The Next Step ...

More than Working Smarter...Working for Better Results

Educators realize that using technology for professional development helps them work smarter. Now we also understand that it has even a more powerful purpose: To ensure continuing progress toward desired results.

Videoconferencing technology, in particular, facilitates a variety of powerful professional development models, each of which can have great impact. The live interaction provided through videoconferencing (IVC) allows face-to-face, real time learning opportunities for educators while eliminating the costs of substitute teachers and travel for themselves as well as consultants.

Now all staff can

• learn together on an ongoing basis, ensuring an initiative can improve student achievement sooner.
• enhance their skills, content knowledge, and application of best practices.
• monitor their progress and make modifications to teaching and learning as needed with the help of experts.

IVC also allows us to differentiate professional development for small teams of educators, staff, and parents to immediately address particular needs as they arise.

Let’s explore a scenario where videoconferencing was used to ensure continuous improvement. The following example highlights a school that worked toward the goal of becoming a professional learning community (PLC):

The school sent a leadership team to participate in a summer institute where they learned from leading experts in the field how and why to implement a PLC infrastructure. The team came home overwhelmed.

Committed to success, they planned and participated in regular videoconferencing connections with a PLC coach from the institute to help them overcome the obstacles that often arise as implementation begins and to maintain their focus on the desired results.

In addition, the team used IVC to "bring in" an expert to inspire and motivate all the staff at once. Since the cost of the IVC connection was determined per site rather than per person, they invited teachers, support staff, parents, and community partners to ensure that they all received the same message and began to "own" the initiative.

As implementation continued, their data showed that specific teams of educators needed additional support in particular areas. They organized follow-up IVC sessions for specific content areas and grade level teams with resource people from other schools who had successfully implemented a professional learning community. These sessions enabled educators to receive the support they needed as they discussed issues and shared insights.

As the staff continued to refine their work, they embarked on a whole faculty ‘book study’ and arranged for the author to initiate the study via videoconferencing. When their study was completed, another session of questions and answers was held with the author to make sure they had a clear consensus on "next steps."

As educators, we understand that building relationships, receiving support, and working together is vital to learning and continuous improvement. Videoconferencing is proving to be an efficient and effective vehicle toward this end. It enables us to "build the plane as we fly it."

Submitted by Claudia Wheatley.