Professional Development - Choose Your Own Adventure

See how I carried out this concept.  Slide 98 starts the choose your own adventure.



Overall, I really liked:

• Teacher initiative to move forward on their own using the tutorials that I set up prior to the PD session
• The ability to learn from the participants items that they discovered on their own
• The opportunity to help those participants who needed more help
• The fact that participants did not need to wait for another participant who may slightly fall behind during the creation steps

I will continue to develop this concept when it comes to professional development sessions.

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Teaching Learning Team Establishes Web Presence

Four people will comprise a Teaching Learning Team that will establish relationships with departments to  facilitate their procedure for teaching.  If teachers have an idea, we want to facilitate getting them as many resources as needed to meet their learning targets.

As we formulate these relationships, a web resource area needs to be the "go to" place for teachers to request help from us or acquire resources on their own.  It will continue to grow as our team transforms learning for educators.

My specific section so far will be the CCSS page in which I have created areas for grades 6-12 educators to obtain supplemental problems that will help our students make the transition.  At this time, math and ELA are the sections for supplement problems. In addition, I created a Mobile Resource and Web Resource page.  I think a nice touch was the inclusion of a CCSS news resource that will aggregate its stories from Google news.

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Blog vs. Site For Digital Teacher Presence

Teachers are starting to inquire about which tech tool may be better for their classroom presence.  After a thirty minute session with two outstanding teachers, I decided that a blog post detailing blogs and sites would be appropriate!

Two happy clients on their way to having a classroom digital presence.

• If you don't have time to read the entire post, take this:  blogs are updated always, and sites are static.  You may also need to create a new blog each year!

Google Blog Positives

• Updated information always at the top of the website.
• Labeling as a use of categorizing
• Embed YouTube videos
• Embed Google calendars
• Embed Gadgets
• Embed Pictures
• Links to anywhere on the web
• Create pages
• Multiple layouts, designs, templates 
• Shorter URLs (web addresses-your address(.)blogspot.com
• Searchable by Google 
• Can leave comments to blog posts
• Archiving of blog entries
• Can create pages, but cannot have blog posts on these pages
• Multiple authors (great for collaborating with other teachers)

Google Site Positives

• Static
• Insert a wide variety of tools (see below)

• Create pages
• Updated announcements (similar to blog posts) can be placed on a page, but cannot be organized or labeled
• Pages can have an area for comments to be placed, usually on the bottom
• Can upload files in numerous formats (could be useful for previously created documents in MS Word)
• Templates available, but not as many as blogger
• Multiple authors (great for collaborating with other teachers)

Articles from other sources that may help you decide.

• Google Sites - in depth professional development site I created in 2011 for our school district. View It
• Fantastic article outlining the differences: Blog vs. Site
• Blogs vs. Sites What's the difference?
• Should I start a blog or a site? Good Question
• Blog vs. Site Where should I start?

Bottom Line:
Both are great!  You decide!  Either way, your students and parents will be provided with great resources from your classroom!

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