5.+Process

Process
Discussion draft NOTE: Written for educators [could link from Jane’s end-chapter content re, classroom picture interpretation]
 * Process bucket **
 * My comments in green - Rick **
 * Raising the bar of professional practice through PLE/PLNs **

Elsewhere we noted a transition from slideshows and blackboards, “classroom” seating patterns, and single-source teaching. To the rise of classroom scenarios in which students capable of using digital media and accessing the internet engage in a wide spectrum of diverse and creative learning experiences designed by their teachers.

While students are not fundamentally different from their predecessors, their needs and expectations for learning are influenced by their social and recreational use of digital media combined with the global reach afforded by the Internet. Consider too the type of new skills students must have because of the massive stream of information which they will need to be able to process in their lives. In response to this and a world marked by rapidly changing conditions, the teaching role is growing, too. It is moving onto the Internet. It is requiring new rules and forms of engagement. New design and structures for accountability and freedom available in the digital age. And, new tools for teaching, reporting, and facilitation as appropriate to the learning goals, aspirations, and technical abilities of students.

In a nutshell, teaching and learning more than ever can and must be fun and rewarding, interesting and challenging, and real-world in its delivery. That is, as experiential and socially connected as it is informative. And the technology to the extent that it is available can be fully exploited to access and utilize a growing, rich cache of resources and global connections. NICE

For educators, this is a continuous learning and career development exercise. It is a process of identifying and developing new skills and teaching strategies, updating knowledge and maintaining affiliations, and growing as professionals to remain at the forefront of the learning experience. To lead the conversation on learning priorities. And, to bring the expert’s perspective and input to public conversations about learning needs and how to achieve them for the larger community or society. I like how this is personal talking to the reader. I need to think about how we can integrate this style throughout if applicable.

Learning projects range long and short, from scanning the future horizon or external environment, to researching best practices in the field, to gaining expertise in special education or a doctoral degree, to acquiring a second language or technical skills needed to unlock or inspire the star student in every individual. [?]

In this module we take a look at what it takes to develop the competencies and networks that ensure an effective and progressive professional practice [and by extension, the enhanced performance of your educational organization].


 * Continuous learning and professional development process **

The formula we want to recommend starts with considering the future view. That is, a look at what is going on in your world, what it could lead to, and what can you do about it or where do you fit in. Developing or surveying future scenarios is one way to form realistic anticipations of what may happen in the future. What are the forces affecting your classroom. Your school. Your field. What and where will be your opportunities for change. What about economic and workforce trends. What and where will be the opportunities for your students. This serves as the context for the next step.

Now you can assess your current practice and develop a scenario for your future practice. This may be towards greater effectiveness in the classroom, towards new roles as lead teacher or specialist or curriculum designer, or towards teaching a different student body. It may be a future view of moving out of the classroom and into administration. Or, it may be towards changing fields altogether. With a future practice or project in mind, you can evaluate your skills, knowledge, and abilities -- are they what they should be. Are they used to their fullest. Can your collection of competencies expand to meet changing demands. Or, have your professional interests changed. This type of assessment is the basis for identifying what you need to determine your goals and ways to reach them. That will be how you ensure that your practice, where ever it is leading, remains relevant and successful, connected to your community of practice -- and aligned with your future view.

Next step is to develop a personal learning environment and network to tap or expand your connections to resources and communities of interest. And to acquire the skills, knowledge, toolkits, and such that you have identified. Again a nice formatting approach where you end with a sentence that leads to the next topic.


 * Personal learning environment and networks **


 * What are they? ** Establishing and developing, or maintaining and growing a PLE/PLN is a process. But well worth the effort for its enduring flexibility and adaptation to the project at hand or any other you will pursue next. Build one from scratch or convert your social network to a social learning network. Use it to learn new material, new skills, new views. Use it to help you deal with __changing__ issues and opportunities. Use it in situations in which there will not be one right answer or one right way to go.

A well developed PLE/PLN provides diverse views that will help you and others you may be teaming with to generate useful information. Make decisions. Create multiple answers or solutions. Or simply generate a completely different view of the problem, or even reframe it. Learning that is created __and__ implemented within your social learning network supports your most creative responses to a broad spectrum of situations through exploration, innovation, and knowledge.


