August 2007 — Professional Development
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Putting the LURE inLearning Community
Team members spent the first semester of the 2004-2005 school year learning how to use the site to build pages and developing learning activities to use with their colleagues. It looked as though they were ready to launch the expanded on-site professional learning community when they received some unexpected news: The new district website could not support the kinds of activities they planned to share with the rest of the staff.It was a setback, but not a roadblock. When institute teams reconvened the following winter at the 2005 Florida Educational Technology Conference, the Sebastian group reported what had happened, then, finding itself at a technology conference, set out to identify new tools that would support its plan.
Due to budget factors, the team decided to look for low- or no-cost options. It quickly identified several web-based tools that could be used to build classroom pages. The learning activities were revised, and in 2005-2006, the team launched Sebastian's first LURE group. The learning community held four monthly two-hour meetings.
In addition, team members were readily available for coaching and extra assistance. Just five teachers opted to join the first year, but in 2006-2007, nearly half of the staff signed up. In addition to developing the classroom sites, teachers are designing lessons that incorporate online research, opportunities for students to make technology-based presentations, and podcasting. A handheld computer program has been instituted in upper-elementary classrooms as well.
Anytime access to on-site experts has led to smooth implementation and ongoing use of new tools. And because teachers are increasing their use of technology as an instructional tool, student exposure to various technologies and their level of ICT skills are also expanding. Those students who created personal web pages are maintaining their sites to date. Information literacy skills are improving, thanks to project assignments that require technology-based research and reporting.
Systemic changes are taking shape as well. The original team continues to take a leadership role on-site, modeling new uses of technology. For instance, team members now do much of their planning online using web-based tools. Staff members are also actively seeking grants and other funding opportunities to expand and enhance their use of technology. The upper-grade handheld computer program is the result of a successful grant application.
Finally, the ultimate goal of this project—home/school communication—will be taken up a notch next month, when every classroom's newsletter is scheduled to go online.
Susan Brooks-Young is an education consultant and author based in Lopez Island, WA, and Vancouver, BC.
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