindependentlysetnotificationviastarredpages.Sitesalsofeatureasidebarworkspacenavigator,andasimplemechanismforsharingpagelinkswithothers.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoSharonGrimesoftheBaltimoreCountyPublicSchool,"Thewiki,TeachingThoughtfulLearners,thatthePBworksstaffclonedforall172schoolsishelpingusdeliverinstructionthatisrigorous,relevant,andconsistentacrossthedistrict;inaddition,itisanessentialtoolinhelpingus
e-learning and Deeper Learning 80
WestEd—August 2011
buildstudents’21stCenturyLiteracies."BrendaWhite,TechnologyIntegrationCoordinator,KatyIndependentSchoolDistricttalkedabouthowtheirLEAusedPBworks,"Weareafastgrowthdistrictemploying3,916teachers.Curriculumspecialistfinditharderandhardertomeetfacetofacewiththeircontentspecificteachers.Curriculumspecialistshavedevelopedworkspacestokeeptheirteachersinformedofthelatestupdates,provideinstructionalresources,andprovideaplaceforteacherstocollaborate.Teachersaccesstheworkspacetocollaborateonideas,lessonplans,anddifferentinstructionalstrategiesthatareeffectivewithinthecontenttheyteach."PotentialLimitationsThoughuserscancommentonpages,itlacksadiscussionforumandablog.Thefreeversioncouldbetoolimitedforlargeacademicsettings.CostFreemiumbasis:basicfeaturesbeingofferedforfreeandmoreadvancedfeaturesforafee.ResourcesandReferences"CaseStudy:BaltimoreCountyPublicSchools"InterviewwithSharonGrimesoftheBaltimoreCountyPublicSchoolhttp://pbworks.com/content/casestudy‐BCPS"CaseStudy:KatyIndependentSchoolDistrict"InterviewwithBrendaWhite,TechnologyIntegrationCoordinator,KatyIndependentSchoolDistricthttp://pbworks.com/content/casestudy‐katyisdUsingPBworksinEducationhttp://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview?utm_campaign=nav‐tracking&utm_source=Home%20navigationhttp://pbworks.com/
GOOGLEAPPSEDUCATIONEDITION
GoogleAppsEducationEditionprovidesemail,sharableonlinecalendars,instantmessagingtoolsandadedicatedwebsitetofaculty,studentsandstaffforfree.Thereisnohardwareorsoftwaretoinstallormaintain,sinceeverythingisdeliveredthroughastandardwebbrowser‐‐anytime,fromanyplace.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationAccordingtoJohnKrouskoff,DirectorofTechnologyforClarkstownCentralSchoolDistrict,“Constructinglessonplansandunitplansisnolongerasolitaryactivity.It’sacollaborativeprocessthat’shappeningnotonlywithteachersonabuildinglevelteam,butwithteachersatagradelevelfromavarietyofschools.Ourteachingismadebetterasaresultofthiscollectiveintelligence.”PotentialLimitations
e-learning and Deeper Learning 81
WestEd—August 2011
Itmustbeanorganizationwidedecisiontousetheserviceasyoueitherneedtobeadminorhaveaccesstothedomainregistryofyourschoolordistrict.CostFreeResourcesandReferences"CaseStudy:ClarkstownCentralSchoolDistrict"InterviewwithJohnKrouskoff,DirectorofTechnologyhttp://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/schools.htmlGoogleAppsEducationEditionhttp://www.google.com/educators/p_apps.html
EDMODO
Edmodoisafreeandsecuresociallearningnetworkforteachers,studentsandschools.Itprovidesclassroomsasafeandeasywaytoconnectandcollaborate,offeringareal‐timeplatformtoexchangeideas,sharecontent,andaccesshomework,gradesandschoolnotices.Accessibleonlineandfromanymobiledeviceviafreesmartphoneapplications,Edmodohasgrownfromateachertoolintoadistrict‐wideresourceaswordofthefreeonlineservicespreadsthroughschoolsaroundtheworld.Edmodopromotesanytime,anyplacelearning.Functionally,itallowsteacherstopostmessages,discussclassroomtopics,assignandgradeclasswork,sharecontentandmaterials,andnetworkandexchangeideaswiththeirpeers.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationAccordingtoEdmodo'sblog,"TheMaineDepartmentofEducationhasselectedEdmodoastheplatformtosharetheirresultsoftheirrecentOpenEducationResourcesresearchprojectwiththeeducationcommunity.WethinkthiswillbeagreatopportunitytoexposetheEdmodocommunitytothewealthofhighqualityopenresources,andhopeyouwilljoininthediscussionsinthecommunities(topic:OpenResources)andsharetheresourceswithyourpeers!""Edmodowashonoredinthetechnologycategory,whichfocusesontechnologytoolsandapplicationsintendedtohelpininstruction,management,assessmentandprofessionaldevelopment."PotentialLimitationsTouseEdmodoeffectivelyteachersneedtosetclearrulesandexpectationsfortheirstudentsabouttheuseofandpurposeofEdmodo.Otherwiseitcanresultinjustanothermediumforsocialinteractionwithoutconstructivelearning.CostFree
