Internet Tools To Support Professional Development in Education

1. Selecting Internet Tools to Complement Current Practice in In-Service Professional Developemt

A. The Challenge of Professional Development

By Jerom Johnston

B. A PD Example from AAPS: Brain-Compatible Learning Initiative

By Jerom Johnston

C. Can Internet Tools Enhance the Face-to-face Version of These Functions?

By Darryl Wahlstrom, Gloria Martinez, Soo-Young Lee

The Challenge of Professional Development (JJ)

• Needs: Information, exploration, collaboration
• Challenge: Too few slices of time of the right size.
  • Time in general
  • Travel time: between-bldg or between-district efforts require travel time for every event

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A PD Example from AAPS: Brain-Compatible Learning Initiative (JJ)

• BCL (Susan Kovalik): A typical professional development effort
• Timetable of face-to-face activities [modify link to jump to Class 12]. Four different types of activities in this effort:
  • Information transmission and motivation of participants,
  • Group study of materials about the innovation,
  • Visitations to observe successful practice, and
  • Support groups for participants trying to implement the innovation.

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Can Internet Tools Enhance the Face-to-face Version of These Functions?

Followings are brief overview of the possible implementations of Internet tools for enhancing Professional Development.

For more detailed descriptions, click each category of the funtion in the table.

Function	Electronic Enhancement
Transmit Information	Web pages as a library of print & graphical information. HomePage & Fetch.
Motivate	Web as a library of illustrated lectures: text, graphics, & "streaming audio." RealAudio.
Support Collaboration	Asynchronous communication among participants. Electronic mail and e-mail with attachments. Pine, Eudora, Netscape Mail.
	Synchronous communication. Chat Group.
Study Groups	Internet as an interactive electronic newspaper. NewsGroups.
Visit Model Sites	Video Conferencing: CU SeeMe.

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Technological Aspects

Implementing Infrastructure