westmoreland iu21 clc

Living and Learning in a Global CommunityInnovative Schools Virtual University

6 Trends for the digital age

Analogue Digital

Tethered Mobile

Closed Open

Isolated Connected

Generic Personal

Consuming Creating

Source: David Wiley: Openness and the disaggregated future of higher education

Define Community

Define Networks

A Definition of Community

Communities are quite simply, collections of individuals who are bound together by natural will and a set of shared ideas and ideals.

“A system in which people can enter into relations that are determined by problems or shared ambitions rather than by rules or structure.”

(Heckscher, 1994, p. 24).

The process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations. (Wikipedia)

A Definition of NetworksFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Networks are created through publishing and sharing ideas and connecting with others who share passions around those ideas who learn from each other. Networked learning is a process of developing and maintaining connections with people and information, and communicating in such a way so as to support one another's learning.

Connectivism (theory of learning in networks) is the use of a network with nodes and connections as a central metaphor for learning. In this metaphor, a node is anything that can be connected to another node: information, data, feelings, images. Learning is the process of creating connections and developing a network.

Making connectionsIn connectivism, learning involves creating

connections and developing a network. It is a theory for the digital age drawing upon

chaos, emergent properties, and self organised learning.

(It’s not what you know, or who you know- but do you know what who

you know- knows? )Source: Wikipedia

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http://www.pestproducts.com

“Understanding how networks work is one of the most important literacies of the 21st Century.”

- Howard Rheingold

http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu

Net

wor

ksC

omm

unity

The driving engine of the collaborative culture of a PLC is the team. They work together in an ongoing effort to discover best practices and to expand their professional expertise.

PLCs are our best hope for reculturing schools. We want to focus on shifting from a culture of teacher isolation to a culture of deep and meaningful collaboration.

Professional Learning Communities

FOCUS: Local , F2F, Job-embedded- in Real Time

Communities of Practice

FOCUS: Situated, Synchronous, Asynchronous- Online and Walled Garden

Personal Learning Networks

FOCUS: Individual, Connecting to Learning Objects, Resources and People – Social Network Driven

pd on fast forward

responsiveresponsive

personalized

interconnected

global connections

need to bebuilt

who’s in your network?

social networkingjoin the conversation

Reading Blogs

constantly connecting

personal making

connections

Too Many Blogs?!?!

But how do you read them all?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10244704@N05/2484112082

RSS to save the day!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/videoplacebo/2476230102/

Take One Website RSS Feed

+ One Feed Reader

21st Century Pedagogy

CommunitiesOf Practice

PersonalLearningNetworks

F2F Teams

DIY-PD

Do it Yourself PD as Self Directed Connected Learners

"Rather than belittling or showing disdain for knowledge or expertise, DIY champions the average individual seeking knowledge and expertise for him/herself. Instead of using the services of others who have expertise, a DIY oriented person would seek out the knowledge for him/herself." (Wikipedia, n.d.)

Community is the New Professional Development

Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999a) describe three ways of knowing and constructing knowledge that align closely with PLP's philosophy and are worth mentioning here.

Knowledge for Practice is often reflected in traditional PD efforts when a trainer shares with teachers information produced by educational researchers. This knowledge presumes a commonly accepted degree of correctness about what is being shared. The learner is typically passive in this kind of "sit and get" experience. This kind of knowledge is difficult for teachers to transfer to classrooms without support and follow through. After a workshop, much of what was useful gets lost in the daily grind, pressures and isolation of teaching.

Knowledge in Practice recognizes the importance of teacher experience and practical knowledge in improving classroom practice. As a teacher tests out new strategies and assimilates them into teaching routines they construct knowledge in practice. They learn by doing. This knowledge is strengthened when teachers reflect and share with one another lessons learned during specific teaching sessions and describe the tacit knowledge embedded in their experiences. 

Community is the New Professional Development

Knowledge of Practice believes that systematic inquiry where teachers create knowledge as they focus on raising questions about and systematically studying their own classroom teaching practices collaboratively, allows educators to construct knowledge of practice in ways that move beyond the basics of classroom practice to a more systemic view of learning.

I believe that by attending to the development of knowledge for, in and of practice, we can enhance professional growth that leads to real change.

Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S.L. (1999a). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teaching learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249-305.

Passive, active, and reflective knowledge building in local (PLC), global (CoP) and contextual (PLN) learning spaces.

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/google_whitepaper.pdf

Dynamics of Different Network TypesCommunity of Practice

Project Teams Informal networks

Purpose Learning SharingCreating Knowledge

Accomplish specific task

Communication flows

Boundary Knowledge domain

Assigned projector task

Networking, resource building and establishing relationships

Connections Common application or discovery- innovation

Commitment to goal

Interpersonal acquaintances

Membership Semi - permanent Constant for a fixed period

Links made based on needs of the individual

Time scale As long as it adds value to the its members

Fixed ends when project deliverables have been accomplished

No pre-engineered end

Looking Closely at Learning Community Design

4L Model (Linking, Lurking, Learning, and Leading) inspired by John Seeley Brown

http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/2006/06/roles-in-cops.html

This model is developed around the roles and interactions members of a community have as participants in that community.

User Generated

Content

Celebration

Connection

Communication

Collaboration

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Team Action Research Projects

Your team will work as a Professional Learning Team to co-create a project:

Develop a creative PD plan to share what you have learned over the past year with the rest of your school or district.

Develop a 21st Century curriculum project that is constructivist in nature and leverages the potential of emerging technologies.

Action Research

www.newmediamusings.com

Is learning simply about gaining knowledge...? cc

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... or making connections?

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The New Third Place?

“All great societies provide informal meeting places, like the Forum in ancient Rome or a contemporary English pub. But since World War II, America has ceased doing so. The neighborhood tavern hasn't followed the middle class out to the suburbs...” -- Ray Oldenburg

Levels of engagementL

evel

of

enga

gem

ent

Type of engagement

Browse, search, learn(Anonymously)

Comment(with attribution)

Ask a question(with attribution)

Write a blogBecome a mentor

Become an expert

RegisterComment

(Anonymously)

Waxing and Waning Interest

Degrees of Transparency and Trust

Join our list Join our forum Join our community

Increasing collaboration and transparency of process

Tech Enhanced Learninghttp://techenhancedlearning.wikispaces.com/ 21st Century Teaching and Learninghttp://abpc.wikispaces.com/

Your community’s life-cycle

Plan

Start-up

Grow

Sustain/Renew

Close

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el o

f en

ergy

an

d v

isib

ility

TimeDiscover/imagine

Incubate/ deliver value

Focus/ expand

Ownership/ openness

Let go/ remember

From: Cultivating Communities of Practice by Wenger, McDermot and Snyder

Characteristics of a healthy community

Collaborative Tools Wikispaces

Del.icio.us and Diigo

Twitter

Elluminate

NING

Facebook

Slideshare

Flickr

YouTube

Evernote

“Collaboration with others in my district and learning new tools was the best part

of PLP. Connecting with other teachers in my district for new ideas and connecting with other schools for new ideas made PLP the best PD ever!”

~ Science teacher in WNY

"The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence. It is to act with yesterday's logic." - Peter Drucker

http://pixdaus.com

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