e-learning and Deeper Learning 82
WestEd—August 2011
ResourcesandReferences"MaineDept.ofEd:OpenEducationResourcesProject"http://blog.edmodo.com/2011/05/19/maine‐dept‐of‐ed‐open‐education‐resources‐project/#disqus_thread"EdmodoHonoredwithDistinguishedAchievementAward"http://blog.edmodo.com/aepaward/Edmodo'sProfessionalDevelopmentCommunityhttp://www.edmodo.com/community/professional‐devhttp://www.edmodo.com/
BLACKBOARDCOLLABORATE
BlackboardCollaborateiswebconferencingsoftwareusedtocreatevirtualclassroomsandmeetingspacesandoffersopportunitiesforpeer‐to‐peerlearningandcoaching‐ledhelpwhileinvolvinglearnersonanindividuallevel.Thetechnologyintegrateswithmostlearningmanagementsystems.WebconferencingisabroadtermusedfortechnologytoolsthatallowyoutomeetonlinethroughanetworkorontheInternetnomatterwhatthelocation.ThetechnologyhasarelativelylonghistoryinrelationshiptotheInternet.Chatrooms,forexample,arepredecessorsoftoday’sWebconferencing.Webconferencingtodayhasbroadappealinbusinessasitallowsyouto:*Meetwithotherswhilebeinglocatedindifferentlocations—involvingahandfultoseveralhundredpeople.*Displayonlineslideshowpresentations.*Interactwithothersonline,usingvideo,audio,andtext.*Useanelectronicwhiteboardtovisuallydisplayideas.*Watchanotheruserperformataskonhisorhersystemasalearningexercise.*Takecontrolofanotheruser’ssystemtowalkthemthroughcorrectproceduresforcompletingataskontheirsystem.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:Relevance,ReflectiveInquiryProcess,andCollaborationDiscussingprofessionaldevelopmentviawebconferencing,BradleyMitchell,OfficeofeLearningLMSTechnicalSupportandTrainingManager,SouthCarolinaStateDepartmentofEducationsaid,“wecanconductthetrainingsbasicallysamewaywedidthemface‐to‐face.AlotofotherofficesareusingBlackboardCollaborateinsimilarways.Soinsteadofconductingatraininginwhichstatetrainerswenttointoaschooltomeetwiththeprincipalsorteachers,now,becausewe’reunabletoprovidereimbursements,wesimplyofferonlinesessionswithadministratorsfromtheschooldistrictsratherthantravel.”PotentialLimitationsBandwidthisasignificantissuewhenyouhavepeopleconnectingtotheInternetoranetworkat
e-learning and Deeper Learning 83
WestEd—August 2011
speedsof56Kbpsorless.YoucansuccessfullyuseWebconferencingwithlowbandwidthifyoulimitthetypesoffeaturesyouuse.CostFee‐basednormallyonsizeofinstitution.ResourcesandReferences"Webconferencingcanlowercostoftraining"ByLauriElliott,writerforTechRepublichttp://www.techrepublic.com/article/web‐conferencing‐can‐lower‐cost‐of‐training/1040337"SouthCarolinaSavesMoneyandImprovesStudentSuccessviaBlackboardCollaborate:ACaseStudy"ByMattWasowski,BlackboardCollaboratehttp://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Client‐Stories/Case‐Studies.aspx#panel5http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/overview.aspx
SLIDESHARE
SlideShareisanonlineslidehostingservice.Userscanuploadfilesinthefollowingfileformats:PowerPoint,PDF,KeynoteorOpenOfficepresentations.Slidedeckscanthenbeviewedonthesiteitselfandembeddedonothersites.SlideSharealsosupportsdocuments,PDFs,videosandwebinars.SlideSharefeaturesavibrantprofessionalandeducationalcommunitythatregularlycomments,favoritesanddownloadscontent.ContenthostedonthesitespreadsthroughblogsandsocialnetworkssuchasLinkedIn,FacebookandTwitter.Individuals&organizationsuploaddocumentstoSlideSharetoshareideas,conductresearch,connectwithothers,andgenerateleadsfortheirbusinesses.Anyonecanviewpresentations&documentsontopicsthatinterestthem,downloadthemandreuseorremixfortheirownwork.CorePDprinciplesrelevanttoDeeperLearning:RelevanceandCollaborationPotentialLimitationsWiththefreeaccount,filescannotbelargerthan100MBandtherearenosharingorprivacyoptions.CostFreewithfee‐basedProaccountsofferingadditionalfeatures.ResourcesandReferenceshttp://www.slideshare.net
