Web 2.0 represented a paradigmatic shift towards openness and interactivity. Easy to use, free tools allow anyone who would like to create and maintain a web presence. Most successful websites in every arena allow people to interact meaningfully both with the site and with other users. Web 2.0 is inclusive in the sense that anyone can participate.

A similar trend, which was in fact strongly impacted by Web 2.0, is taking place in professional development. The older model, which was often static and non-participatory, is being supplanted by a more dynamic and inclusive model. While Web 2.0 tools helped make the trend possible, it really reflects a greater shift in the way we do things as educators. As we learn more about how people learn best, we can take those ideas and apply them to our own learning as well as to our students.

In the old model, which I am arbitrarily calling professional development 1.0, the most common form of professional development was simply meeting with people in one’s own building. This should and will not ever go away; there is real value in meeting with the people you know in person who teach the same students or the same content. However, depending on one’s circumstances, this is a very limiting form of development. You become dependent on the skills and experiences of but a few people even in the best of circumstances.

Imagine if you could connect and meet regularly with teachers all over the world: teachers who teach in similar schools, teachers who teach in completely different schools, teachers with conservative and progressive ideologies, teachers from nearly every country on the planet, teachers with expertise in your content area, teachers who are amazing at integrating technology, teachers who are trying something you are interested in. How wonderful and useful would this resource be? In professional development 2.0, this is exactly what educators from all over endeavor to make happen. Through a vibrant global network, educators of all different experiences, skills, and circumstances gather to help each other. One of the best parts is that it does not have to take place during the school day. From North America and South America to Europe to Africa to Asia, there are always dedicated educators available whose whose knowledge we can plug in to and draw from.

Professional literature has always been a means of delving deeply into a specific area to try to learn more and improve. Professional development 2.0 does not try to stop people from reading books; far from it. Rather, professional development 2.0 tries to help provide richer meaning and context. For example, there are numerous online book clubs where educators read the same book and regularly try to determine how to best apply it in their situations.

Professional journals have long been sources of the most current knowledge in the educational field. Unfortunately, they are fairly elitist. The cost a lot of money and most schools and teachers do not have the money to subscribe. An amazing thing is happening today in professional development 2.0. Knowledge and expertise is becoming democratized. Teachers, administrators, and college professors all often publish their thoughts on education, theory, pedagogy, assessment, and more online for free. The dialogue, particularly through commenting, is now 2-way and peoplecan interact with experts. Professional journals are still around and will be for a long time as publishing therein is something many professors have to do to attain tenure; however, they are no longer the only or main source for current ideas.

Lastly, conferences have long been a staple of the educational field. There are two complaints that are often levied at these conferences. First, they are so expensive that it is often prohibitive for the average teacher to attend. Second, the dialogue is often 1 way, through a lecture possibly accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation. Teachers are expected to improve by using an outdated learning model with little interaction? It is one of the reasons that many teachers find the networking aspect of conferences to be the most valuable.

Teachers are now taking the idea of networking and putting it forward prominently. Teachers globally are starting free conferences, often termed unconferences, where anyone is allowed to speak and anyone is allowed to freely come. Expertise and knowledge are again democratized and people only attend the sessions in which they find value; there is often extended time and space provided for networking as well.

The shift is definitely moving towards a model that is both interactive and inclusive. I, for one, very much look forward to how professional development will continue to change and evolve.

Project Based Learning reflects a belief that students learn best in an atmosphere is one in which they operate in safety, isolated from the “real-world.” Again, this may not be something that most teachers will say, but as I have been reading in Alfie Kohn’s Beyond Discipline, we can often understand thought based on the actions that proceed from it. To students, much of school work, particularly the dreaded worksheet, seems like busy work. While project based learning does reflect a belief that students learn best through exploration, constructing their own knowledge, it still seems arbitrary to students when there is no greater purpose beyond the assignment itself.

Performance Based Learning seems closer to the mark. According to my understanding (I realize that different educators are working with different definitions. Hopefully conversation can stay on substance as opposed to semantics.) , this type of environment is one in which a standard is explicated and the students show mastery by completing a project that is engaging to the students. This definition is paraphrased from the ACSD. To me, this still will seem top-heavy and arbitrary to students unless there is a component that connects the standard to a real-world issue.

