Faced with implementing new standards and inquiry-based instruction for over 180 school districts and over 30,000 social studies teachers with a department of two people, the social studies team at the Georgia Department of Education turned to virtual learning communities on edWeb.net to reach Georgia teachers and leaders.
Tech4TeacherEd is a new edWeb.net community for pre-service teachers, college of education faculty, and inservice educators to share resources and ideas for integrating digital tools into the classroom. The goal of Tech4TeacherEd is to provide a free professional learning community where undergraduate and graduate pre-service candidates can discover information about integrating technology into teaching and learning, a wide range of resources for educators, and the ISTE Standards for Students, Educators, Education Leaders and Tech Coaches. The community hosts edWebinars presented by teacher ed candidates, giving them an unprecedented opportunity to share their learning and perspectives on the issues impacting education with the global education community. It helps them engage as a professional in lifelong learning right from the start in their pre-service years.
“When you have administrators, teachers, and people in my position who are planning PD do so in a way that is meaningful to each and every teacher, in any content area – it’s really exciting. edWeb has been instrumental in helping us achieve this, because it’s easy to get to, easy to maneuver, and there’s something for everyone. To me those are absolutely immeasurable qualities.” Rachel Langenhorst, Instructional Coach and… read more →
Do you have a PLN? Those who do swear by it and live by the mantra “alone we are smart, together we are brilliant.” A PLN can help you find and curate the best ideas and resources, and build a network of supportive peers in a time of constant change. Steven Anderson, Digital Learning and Relationship Evangelist, and Shaelynn Farnsworth, Literacy Consultant, joined Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO of edWeb.net for conversation with Larry Jacobs on Education Talk Radio on this topic. Larry kicked off the conversation with the question, “What is the value of a PLN and how has that changed over the past 10 years?”
edWeb.net has free professional learning on such a wide range of topics that we call it “free-range PD!” Learn, share, and mentor with colleagues in your school and district, or meet up in edWebinar chats and in our professional learning communities with educators all around the world. Classroom teachers, librarians, and administrators can use edWeb to fuel their professional growth by viewing edWebinars live or on-demand, joining online discussions, accessing free resources, and creating a support network.
“edWeb gives you a tool to make a very easy jump into personalized professional development.” Dr. Robert Furman, an elementary principal at Southpark Elementary School in PA, is a best-selling author, and a national keynote speaker. He talked with Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO of edWeb.net, about how he uses edWeb.net to provide personalized PD that gets his teachers really motivated and excite about their professional learning. Rob describes how successful… read more →
We are delighted to post this article by Brittany Fowler, a Freed-Hardeman University student in the M.Ed. in Instructional Technology Program: “edWeb.net is your one stop shop for professional development opportunities. I enjoy becoming a part of the various online communities. By doing so, I am able to increase my technology tool box as well as collaborate with fellow teachers.”
“edWeb Case Study: Rock Valley Community School District” examines the way the district relies on edWeb.net to support its professional development program for teachers. Their program embodies four of the key features identified by educational researchers as characterizing high quality professional learning experiences, the effective design of online communities for teachers, and best practices for integrating informal online professional learning with formal district professional development. In each case, edWeb.net provides critical support that empowers Rock Valley leaders to implement research-based practices.
School leaders can use online networks and communities for their own personal professional learning, and to support collaboration with staff across schools and districts. In “How Online Learning Communities Help Principals Collaborate and Succeed,” Shannon Holden, Assistant Principal, Republic Middle School, MO, presented on the unique possibilities that online collaboration offers for personal professional learning and within schools, and how school leaders can use edWeb.net for online collaboration with staff.
Rachel Langenhorst, K-12 Technology Integrationist and Instructional Coach in Rock Valley, IA, was interviewed on Education Talk Radio for edWeb.net’s monthly show by Program Host Larry Jacobs along with Lisa Schmucki, edWeb founder. Rachel, Larry, and Lisa talked about the pajama PD day that Rachel’s district held during a recent snow day. The teacher-leadership team in Rock Valley had already planned for a full day of professional development, but had to rethink their plans when the forecast called for a snowstorm.