e-learning and Deeper Learning 84
WestEd—August 2011
REFERENCES
CampusTechnology,(2011).QuoVadis,LMS?Trends,Predictions,Commentary.http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2011/07/01/Quo‐Vadis‐LMS‐Trends‐Predictions‐Commentary.aspxCarney,K.,(2011).ThinkOutsidetheBook.Learning&LeadingwithTechnology,Volume39Issue1,10‐14.RetrievedAugust6,2011,fromhttp://www.learningandleading‐digital.com/learning_leading/201108?pg=4#pg12Cormier,D.,(2009).PresentingwithLiveSlides,Dave'sEducationalBlog,November6,2009.Accessedathttp://davecormier.com/edblog/2009/11/06/presenting‐with‐live‐slides‐oer‐literacies‐libraries‐and‐the‐future‐preso/onJune10,2011.Cormier,D.&Siemens,G.,(2010).ThroughtheOpenDoor:OpenCoursesasResearch,Learning,andEngagement,Educause,Review,vol.45,no.4:30‐39.http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume45/ThroughtheOpenDoorOpenCoursesa/209320Darling‐Hammond,L.,Wei,R.,Andree,A.,Richardson,N.,&Orphanos,S.,(2009).ProfessionalLearningintheLearningProfession:AStatusReportonTeacherDevelopmentintheU.S.andAbroad.NationalStaffDevelopmentCouncil.Downes,S.,(2010).AWorldtoChange,HuffingtonPost.PostedonOctober18,2010Ellis,R.,(2009).AFieldGuidetoLearningManagementSystems,LearningCircuits.Feldstein,M.,(2010).InstructureCanvas:ANewLMSEntrant,e‐literate.PostedonJune30,2010http://mfeldstein.com/instructure‐canvas‐a‐new‐lms‐entrant/?utmFeldstein,M.,(2011).InstructureGoesOpenSource,e‐literatePostedonFebruary1,2011http://mfeldstein.com/instructure‐goes‐open‐source/Fera,R.,(2011).KenRobinsonOnThePrinciplesOfCreativeLeadership,n.d.,http://www.fastcompany.com/1764044/ken‐robinson‐on‐the‐principles‐of‐creative‐leadership.Gewirtzman,L.,(2011).Personalcommunication,July10.Johnson,L.,Adams,S.,andHaywood,K.,(2011).TheNMCHorizonReport:2011K‐12Edition.Austin,Texas:TheNewMediaConsortium.McLeod,S.,(2011).Whatareeducators'professionalobligationstolearnfromsocialmediachannels?BigThinkBlog.http://bigthink.com/ideas/38964
e-learning and Deeper Learning 85
WestEd—August 2011
NielsonWire,(2009).SocialNetworking’sNewGlobalFootprint.http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/social‐networking‐new‐global‐footprint/Nussbaum‐Beach,S.,(2011).Personalcommunication,July16.OECD(2008)."NewMillenniumLearners.Initialfindingsontheeffectsofdigitaltechnologiesonschool‐agelearners",OECD/CERIInternationalConference"Learninginthe21stCentury:Research,InnovationandPolicy",May15‐16,Paris.Preston,M.,(2010).ExaminingStudentThinkingthroughVideoAnalysisEducationalTechnology,v50n1p23‐27.Rich,P.&Hannafin,M.,(2009).VideoAnnotationTools,TechnologiestoScaffold,Structure,andTransformTeacher,ReflectionJournalofTeacherEducation.http://jte.sagepub.com/content/60/1/52.abstractRich,P.,(2011).Personalcommunication,July22.Richardson,W.&Mancabelli,R.,(2011).PersonalLearningNetworks:UsingthePowerofConnectionstoTransformEducation.Bloomington,IN:SolutionTreePress,3.TEDxTalks.(2010b).Wesch,M.,Fromknowledgeabletoknowledge‐able.[Videofile].Accessedathttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeaAHv4UTI8onJune24,2011.TEDxTalks.(2010a).Wiley,D.,[Videofile].Accessedathttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb0syrgsH6MaccessedonJune20,2011.Truss,D.,(2011).MyOpenEducatorManifesto.ConnectedPrincipalsBlog.http://www.connectedprincipals.com/archives/3225accessedonMay17,2011.U.S.DepartmentofEducation,OfficeofEducationalTechnology,(2010).TransformingAmericanEducation:LearningPoweredbyTechnology,Washington,D.C.Wesch,M.,(2011).AnAnthropologicalIntroductiontoYouTube,presentedattheLibraryofCongress,June23rd2008.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO‐lZ4_hU,accessedonJune25,2011.Wiley,D.,(2009).OpennessandtheDisaggregatedFutureofHigherEducationSlidesharepresentation.http://www.slideshare.net/opencontent/openness‐and‐the‐disaggregated‐future‐of‐higher‐education‐presentation,accessedonJune14,2011.