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Tiauitionally classioom teacheis have stoou in fiont of the classioom anu lectuieu theii
stuuents. Teacheis have been seen as "the sage on the stage" impaiting theii knowleuge anu
wisuom to eagei young minus. Knowleuge was helu by the expeits anu impaiteu slowly anu
ovei a long peiiou of time. Stuuents weie expecteu to absoib this knowleuge anu
uemonstiate it. Technology consisteu of blackboaiu anu chalk. Touay classiooms aie
unueigoing massive change fiom those of the past. Teacheis no longei simply impait
knowleuge, but guiue stuuents in theii own leaining piocesses. Knowleuge is an open souice
shaieu with many, no longei kept by the euucateu elite. Teacheis anu stuuents aie expecteu to
builu theii own peisonal leaining netwoiks anu enviionments. These leaining enviionments
change anu giow with them anu allow them to leain on theii own whenevei, anu wheievei
they want. Teacheis aie evaluateu no longei on the length of theii tenuie, but on theii ability
to teach chiluien of the new uigital age. Technology consists of computeis, smait phones,
smait boaius anu tablets as well as social meuia that connect us in new ways. Eveiy facet of
the classioom is in flux.

We will exploie the technology useu in classiooms, the way knowleuge anu leaining
aie accesseu in the new millennia, the evaluation of those that stanu at the fiont of the
classioom, anu the uigital uiviue that exists between those that have access to the technology
anu those that uon't. These tienus in euucation anu issues that aiise in the uigital age will
guiue the classioom in the uecaues to come. While we uo not know what kinus of jobs
stuuents of the futuie may have theie aie skills they must mastei in oiuei to obtain them. The
classioom must guiue oui stuuents in 21
st
centuiy leaining, anu technology will neeu to meet
the changing neeus of stuuents anu classiooms.

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0ne of the ways in which the classioom of the 21
st
centuiy is changing is thiough the use of
vaiious technology anu social meuia that is so pievalent in the lives of touay's stuuents. The
challenge foi teacheis in the uigital classioom is to help stuuents hainess this technology foi
leaining. Stuuents have access to so much infoimation at theii fingeitips thiough cell phones,
tablets anu laptops that pait of the job of a touay's teachei is to help stuuents think ciitically
about what they finu, anu how to use it successfully foi theii own leaining. 0ne way this is
beginning to happen is thiough the cieation of Peisonal Leaining Enviionments.

Peisonal leaining enviionments (PLE) aie the outcome of inuiviuual oi small gioups
collecting web iesouices tailoieu to specific goals anu leaining neeus. The iuea of collecting
anu customizing iesouices foi inuiviuual leaining is ceitainly nothing new. Bowevei, iecent
uevelopments in social meuia-twittei, blogs, nings, anu mobile uevices have iefoimeu the
piocess anu maue it much moie social anu auaptable foi stuuents anu teacheis alike. Social
meuia can be useu to enhance stuuent leaining; allowing them to builu connections with theii
classmates anu otheis aiounu the woilu. Teacheis can use these same social meuia sites to
cieate uiscussions anu in uepth uialogue about classioom activities anu leaining with theii
stuuents. The 2u12 Boiizon iepoit places PLEs on the two to thiee yeai time-to-auoption
uespite the fact that many inuiviuuals aie cuiiently employing this philosophy thiough
"#$%&'( $%)*$#+
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actions as simple as collecting apps on a tablet. Implementation as the Boiizon iepoit states
is moie of a philosophical one, in which "the way we leain infoimally can, anu even shoulu,
infoim the expeiiences we cieate at school". In shoit, PLEs aie the logical extension of
uiffeientiateu instiuction thiough technology anu peisonalizing the enviionment anu
expeiiences at the inuiviuual level (Boiizon 2u12 p28-Su). Figuie 1 shows a possible uiagiam
of a stuuent's PLE that can be useu anywheie they have access to the Inteinet.


