Online Professional Development

Two years ago, I rather half heartedly began converting the two graduate courses I traditonally teach 'on grounds' to an online format. I am now in my second semester of teaching online and I am astounded by how positively I have embraced the format.  By far, my favorite aspect of the online learning experience is the  powerful sense of community developed in these online courses. I've found that particpants in an online community are good to one another, supportive, engaged, and present- often in ways that are sometimes less than prevalent in the traditional classroom setting. There seems to be a heightened sense of accountability within these learning communites that fosters thoughtful feedback and insightful commentary.

I agree with Pati.  The online courses I have taken have been far more supportive with a greater sense of community than in a traditional setting.  I think this is true because students are on-line at all different times and can respond to a question, comment, or give feedback much quicker than in a classroom setting where you only meet once or twice in a week and everyone rushes off when class is over.  In addition to regular responses, I have found it much easier to revisit content that might have been confusing or that I just need to hear one more time.  

I have had a different experience with on-line learning. The course I took did not have a very strong sense of community at all--in fact, I felt as if the instructor did not have a sense of who I really was; nor did he seem to care. I wondered if this was just my personality. Am i easier to get to know in person?

Because we did have to do a lot of writing and the activities were open-ended enough, I did, however, have a strong sense of ownership over my learning in that course. I really felt as if I were able to research topics in a direction I was interested in. I was able to make my experience in the on-line course directly meet my professional needs. This is not always the case in a traditional course.

I look forward to hearing more about others' experiences in on-line courses.

First - I'm very excited to hear you are offering a course (or developing a course) in Making Meaning because I think that is one of the greatest Reading Programs out there! (It is for the Reading right?) I think online courses are great for those of us who are busy, working, but yet like to keep ourselves current with professional development and want to be able to develop our skills, be knowledgable regarding best practices. Online learning is the best way to learn for (I speak for myself and some of my friends who like me, work and have children/families) educators who want to be able to put their children to bed and then get online and get their work done when they finally have some peace and quiet in the day. Sometimes that may not happen until 10p.m. for me. I like online courses because I seem to be able to get my questions answered much quicker than if I were in a traditional class. (In a traditional class I might have to wait a whole week to pass before I can get in touch with the professor again.) 

Another nice part of online learning- depending on the platform used- i.e. if they are using Moodle, there are ways to embed great videos, music, links to poetry, other websites that can support learning. I have found with traditional learning- it's the textbook and that's it. BORING!! It's much more exciting to be able to see what other resources are out there that connect with the topic you are learning about! Additionally, you can read the posts of your classmates and get their points of view which can open up new pathways for thinking that you may not have thought of before! That's one of my favorite aspects because I love collaborating with others and just hearing all sides, viewpoints, and angles to a discussion....it can be very eye opening! I find that I've learned much more from my online courses than my traditional courses every time and I've been able to refer to those materials time and time again- if I print them... because if I don't- I can't access them once the course is over.

The only disadvantage for me has been that I can be VERY forgetful- and sometimes I forget to go online each day and check for new posts of for assignments and I think this is just habit because as a digital immigrant- it's not part of what I do each day- so I'd have to start training myself to check my online courses each day to make sure if there was any new content for the day! Otherwise I think online learning is fabulous and I wish you well in your endevours!

Yesterday I attended an AMAZING professional development opportunity on Lesson Study by DSC! It was facilitated by 2 of your VERY BEST facilitators: Tabatha and Gina. In only 3 hours, I felt like I learned a LOT but when it was over, I really didn't want it to be.... (that's a great sign that they had the audience engaged- and I wasn't the only one who felt that way!!)

The reason I am posting this entry here, under online Professional development, is that I would have never been able to have the experience of the engagement that I felt in that room, had I tried to experience that in an online forum. So- I guess- my message would be some programs call for online PD and others don't...but obviously you know your programs and products BEST and know which are suited for online PD. Making Meaning is one that YES, I agree could be one where I wouldn't mind learning about it in an online forum...but Please- DON'T ever put your LESSON Study online.... unless the components are for those who have been through multiple sessions already. Those who've been through PLC training and Lesson Study training and have been using it for at least a year- could benefit from some online material- but not first timers....

Have you been able to get any of the Making Meaning online yet? Just curious. I read your book- the Lesson Planning Handbook- I loved it- I wish I had it 12 years ago... it would've been a huge help then but it's a HUGE help now too!!! As you say in the book, we have to always be in a continuous learning mode if we are going to be instructing children!! I love learning- I think that is one of the reasons why I chose this profession!

P.S. I would LOVE to see a Lesson Study Blog...