Want to vs Have to
From LiteracyTentWiki
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1088] Re: Introductions - Marian Thacher
From: Crystal Hack chack at cait.org
Date: Mon May 14 11:48:44 EDT 2007
Hi All,
In response to Marian's thoughts/questions:
> I want to respond to the second question Jackie posed, what has been on my
> mind re online PD? The biggest question on my mind is how do adult
> literacy teachers learn online? Some of you have already noted that maybe
> the majority don't, or don't want to, or don't have time. I think maybe
> they just haven't yet had the experience of finding a community of people
> who are thinking about the same pressing issue they are thinking about at
> the same time, and connecting with them. I don't think I would have
> discovered this without someone, a friend, leading me by the hand,
> explaining how a BBS worked (yes, it was a long time ago!), and telling me
> about all the great learning experiences she was having online. So that
> raises the question of a mentor, study buddy, peer coach. We have a lot of
> different models for it, don't we?
Marian and others, I think in IL we are finding that people are not
necessarily taking the online professional development route because the
"want to" so to speak, but rather out of necessity.
~Gas prices are so high that online pd offerings or at a distance pd
offernings have helped by not maxing travel bugdets.
~Illinois is a big state and to make everything centrally located still
requires a 4-5 or possibly even 6 hour drive for many and even if it is
centrally located in a region that is a 2-4 hour drive for those in that
region. So online PD has cut down on drive time so more time in the
classroom.
~PD needed for instructors in a timely fashion has lead to online pd being
more readily used too.
We do an implementation partnership with the GED-i Project. We have been doing it for 2 years now. Programs in IL apply to be a part of it. We generally work with at least 3 programs per semester, although this semester we are working with 5. Once selected, I work with the program administrators as a mentor in most cases and the instructors work with a specific trainer for the course of a semester. The connections usually extend well beyond the sememster. We have found this to be very effective. It is very much a mentoring situation, although we do not specifically title it that. We are going to try something new in the upcoming year. We are going to work with programs for the entire year, rather than merely a semester. I am anxious to see how this goes. Please let me know if there are any questions about the implementation partnerships we do.
Crystal Hack GED-i Coordinator
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1091] Want to vs. Have to (was Introductions - Marian Thacher)
From: Marian Thacher mthacher at otan.us
Date: Mon May 14 13:21:00 EDT 2007
We have the same issues in CA, distance and gas prices. We do have 10
professional development centers around the state, so that helps. I think
we're at the beginning of online PD right now, and it is not embraced by
many teachers, but in a few years we as a field will look back on these
days as kind of archaic.
Crystal, your mentoring of programs for the GED-i sounds great! It sounds
like you're intensively working with programs and with teachers who really
want to implement the program. To me, that's the ideal. Like our mentor
academy, you get to select and work with the enthusiastic ones, and
through their successes word spreads. If there is time to do this, I think
it's more effective than *requiring* online learning or teaching.
It looks resource intensive, but because it's effective, it may also turn
out to be cost-effective in the end. It's hard to measure that, though.
Marian
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1096] Re: Want to vs. Have to (was Introductions - Marian Thacher)
From: Crystal Hack chack at cait.org
Date: Mon May 14 16:05:48 EDT 2007
Hi Marian and others,
We have four regional professional development centers. My project,
however, has a statewide focus and although I have worked with the
regional centers on many things their scope of work includes many
professional development initiatives beyond just the online curriculum
that is the focus of my project.
I have regional contract trainers, who are experienced users of the GED-i
in either the online classroom, as a coordinator of the online project or
as administrators of the online project. The dollars spent are not as
much as one would imagine because I am working with contract people
instead of full time employees. This also allows for my trainers to stay
rooted in their classrooms and programs and to continue to use the GED-i
so the field needs do not surpass their experiences in teaching online.
I have seen a much greater impact on system use overall by programs when
using the mentoring/implementation partnership approach to training at a
distance. I feel we have definitely seen a closer connection to the
programs and the administrators more readily respond to me and the
instructors feel very connected to the trainer and the system as a result.
I often say when talking about our approach that you can take the words
"GED-i" out of the process and procedures for implementing and working
with program staff and plug in any distance learning project name and the
steps will still be beneficial to other projects. The preparation is done
mostly via email and telephone, with either a videoconference or
face-to-face training along the way if that meets the need.
I will share with you an except from one of the reports I received from a
suburban Chicago program that worked with us on the implementation
partnership. It discusses the staff growth and broadening of staff
perspective that happened as a result of the at-a-distance professional
development and online curriculum use, in their case video-conference,
phone conference, and email training. It shows how "have to" do this
turns into "want to" do this once they get a taste of it.
Here is an excerpt from South Suburban College’s Program
Administrator/Adult Education Director, Jane Stocker. The excerpt comes
from an implementation partnership report submitted to me in 4/07.
- The best thing that I can share is the story of my staff. I have watched a group of people who have a variety of technological skills band together to become as one. The people in this group represent a minimum of four different sites that have varied needs and serve different populations. Yet, when they are challenged by GED-i, or by me, they have defended each other. They are sharing their deficiencies with the other staff in a hope to understand what they need, or what they may lack.
- Last week I called a meeting due to a lack of response to the GED-I trainer, and when they assembled, they all had great stories to share about the program or their students. They have come to realize collectively that they do not have all of the skills necessary, but they have become willing to learn. GED-i has given them hope in a newness that they did not expect. They see how they make their own mistakes as they struggle through their lessons as a student and as a result, they have a renewed sense of compassion with their own students.
- Through exposure to the Video Conference Training, their trainer, the emails from CAIT, etc., they are looking at a variety of Internet programs, as well as GED-i to help their students. They are beginning to see the value of technology. This exposure to technology is energizing their students. When they told me of this observation, I took the opportunity to share with them the dynamic that is occurring. As their students become energized, they see this pattern and become more energized, which in turn re-energizes their students. This is a cyclic pattern that can continue, as long as they continue to embrace this new opportunity.
- Technology was not a priority at South Suburban College GED a few months ago, but now they are concerned with their lack of knowledge. They want to be able to use the computers, use email, and have new machines at their sites. This is part of my long-term plan, not just the exposure to GED-i, but the ability to challenge their students. They can only begin to do this if they have the tools of the 21st Century. During these past few months, I have watched some tired, seasoned staff who saw no reason to engage their students, who felt no connection to me as the new administrator, and who could barely smile, have now brought new meaning to their teaching, to their personal skills, even to the extent of purchasing a computer for home!! All of this is a dream for me. It would have been enough to use the program, but to see life changes is something that I could not purchase. This has made this struggle for technology worth it for me and the program as a whole. I see the staff demanding more help, more technology, and wanting to maintain this drive.
To me this says the impact of having a trainer/mentor on this particular
program was great. You can see they struggled with it. They struggled
with the online nature of the interaction with the trainer, but the end
results and what they gained was clearly worth the effort according to the
testimony given by the program director, Jane Stocker.
The "have to" did turn into the "want to" in this case.
- -) Crystal