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Cuiient stuuents inteiact with the woilu online much moie than stuuents even a
geneiation ago. Stuuents iegulaily text, tweet, anu "follow" each othei, in shoit they aie
continually connecteu thiough theii phones anu the Inteinet. Theii uesiie to be social on the
web is fulfilleu thiough PLEs. This cuiient geneiation of uigital natives " have uiffeient
patteins of woik, attention, anu leaining piefeiences. Theiefoie, tiauitional teaching
methous will neeu to be auapteu to the neeus of the new "Inteinet geneiation" offeiing
suppoit foi social anu collaboiative leaining" (Popescu, p. 1). PLEs biing the social aspects of
"knowing" into the classioom anu woikplace. The piocess of leaining thiough Twittei,
YouTube, Facebook, oi following blogs is highly peisonal anu tailoieu to the inteiests of the
stuuent. PLEs seek to ieplicate this piocess of leaining by auopting the same tools anu
oiganizing them in a way that piesents infoimation to stuuents in a veiy accessible mannei.
Teacheis can use social meuia sites to inciease leaining thiough inteiaction with stuuents.
The following aie a list of iesouices that coulu be useu to cieate a PLE.

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0ne thing that all of the above applications have in common is theii ability to be a
social tool in the classioom. PLEs biing foiwaiu the social aspect to leaining. Feeuback fiom a
stuuy of stuuents who weie taskeu with cieating a PLE gave the following comment; "the
social element has hau a laige impact in my leaining piocess, helpeu me to cieate stiongei
links with classmates, fiienus, anu teacheis, because you inteiact moie anu put youi opinions
foiwaiu" (Toiies, p.6).

Social leaining online uoes have its uiawbacks howevei. Stuuents can easily get
uistiacteu with excess infoimation anu limitless access on the Inteinet. 0ne emeiging
application of PLEs is calm computing. "Calm computing enables new ways of piocessing,
integiating, anu consuming infoimation. It auvocates peiipheial awaieness of activity in a
viitual woilu anu ability to move easily fiom a seivice at the peiipheiy of oui attention to the
centei, anu back" (Fiaiuhi p.1S6). This ieuuces uistiaction of unnecessaiy infoimation anu
focuses the leainei on the task at hanu. Fiaiuhi auvocates foi the use of a wiuget appioach,
which uiaws infoimation fiom a wiue iange of souices anu uisplays them in a way that aims
at high piouuctivity anu low uistiaction. Wiugets can be customizeu foi the classioom oi the
stuuent, focusing leaining anu enhancing the inuiviuual's expeiience.

Socializing at school has often been thought of as a sole uistiaction fiom the ieal woik
of leaining. Now, cuiient social meuia, socializing can be seen as a tool in the foim of a PLE.
As this new methouology becomes moie wiuespieau in euucational settings it will be
inteiesting to see if the histoiical uistiactions of socialization can be oveishauoweu by the
benefits of social meuia. Foi teacheis the challenge will be to help stuuents stay on task, use
theii PLEs effectively anu outline the consequences foi misuse.

Stuuents will builu theii own PLEs with the help of expeiienceu teacheis. Bopefully
PLEs will giow as stuuents matuie, theii neeus anu the tools change. Classiooms will continue
to pioviue stuuents many oppoitunities to shaie knowleuge anu inteiact, but not all stuuents
have the same ability to builu these peisonal leaining enviionments because of the lack
Inteinet access at home. What uoes this lack of access mean to those stuuents.

8/4/+12 8/6/%#
While the way we leain anu how we leain is changing in the classioom so is the way we
access technology anu the Inteinet. Peisonal Leaining Enviionments (PLE) anu 0pen
"#$%&'( $%)*$#+
-


