Sunday, January 22, 2012

Professional Learning Saturday

Today was another instance of the ready availability of professional development.
I am always looking for innovative ways of teaching with technology in the 21st century. I had planned to attend the annual Teach Meet Ga unconference (#TMGA12) in Atlanta on the 21st but had to reprioritize my schedule at the last minute. Bad news in the 20th century but because this century is more about connecting and collaborating, I was able to attend virtually from the comfort of my living room. A good portion of the day, I watched the Live Stream of the conference online and even connected through the twitter #hashtag to see what everyone was learning. Most of the speakers I already follow on twitter or RSS so it was good to hear them live. I came away with a plethora of innovative ideas and tools just as if I had attended the conference in person. Some of these I will redeliver to a class I am teaching Monday on "Engaging Students in the 21st Century." Just a great Saturday of professional learning in the 21st century. One of the actual attendees actually commented on Twitter that she ha just spent" $800 to attend another conference but this one was so much better."
Here's the question, if professional learning is this convenient why do teachers still not take advantage of the opportunities available?

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Mr. Gerry Kosater

There are two paths you can choose but there's always time to change the one you choose