Blogging, Professional Development, Web 2.0, Wikis

Presentation: Using Blogs and Wikis for Professional Development

8 Comments

If you are in the Georgia Independent Schools Association, and you’re going to the annual conference this year, feel free to stop in my session, “Using Blogs and Wikis for Professional Development,” if that topic is of interest to you.  Vicki is also presenting about her Flat Classroom projects.  My colleague at Weber, Mike, is presenting about free tech tools for teachers.  I think all of us are in the morning session.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about my presentation, and if you were in a session about using blogs and wikis for professional development, what would you hope to get out of it?  What sorts of examples would you like to see?  What issues would you like to discuss?

8 thoughts on “Presentation: Using Blogs and Wikis for Professional Development”

  1. I am a wiki lover and have been working with them for a while. I'm not sure if these issues fit with your presentation but here goes:

    – wiki platforms (free such as Zoho Wiki or hosted like Site Ground)

    – wiki format/ease of use (MediaWiki which requires some basic markup and coding skills vs. a WYSIWIG product like Zoho Wiki)

    – semantic annotation (discuss concept and whehter it is useful – this may be above the heads of your audience)

    I've been developing the following wikis, one of which you can see:

    – genealogical resource management wiki (http://www.lowvillelongago.com). This takes small town newspaper data and connects the dotted lines between people.

    – employeepedia/mepeedia. Create a wiki with all employee and "who does what" info for a company. Also create a wiki about me: employment experience, projects, etc.

    – knowledge management. I am developing a wiki based on 1,000+ agreement templates used in a law firm to teach new attorneys the process of forming a start up company or a merger/acquisition. Wiki articles include links to forms and annotation as to how and when to use certain forms.

    Dana – let me know if you want to discuss any of this – I am available

    Thomas MacEntee

  3. This is a topic in which I am becoming increasingly interested. Although I am in NZ (and therefore won't be coming to the conference!), it would be great to think about how the kinds of ideas cited by MacEntee above align with what is considered to be 'effective PD practice'. Over here, we have been using a Best Evidence Synthesis [http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515/15341] which explores what makes for effective PD. Looking at how Web 2.0 tools can foster what research states 'works' for teachers' PD might be a possible avenue for thought.

    Best wishes,

    Karen

  4. Sharing the concept of online book studies for professional development might be helpful. Perhaps you chould share our Penny Kittle study from this summer.

    BTW, I'm trying to organize and launch a book study of Jeff Anderson's Mechanically Inclined. I'm considering using a multi-author blog for the book study. Do you think it would be too complicated–for teachers who don't blog?

  5. Lisa, I was definitely going to use the Penny Kittle study. I fell down on that project in a major way, but my impression is that others really got something out of it.

    To answer your other question, I think as long as it has a WYSIWYG interface, it won't be a problem, but as with wikis, there will be a few folks who need help at first.

  6. Dana,

    I saw you were presenting at the GISA conference too. I've tried to steer some of my teachers in your direction. I'm presenting in the afternoon on Classroom Management so I may try to catch your session in the morning.

    Have you heard anything out of the Faculty Room lately?

    Thanks!

  8. New to your blog…as I am in Los Angeles, I won't be making the conference but I would love to see the presentations that you mentioned. Any chance of a posting of the PowerPoints or notes?

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