S
Euucational Resouices (0ER) uepenu on the ability of the usei to access the inteinet. Foi
some this is as easy as sitting uown at theii home computei anu connecting to the inteinet.
Foi otheis this piesents a majoi challenge. In the nineties as the Inteinet became moie ieauily
available, technology changeu biinging about an infoimation society oi age. But many of those
weie left out of this ievolution. "The uigital uiviue is most commonly uefineu as the gap
between those inuiviuuals anu communities that have, anu uo not have, access to the
infoimation technologies that aie tiansfoiming oui lives" (Bickaiu & Schneiuei, 2uu2).
Ninoiity gioups such as Afiican Ameiicans, Bispanics, the pooi, anu many iuial communities
weie laigely left behinu with the onset of the infoimation age. This was uue in pait to the lack
of access to computeis anu the Inteinet. Bome computeis weie expensive, anu founu
piimaiily in the homes of the well off in society. Limiteu access to the infoimation supei
highway was gianteu thiough schools, libiaiies anu othei institutions to the pooi anu
minoiity gioups, but causeu these gioups to fall fuithei anu fuithei behinu in theii
unueistanuing anu use of technology. This uigital uiviue "inspiieu many effoits to get the
latest computing tools into the hanus of all Ameiicans, paiticulaily low-income families"
(Richtel, 2u1u). Theii effoits shiunk the gap between those that have anu those that uon't, but
a gap still exists foi many.
As technology has evolveu anu piices have uioppeu, a vaiiety of uevices have become
moie ieauily available to all. Nost inuiviuuals can puichase a smait phone with access to uPS,
the Inteinet, email, anu games. Nany of touay's televisions, oi game consoles can access uigital
content via the Inteinet. "As access to uevices has spieau, chiluien in pooiei families aie
spenuing consiueiably moie time than chiluien fiom moie well-off families using theii
television anu gaugets to watch shows anu viueos, play games anu connect on social
netwoiking sites, stuuies show" (Richtel, 2u12). "Bespite the euucational potential of
computeis, the ieality is that theii use foi euucation oi meaningful content cieation is
minuscule compaieu to theii use foi puie enteitainment," saiu vicky Riueout, authoi of the
uecaue-long Kaisei stuuy. "Insteau of closing the achievement gap, they'ie wiuening the time-
wasting gap" (Richtel, 2u12). Stuuents spenu a majoiity of theii fiee time on theii uevices
texting, emailing, face-booking anu tweeting each othei. They want to be enteitaineu by theii
game consoles, phones anu tablets. This has cieateu an enteitainment vs. empoweiment gap
(Beitz, 2u11).

Lack of access is still a pioblem foi many minoiity gioups. Nillions can only affoiu
limiteu bioaubanu access ovei theii phones oi game consoles. While stuuents can access
social meuia, play games anu text each othei on theii uevices theii ability to access
infoimation on the Web is limiteu by theii uevice. Filling out job foims, finuing health
infoimation oi upuating a iesume is uifficult to uo on a game console oi smait phone. Nany
may choose to access the Inteinet via libiaiies, anu othei institutions, but theii connections
anu equipment aie limiteu. Peisonal laptops anu mouems aie ways in which most people
successfully navigate the infoimation age. "The uiviue has shifteu fiom an access issue to a
G".- 17 *88&++ uiviue" (Beitz, 2u11). "As oui jobs, enteitainment, politics anu even health caie
move online, millions aie at iisk of being left behinu" (Ciawfoiu, 2u11). "While 9S peicent of
high-income householus use the Inteinet at home in some fashion, just S7 peicent of the
pooiest uo. The well-off aie also moie likely to own cellphones, computeis, e-ieaueis anu
6
othei enteitainment uevices" (Wayne, 2u1u). "Afiican-Ameiicans anu Bispanics, as a whole,
have lowei incomes anu lowei euucation levels than the national aveiage. Because income
anu euucation aie so highly coiielateu with Inteinet access at home, usage of computeis anu
the Inteinet in school systems becomes even moie ciitical foi Afiican-Ameiican anu Bispanic
stuuents. Schools in innei cities that seive minoiity" (Nooie, Laffey, Espinosa, & Louiee,
2uu2). Along with access many stuuents, who lag behinu acauemically, have uifficulty using
the Inteinet to fiame seaiches oi access ielevant sites on the Inteinet. These stuuents can suif
the web foi pictuies of theii favoiite stais anu playeis, but aie unable to execute an auvanceu
seaich because they uon't unueistanu how to. They fall behinu theii peeis in theii ability to
unueistanu anu use the Inteinet, anu this inability peipetuates the uigital uiviue between
stuuents that have anu those that uon't.

Is theie still a uigital uiviue in iuial communities. Nany iuial homes have little access
to the Inteinet at home. Bioaubanu connections aie limiteu oi unavailable foi a majoiity of
those families. In the small uistiict of Youei, Co "the goal (of technology) is to expanu the
stuuents' hoiizons anu piepaie them foi college anu the woikplace, wheie technological
liteiacy will be assumeu" (Butiymowicz, 2u12). Nany small uistiicts anu schools infuse theii
cuiiiculums with technology thiough a vaiiety of inexpensive uevices such as iPous anu E-
ieaueis. Buugets aie small anu technology uollais neeu to stietch to meet these ciitical neeus
so many uistiicts have tuineu to online leaining. "Ruial schools have long been leaueis in
uistance-leaining anu online euucation to offei a full slate of couises to theii stuuents,
they've hau to be" (Butiymowicz, 2u12). These couises allow stuuents to take auvanceu
couise woik oi paiticipate in couises such as Chinese, which cannot be offeieu in theii iuial
schools. The futuie of access to the Inteinet is looking much biightei foi those in iuial aieas
because of cheapei technology anu online leaining oppoitunities.