Problem Based Learning reflects a belief that students are capable of making a difference in the world and have an obligation to do so. In project based learning, the teacher or class find a problem in the world, whether that is the classroom, school, community, state, etc…, and try to use the skills that they have acquired to solve the problem. Ideally, the solutions will be meaningfully presented and, if possible, put into practice. As Daniel Pink notes in Drive, students need autonomy, purpose, and mastery to achieve optimal motivation. A true problem based learning environment gives students the freedom to make choices about how to solve the problem and present their findings; it will require mastery of certain skills to try to solve the problem and allow students to further develop their skills as they explore; purpose is served by trying to actually work on an issue that is relevant to the students’ lives.

I am not putting problem based learning on a pedestal as a panacea to education. Rather, I would hope that we all examine our practice for our underlying beliefs about students and learning. Feedback is most welcome.

• http://socialsigfor.me: I wanted a Web 2.0 tool that could make a simple and aesthetically pleasing email signature easily. I spent a weekend diving right into code despite the fact that I had not coded anything in probably 6 months (I wrote an online textbook tracking program for one of my old schools once upon a time.). I got a rough copy working in 2 days. Despite support and positive feedback from my PLN, I have not kept it up. I know exactly what features it needs to make it a really great site, but I have not devoted the time to learning the necessary Javascript to make it become so.
• Techniques for Effective Technology Integration: In the spring semester of last year, I started writing a book after getting a lot of support from my PLN. I wrote an outline and even published drafts of the introduction and the first 3 chapters. Then, I got distracted by life and haven’t gotten back to it yet.

So, why am I writing about all of this? The answer is twofold. When dealing with student motivation, we need to be wary of operating in a strictly long-term modality. Telling students that they should do a homework assignment because it will be harder for them to get accepted into a good college if they do not is really not an effective motivator for most students. People have a hard time relating the consequences of the short-term to their longer-term futures. Similarly, if students are working on an extended project (i.e. several weeks), there should be checkpoints and smaller goals so that students can gain feedback and share progress.

Second, many of you know the situation I am currently in and I am not going to devote many more words to it hear. In short, though, I may have more time on my hands than usual during the school year this year. I’ve been kicking around the idea of starting another book with the working title of Professional Development 2.0, covering all things blogs, Twitter, EduPLN, unconferences (TeachMeet/EdCamp/Barcamp, etc…), and more. The only thing discouraging me is the worry that I will start yet another worthwhile (at least in my opinion) project and not finish it. It also does not help that my wife’s computer broke, so we are sharing one 7-year old Thinkpad.

What do you think? Should I undertake the project or focus on more down-to-earth endeavors? How do you keep motivated and on-track with your own long-term projects? I appreciate any feedback.

This is an incredibly useful personal application. But how does it help out students? There are two features that really come in handy. The first is the ability to make any file or folder in DropBox a public link. This makes sharing files a breeze.

Second, thanks to some clever coding by Amit Banerjee, whose work I found via the excellent Lifehacker blog, you can allow students to upload their work. Follow the directions on the site listed above. It should be noted that you need a web server to upload 2 files to; if you have your own website, you probably have a web server.

I made a few changes to make it work better for me. Instead of just linking to it, I like to keep students in one place when on the class website. For example, I would rather embed a video than send them to a video site. In the same vein, I made the dimensions smaller so that it could fit on my blog using the <iframe> command. I also changed the background color to match that on my blog.

In my DropBox, I made a student work folder. Now, whenever students want to give me something, I just have them upload it to the Student Work folder in my DropBox. To make it even more useful, I have the students using a naming convention that makes it very easy for me: period-name-assignment. For example, 3-Bedell-Journal. This way, on any of my computers, I have all of my students’ work organized by period, then by last name, then by assignment.

I can then even leave feedback on the files and send them back to the students with a shareable link. It takes a little tinkering, but it takes an excellent tool and makes it even more useful for students.

Here is an example of what it could look like.

While coding is not something I find easy nor something I have any training in, I find it enjoyable and a good mental exercise (not to mention extremely frustrating at times). Here are some of the things that I would like to accomplish. Please let me know if you can help with any of them.

• A custom logo and header.
• Dynamic resizing of icons so you could customize how large they are on your site.
• Drag-and-drop so you can rearrange the icons in any order you like. Right now, it is just alphabetical after Website, Email, Phone, and Fax.
• User accounts so you can store and modify signatures.

I just finished redesigning the new site (other than still needing a header) and debuted a new home page. I home that you find it useful.