 * What does it look like? ** Building or developing one -- yours -- is a deliberate and ongoing effort. It is ultimately a network of valued connections to individuals, information and knowledge, and forums and organizations within your field and the external environment. It is relevant to your current and future learning projects. Short and long-term projects such as a scan of the future horizon in your subject area. An update on changing practice requirements. Or the need to source and exchange ideas and applications. [We discuss this in / link to PLN bucket.]


 * How do I? ** Based on your learning project, you will need to create a strategy for, and develop the means to connect to networks of interdependent people and organizations, content, and forums. Think of these as nodes. ** --link to nodes and connectors in paradigms- Rick **

Possible nodes that comprise a professional development network and environment will likely include peers, colleagues, and other practitioners within your field. Personal advocates and mentors. Organizations that disseminate content, practices, and/or host or sponsor exchange forums. Educational and research institutions. You are helping me to see how the "clickage" linking will make this dynamic. [Use clickage PLN bucket image here]

You may find that the information you need to create and execute the learning project is available through this existing network.

Or, you may realize the need to expand it. In either scenario, do not overlook utilizing the power of the Internet to develop your nodes with local, regional, national, and international reach. YES

This exercise in turn helps you to understand and lead your students “abroad” so to speak to discover a world of resources and venues in which to read, write -- and, create.

Your final step in this process is to select tools by which you can find information sources (individuals, organizations, forums), engage and process new information, and create and share with others yours. The tools available today are relatively easy to learn and use. These will include tools for research and analysis, communication, media creation and presentation, and so forth. And, many of the most highly effective and useful ones are free. * In reading the How Do I? section I want to see examples, alternatives different pathways to bootstrap this process. I would be happy to brainstorm on this if you want. - Rick A guided tour to create a basic PLE/PLN I think here a tutorial on VUE as the tool to map out the PLE/PLN. Action items as part of the concept map, links resources, etc as part of the content map. Can I link to people via content map? i.e. click on a node that contains an email address. So acting on your process is built in to the artifact (VUE interactive map) - Rick Resources include
 * [We discuss this in / link to Tool bucket.] **
 * [Use clickable Tool bucket image here] **
 * [Consider embedded interactive tutorial for creating a simple PLP or personal VUE here **
 * v printable pdf worksheet here] **
 * We have created this task aid to help you explore this process. **
 * 1. A futuring exercise: scan, scenario, or polling task here **
 * 2. Assess current skills, knowledge, tools, resources, networks **
 * 3. Identify gaps or opportunity to expand **
 * 4. Create the learning and/or networking plan **


 * Alliance for Excellent Education and Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (2011). //Teacher and Leader Effectiveness in High-Performing Education Systems//. L. Darling-Hammond and R. Rothman (eds). **
 * World Future Society (2006). The Art of Foresight. Preparing for a Changing World. [] . Accessed 7 February 2011. **

//*// // FROM JANE / RICK From a purely practical standpoint, evaluation of the components of the PLE is an important part of the process. I would like to see us suggest guidelines for the evaluation process without being too deterministic or pedantic. The future-proof element comes in to play here. Also considerations of cost vs free, how widespread is the adaptation of a specific application (and does that matter? It might for some classes of tools, but not for others). //// not to mention, there may be a collection of tools already be in use or supported in the educator’s environment ... //

// Shall I introduce these flags in this bucket, to be treated with more detail in the Tool bucket? //


 * General Notes (Rick) – I like that we are establishing an environment (current state of teaching, learning, technology, communication, connection). **


 * Establish where I am in this. **


 * Where do I need to go? **


 * What do I need to do to get there? Why do I need to go from point A to point B? Isn’t my current state of affairs sufficient? (NO!) **


 * (add) What have others (peers? pioneers?) done to get there? What were their processes? What were their roadblocks? Aha moments? **


 * How do I make this process ongoing and continuous? It’s not a one-time thing, after all, or at least I don’t think it is. It is a continuous cycle of adding new links and nodes, new connections, perhaps letting others naturally atrophy and drop off (inevitable). How do I discover new tools? New paradigms? How do I know if they’re any good? Can I pursue this process in a social milieu? Can we pursue this process together? or partially together? **


 * How is the process immanent in the artifacts (See VUE tutorial idea above). **