Recently Comcast launcheu a low cost Inteinet seivice foi families ieceiving fiee oi
ieuuceu school lunches. This seivice pioviues a laptop anu access to the Inteinet. While only
families in the Comcast aiea can paiticipate in this seivice it offeis a chance foi many families
to bioaubanu access. "Companies like Comcast coulu pioviue mobile labs that coulu visit
communities in the same way bookmobiles useu to tiavel the countiy" (Beitz, 2u11). Nany
states aie uiging Inteinet pioviueis to pioviue low cost seivices to minoiities anu the pooi.
This will impiove theii ability of joining theii peeis in using the Inteinet foi the Infoimation
age. With the auvent of 0ER minoiities, the pooi anu iuial communities have the ability to
paiticipate in online foiums anu leaining. "Nobouy believes that technology will be a quick-fix
solution to poveity, but ensuiing that unueiseiveu inuiviuuals anu communities can access
euucation anu tools to impiove the quality of theii lives ceitainly appeais to be a ciitical piece
of the answei" (Bickaiu & Schneiuei, 2uu2).

Finally theie exists a new uigital uiviue, one founu between stuuents anu teacheis. This
uiviue sepaiates the uigital native fiom the uigital immigiant. A uigital native is someone boin
aftei the implementation of uigital technology. A uigital immigiant on the othei hanu is
someone boin befoie the geneial use of uigital technology. You might wonuei how this can
piesent a uiviue in the classioom. The answei is a simple one. Bigital immigiants aie speaking
an outuateu oi pie-uigital language that uigital natives no longei unueistanu. Foi example, in
a classioom a teachei iefeis to iecoius, pay phones as well as a host of othei things that theii
stuuents have no memoiy of evei seeing let alone using. Teacheis might mention the fall of
"#$%&'( $%)*$#+
.


7
the Beilin Wall oi man walking on the moon. Youngei stuuents have no living memoiy of
these events. The expeiiences of the uigital immigiant aie fai uiffeient fiom those of the
native. The technology that most uigital immigiants have giown up with has changeu so
iapiuly in many cases it is extinct. Theii stuuents no longei shaie theii fiame of iefeience.
"We aie cuiiently euucating stuuents foi jobs that uo not yet exist, uealing with technology
that has not been inventeu, to solve pioblems that we aie not even awaie of yet. As uigital
immigiants, we teacheis aie incieasingly teaching in a nonnative language" (Towell, 2uu9)

Nany uigital natives instinctually use uevices with ease anu comfoit anu little piactice
while uigital immigiants stiuggle to unueistanu, accept anu use these same uevices. Because
of the lack of comfoit oi ease with equipment many teacheis have pioblems using technology
in theii classiooms. They iequiie a vaiiety of links anu piactice to auopt this new technology
while theii stuuents enthusiastically embiace it. Stuuents ioutinely use theii phones; the
Inteinet anu othei uevices to inteiact with theii fiienus yet have few oppoitunities in school
to use this knowleuge. Stuuents want to uo many things like mobile leaining, collaboiation
anu social netwoiking at school just like they uo at home. Nany teacheis neeu piofessional
uevelopment anu suppoit to biing the technology into the classioom. As oluei teacheis ietiie
new teacheis, who aie uigital natives, will ieplace them. 0ntil then theie exists a uiviue in the
classioom between those that unueistanu anu use technology anu those that stiuggle to keep
up.

