Video in Online Teacher Professional Development

Warren Petchalonis

Quote

Throughout my career as an educator I have been involved in many professional development workshops/seminars in which I took away very little from the experience. Today it seems harder than ever to motivate and engage staff in meaningful professional development. -Eric Sheninger Principal at New Milford High School

How effective is professional development?

In a survey by Public Agenda, 50% of teachers polled that professional development makes little difference to them.

Why is professional development important?

Studies show that anywhere from 40% to 90% student achievement can be attributed to the instruction of the teacher. Professional Development must engage teachers and be meaningful in order to produce adequate results.

Is Online More Engaging?

Online professional development programs can provide flexibility and value if well-integrated.

Online professional development allows access to high-quality instruction and courses that may not be provided locally, and allows teachers to access the learning from any time and any place. - Barbara Treacy Director for EdTech Leaders Online

Examples of Videos Used in Professional Development.

Example One: Highly Produced Example Two: Streaming Example Three: Podcasting

Advantages to Using Video in Online Professional Development

More flexible for teachers, accessible at anytime

Better for districts who lack the funding to attract bigger name workshops or presenters

Advantages to Using Video in Online Professional Development

Video in professional development does not run out, helpful to be used as a refresher at any time

Can be tracked by administrators providing a clearer picture for documentation

Advantages to Using Video in Online Professional Development

"The data is there. You can track how long a person took on an activity, how frequently they accessed material, how many times they 'spoke' in class, and how thoughtful and rich their comments are. It's all documented and clear." Barbara Treacy

Obstacles using Video in Online Professional Development

Intrinsically

not as hands on as a face to

face meet
Administrators

still think there is more value in face to face professional development

Learning

is self-directed, could be a benefit is teacher is prepared for the rigor

Teacher Engagement Skyrockets with the Right Professional Development

A new case study reveals teachers and administrators in Collier County public schools in Florida reporting elevated levels of student learning and achievement, when they use school improvement network professional development tools.

Collier County Schools Continued..

The innovative PD 360 videos are unique and classleading because of the quality of production, and each is research-based with classroom examples of best practices. The videos are also relatively short in nature (approximately 6-12 minutes in length) allowing educators access to snack-able content that is easy and accessible to view and implement.

Collier County Schools Continued..

Teachers, administrators, professional learning communities, coaches, mentors, instructional leaders, and paraprofessionals have available at their fingertips hundreds of indexed and searchable video segments that present real, best-practice classroom examples and feature respected education experts.

Future of Video being used in Professional Development

Video will be implemented more and more as the demand for high quality, yet bite-sized examples of best practices are needed in online professional development. Video will most likely be blended between online professional development and face to face meetings.

"The thing we think is most important to supporting online professional development is the same as with traditional professional development.

- Barry Fishman

Associate Professor of Education and Learning Technologies at the University of Michigan

References
Educational Leadership:How Teachers Learn:Learning with Blogs and Wikis www.qazam.com/jenmountain/fa1.pdf TechLearning: Professional Development: 21st Century Models Harvard Education Letter Teacher Development: Starter Kit for Teaching Online | Edutopia www.projectwet.org/pdfs/conference-2011/Kevin-D-Curry-CS8.pdf www.youthchg.com/seencolumn8.pdf lMoving at the Speed of Creativity - Videos for PD www.publiceducation.org/pdf/publications/teacher_quality/teacher_prof_dev.pdf