For fun this weekend, I whipped up this proposal for COSN Conference 2009 specific to Thinkfinity. If you'd like me to do this workshop for your campus or department, please let me know via email at "mguhlin@saisd.net". We'll set the class up in ePath for you!

This workshop is about 3 hours.

Title

5 Steps to Successful Professional Learning for Teachers

Summary

This presentation shares 5 strategies for enhancing the learning environment at both school and home for students, their parents, and teachers. Often, educators and students lack access to high quality online resources they can use. Thinkfinity.org--and affiliate organizations--provide no-cost, unlimited access to resources. Learn 5 ways on how you and your teachers can blend Thinkfinity resources to enhance teaching and learning at school and home.

Objectives

• Participants will explore 5 professional learning strategies to ensure successful technology integration for teachers.
• Participants will discuss how Thinkfinity.org and specific interactives it offers can expand what teachers and students can do at no additional cost.
• Participants will learn how to blend high quality web-based resources with social bookmarking tools like Diigo and/or Del.icio.us.

Description

Facilitating successful professional learning opportunities that result in transforming teaching and learning is difficult. In this session, the facilitators will share 5 research-derived strategies for structuring professional learning that is successful. The five strategies to be shared (adapted from the work of the TLT Group) are 1) Begin with a long-term focus on a few selected outcomes and the educational activities needed to improve them; 2) Choose technology that can contribute incrementally and cumulatively over time; 3) Emphasize forms of instructional material that most faculty members find quick and easy to create, adapt and share; 4) Track the progress of the strategy needed to stay on course; and 5) Tap into online learning communities to sustain professional learning. Recognizing that ensuring access to quality learning resources online is critical, as well as knowing how to interact with those resources, the facilitators will share Thinkfinity.com and how it can be utilized in a variety of learning settings, including small group, large group, and individual. Participants will also be introduced to social bookmarking tools--such as Delicious and Diigo--that enhance participants' ability to organize online learning resources.