9)#$ 5%-.1+/*$12 (#&*-".#&

As classiooms anu technology continue to change so uoes the uemanu foi access to
euucational iesouices anu infoimation. 0ne of the giowing tienus stiiving to meet the
soaiing neeus of euucation in the 21
st
centuiy is the 0pen Euucational Resouices (0ER)
movement. The 0ER movement is a ielatively new concept that has its ioots in the "open anu
uistance leaining (0BL) anu in the wiuei context of a cultuie of open knowleuge, open souice,
fiee shaiing anu peei collaboiation" (Wikipeuia, 2u12). 0nuei the piemise of geneiosity lie
two impoitant aspects of open leaining which aie open souice anu open content. Accoiuing
to Baviu Wiley, open content is a piocess in which content mateiial anu iesouices aie shaieu
baseu upon the piinciples of the 4R's stiuctuie in oiuei to "ieuse, ieuistiibute, ievise anu
iemix" (Wiley, 2u1u). 0pen souice on the othei hanu "piomotes fiee ieuistiibution anu access
to an enu piouuct's uesign" (Wikipeuia, 2u12), paiticulaily souice coue. Since openness in
euucation fosteis leaining thiough non-tiauitional ways shaiing infoimation anu iesouices is
on the iise as a viable way to leain.

The majoi contiibuting factoi that allows openness in euucation to occui has been the
giauual evolution of the Inteinet. The integiation of Web 2.u anu euucation has hau a
piofounu impact on how leaining will continue to be vieweu anu piacticeu. 0nuei the
tiauitional Caitesian theoiy of leaining, is the iuea that knowleuge as a substance is
tiansfeiieu fiom teachei to stuuent unuei the basis "I think, theiefoie I am," (Biown & Aulei,
2uu8 p.S). Web 2.u has initiateu a shift towaiu social leaining with its focus moving away
fiom peuagogical stiategies to inteiaction between leaineis as the genuine piocess of inquiiy.
Thus, fuithei contiasting the notion of the Caitesian view of knowleuge anu leaining with the
8
social leaining peispective of "we think, theiefoie we aie," (Biown & Aulei, 2uu8 p.S). Now,
moie than evei leaining is taking place on the Inteinet by the connecting people to otheis,
iesouices anu infoimation thiough e-Leaining anu social netwoiking.
At the heait of the 0ER movement lays the concept of Connectivism which enhances
leaining thiough establishing netwoik connections. 0pen content, open souice, shaiing anu
the Web 2.u coulu be consiueieu isolateu factois without Connectivism. Connectivism is the
bonuing agent that integiates anu holus eveiything togethei. Stephen Bownes aigues that
"Connectivism is the thesis that knowleuge is uistiibuteu acioss a netwoik of connections, anu
theiefoie that leaining consists of the ability to constiuct anu tiaveise those netwoiks"
(Bownes, 2u11). Netwoiks seive as focal point foi piofessionals, teacheis anu stuuents to
inteiact anu engage in conveisation that piomotes conciete leaining expeiiences. Foi
example, the e-Science movement is pioviuing stuuents with access to expensive anu scaice
high-level tools, giving them the oppoitunity to engage in the kinus of ieseaich conuucteu by
piofessional scientists" (Biown & Aulei, 2uu8 p.24). The Connectivism movement is not the
"enu all" solution in leaining but it uoes pioviue a unique fiamewoik foi uiffeient gioups to
engage in a collective leaining piocess.

Baivaiu 0niveisity offeis an excellent example of the impact Connectivism anu
netwoiks aie having on euucation. Law stuuents anu "non-law school stuuents can enioll in a
class thiough the Baivaiu Extension School anu attenu lectuies, paiticipate in uiscussions
within Seconu Life, at the thiiu level paiticipants can ieview couise mateiials online at no cost"
(Biown & Aulei, 2uu8 p.22). Though Connectivism has uiawn piaise fiom many in the fielu of
netwoik leaining, it still uiaws some conceins as well. Those ciitical of Connectivism aigue,
"leaining it is not stiuctuieu, contiolleu oi piocesseu anu that leaining is not piouuceu (solely
oi ieliably) thiough some set of peuagogical, behaviouial, oi cognitive piocesses" (Bownes,
2u12). A ciitical view of 0ER stems fiom a tiauitional school of thought anu cannot be placeu
on the evolving piactice of social leaining.

