Development with a Difference Redefining Professional Development for Today’s Teachers Brad Fountain Discovery Education.

Development with a Difference

Redefining Professional Development for Today’s Teachers

Brad Fountain

Discovery Education

A bit of trivia...

A. 12-17

B. 25-29

C. 30-34

D. 40-44

Which age group has the highest percentage of its members online?

A. 13%

B. 18%

C. 26%

D. 43%

What percentage of public school students are considered to be part of a racial or ethnic minority group?

A. Google

B. YouTube

C. Yahoo

D. MySpace

One of the fastest growing websites in the world and has visitors watching over 100 million videos per day?

A. Google

B. YouTube

C. Yahoo

D. MySpace

If registered users of this website were a country, it would be larger than Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

A. 5%

B. 10%

C. 20%

D. 40%

What is the percentage of students entering school that speak a language other than English?

“When a teacher tries to teach something to the entire class at the same time, chances are, one-third of the kids already know it; one-third will get it; and the remaining third won't. So two thirds of the children are wasting their time.”

- Lilian Katz as quoted in Teaching Young Children (1993)

We Must Know Our Students

Is development being augmented by the tools we use?

Teacher training is something that can be presented or managed by others; teacher development is something that can be done by and for oneself” (Edge 1988)

What About Individualizing Professional Development?

The Web 2.0 Revolution

A little bit about Web 2.0

Summarized in “social software” or tools that connect people and allow them to:

• Contribute

• Collaborate

• Share

• Edit

• Network

How?

Teachers move from the more traditional model of being isolated in their classes, schools, states, and countries when developing themselves professionally, to one where they collaborate with colleagues around the world by participating in…

Discussion Forums

Presentations

Webcast/Webinars

Seminars

Communities for Teachers and Educators

Hands-On Workshops

• DEN Events

• Apple Educator Events

• Local Educational Institutions

• Traveling Conferences

• Staff Trainings

Recorded Lectures/Presentations

Online Office Space

Keeping Information Attainable

Teaching the Information to Find You

DEN TV via ustream

I develop with Web 2.0… and I am not isolated from my peers therefore I not only

survive, but strive!!!

Some good reads…• Blogs

– 2 Cents Worth – David Warlick

– Teach42 – Steve Dembo

– The Strength of Weak Ties – David Jakes

– Moving at the Speed of Creativity – Wes Fryer

– Weblogg-ed – Will Richardson

– Dangerously Irrelevant – Scott McLeod

– Beth’s Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom – Beth Knittle

• Books

– Tested – Linda Perlstein

– Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning! – Marc Prensky

– A Whole New Mind – Daniel Pink

– The World is Flat – Thomas Friedman

– What Video Games Have to Teach us About Literacy and Learning – James Paul Gee

Comments or Questions?

Brad FountainDiscovery Education

[email protected]://blog.discoveryeducation.com/