680 Module 4 Discussion

Hello Class,

For this module we were to head over to a website discussing different Professional Development opportunities for teachers.  What was unique about the website was that these PD classes were delivered online using technology instead of the traditional setting.  I was immediately intrigued because this could open the door for many more choices and opportunities to grow as an educator.

Lets be honest, sadly most of us don't look forward to SIP days or Teacher Institute days for a variety of reasons.  For me, I have few choices of topics and they very rarely line up with something I want to bring into my classroom.  Also, the cost of going outside of the district can sometimes be high and get denied if you try to attend one outside of what is provided by your district.  Also, how many times have you come out of professional development and really feel like it was a valuable use of your time?  That is why I think the article I choose to read, "The Flip Side of Professional Development", could be really valuable for districts and teachers alike. 

When I first chose the article I wasn't sure if it was going to be about Flipping the Classroom or about Flipping PD delivery.  It was about the latter and although I love learning about Flipping the Classroom tools, I think the article was extremely interesting!  Basically, the premise is that you can host a variety of topics and have professionals from around the world present them to your teachers by flipping the PD.  This can be done through live streams, or by screencasts that were prepared earlier.  Both have their merits, but the live stream, although probably more expensive, seems like a very valuable experience for the teachers.  Especially when it comes to asking questions or making comments live with the instructor. 

The biggest reason this is so valuable is because the choices for PD could really open up for a district.  If a whole bunch of districts got together to plan it out, you could literally have 100's of choices for PD and an endless variety of topics.  If you livestreamed it, you could attend the PD from the comfort of you classroom or designated area of your building.  This would eliminate the space issue or classrooms filling up and missing out on PD that you actually wanted to attend.  The cost of travel for the district would go down, and the likely hood that the PD actually benefits your teachers goes way up. 

I think this would be a great option for my district.  I will be honest that I usually walk away from most PD sessions disappointed.  Very rarely do I even find a class to sign up for that fits my needs as an educator.  With Flipping PD, the choices would multiply and they opportunity to attend sessions that actually benefit me and therefore my students would go way up.  I would imagine the cost for the district would also go down as well. 

I can't think about much that is missing, except districts might have a harder time with individual accountability and possibly follow up.  One of the aspects described in the article was that it would be an ongoing relationship with the PD and the instructor.  In my experience, that is often hard to pull off as the instructor is often extremely busy with their own classroom.  How do we make sure that the relationship continues and the development isn't limited to just one session, and then quickly forgotten about till something new and shiny comes along?

Thank you ,
Jim Nielsen

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