How to Build High Quality Professional Development

1. How to Build High Quality Professional Development Week 4 Invisible Layering Supplement

2. Building and Sustaining an Online Community of Learners What Does an Effective Online Community Look Like? • Interaction – Evident through dynamic discussion forums, collaborative activities, and frequent opportunities interaction • Common goals – Operating standards established and agreed upon protocols are followed • Camaraderie – Evident through connections and shared humor • Trust between members – A safe and supportive environment is established and supported • Group Processing - Participants work towards processing towards continuous improvement, they do not wait for “policing” or prompting from the facilitator • High comfort level for ongoing dialogue – Participants actively utilize the discussion forum and engage in higher-level thinking and critical reflection • Accountability – Participants are accountable for their learning and responsible for course activities

3. Building and Sustaining an Online Community of Learners What Does an Effective Online Community Look Like? • Team and Community Building - Opening and ongoing activities • Self and team evaluations – Participants are able to self-assess their individual and team progress • Teamwork– Participants feel “safe” and have established trust to work collaboratively on team activities and assignments • Feedback – Participants receive feedback from instruction in a timely and positive manner • Emerging leaders – The facilitator helps to “groom” and support emerging leaders for future development of the online learning community and PD initiatives

4. Building and Sustaining an Online Community of Learners What is the primary element needed to make an online community successful? • The primary element needed to make a community successful is… Effective Communication! • Communication in an online community happens synchronously and asynchronously.

5. Building and Sustaining an Online Community of Learners • Keep them connected by providing “we are all together” moments • Segue from one assignment to the next • Summarize previous discussion and provide a transition to next assignment or discussion • Develop activities for “we are all together” moments • Surveys to compile collective thinking (display group results) • Collaborative consensus building discussions • Scheduled synchronous chats

6. Building and Sustaining an Online Community of Learners How do you know you have created a highly-effective online community? • You know a course is highly effective when there is momentum within it, outside of the facilitator’s efforts. • That momentum comes directly from participant involvement. As participants communicate on their own and create spaces to do so that directly involves and empowers you, nurtures independence, and supports a dynamic, course landscape! • You must also look at the content to see evidence of analysis and growth with in the various modes of communication and in final products

7. Progression of Activities: Use Pace and Time to Your Advantage Mix online and off-line activities • Workshops extending over several weeks provides opportunities to make meaningful connections to classroom practice • Participants can test out new ideas, gain practice in acquiring skills, conduct research or integrate tools or strategies into classroom instruction • Have participants “report-out” on offline activities and engage in critical reflection

8. Resources • Electronic Learning Community http://cte.jhu.edu/elc_tutorial • Blackboard www.blackboard.com • Desire2Learn http://www.desire2learn.com/welcome.html • WebCT http://www.webct.com/entrypage • Moodle http://moodle.org/ • Comparison of Online Course Delivery Software Products http://www.marshall.edu/it/cit/webct/compare/comparison.html