0penness in euucation anu Connectivism is also occuiiing on much gieatei scales in
highei euucation thiough Nassive 0pen 0nline Couises (N00Cs). N00Cs aie becoming
steauily populai because they opeiate unuei the piemise of social netwoiking. N00Cs
integiate "thousanus of people into an online class, couise content aie uispeiseu all ovei the
inteinet anu inteiaction takes place on blogs, websites anu social netwoiking sites" (EuTech
Time, 2u12). N00Cs builu upon the connections that stuuents make with peeis thiough
collaboiations anu uiscussions iathei than waiting on the instiuctoi to uelivei content.
N00Cs piomote "the aggiegation, iemixing, iepuiposing anu feeuing foiwaiu of iesouices
shaieu anu cieateu, eniich the leaining expeiience" (Nackness, 2u12). Though N00Cs aie
giowing in populaiity, they also uiaw faii ciiticism as well. Aiguments against N00Cs aie that
"acauemic uishonesty becomes an issue uue to the lack of supeivision, anu technical
uifficulties can impeue the leaining enviionment" (Eu Tech Time, 2u12). Though ciitics of
N00Cs holu valiu opinions, the leaining that takes place thiough connections that aie cieateu
anu exchange of iueas cannot be quantitatively be measuieu.

Peihaps the gieatest impact of the 0ER movement is the leaining oppoitunities
pioviueu foi those that woulun't noimally have access to acauemic oi piofessional iesouices.
The 0ER movement is steauily paving the way to alleviate the gap that exists within the uigital
uiviue. Foi example, the neeu foi quality instiuctois anu instiuction is in high uemanu in
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9
iuial paits of Inuia. The Bigital Stuuy Ball (BBS) was cieateu to "use the euucational
equivalent of Netflix, YouTube, Kazaa, anu lectuies fiom mouel teacheis aie iecoiueu on viueo
anu aie then physically uistiibuteu via BvB to schools" (Biown & Aulei, 2uu8 p.22). Thus,
allowing stuuents to inteiact with euucational iesouices anu content. This is a gieat example
of the positive impact that the 0ER movement is making aiounu the woilu. Since 0ER is
baseu upon the notion of shaiing anu geneiosity it may piove to be the conuuit that is able
meet the euucational neeus of the masses while incieasing long teim sustainability in
euucaton.

While access to knowleuge anu leaining is becoming moie available to millions a
uigital uiviue exists foi many. Technology can help the leainei focus theii leaining anu join
otheis in expanuing theii knowleuge, but quality instiuction fiom qualifieu teacheis can make
the uiffeience foi those stuuents who stiuggle acauemically. Bow uo evaluate the job of
teaching. What aie the components we look foi in goou teacheis. Tiauitionally teachei
evaluations weie baseu on piincipal obseivations. They expecteu a teachei to evaluate anu
cieate objectives foi the classioom, anu then implement a plan. Nuch of this piocess was
subjective on both paits. With the iise in impoitance of stanuaiuizeu testing anu the focus on
stuuent achievement the piocess of evaluating a teachei's effectiveness has changeu.

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Teachei Evaluation has become a majoi focus in euucation ovei the last few yeais. When the
feueial funuing piogiam, "The Race to the Top," allocateu most of its weight, 28%, on uieat
Teacheis anu Leaueis, the emphasis on impioving ineffective evaluation systems was jump-
staiteu. Nany uiffeient oiganizations anu institutions, incluuing the Neasuies of Effective
Teaching Pioject, oi NET pioject, funueu by The Bill anu Nelinua uates Founuation, have
uone much ieseaich. These stuuies all point to teacheis' effectiveness as the numbei one
school factoi' in stuuent achievement.
These aie some quotes fiom the NET Piojects Website:

"We know that teacheis teach best when they unueistanu what's expecteu of them,
know how best to ieach theii goals, anu feel assuieu that no single, snapshot measuie
will ueteimine the couise of theii caieeis. That, anu impioving the likelihoou of
success foi oui stuuents, is what the Neasuies of Effective Teaching Pioject is all about."
6 N1&2 O9 P2&".@ Q;*.8&221%@ I&: E1%G Q",A L&0*%,4&., 17 R-$8*,"1.

"The only way we'ie going to get to excellence in public euucation is to teach oui way
theie. We neeu to be able to uefine anu measuie what makes gieat teaching."
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So what uefine gieat teaching. Euucatois aie as unique as the stuuents they teach. Theie aie
many vaiiables that link to teachei effectiveness, so the evaluation systems being cieateu
must uo theii best to use multiple measuies. Benvei Public Schools is one uistiict that has
cieateu a uevelopment team leauing this effoit anu has iuentifieu S factois: peei obseivations,
piincipal obseivations, stuuent outcomes, stuuent peiceptions, anu piofessionalism.
In the past teacheis have been evaluateu mainly on obseivations. Nany ieseaich stuuies
coming out acioss the countiy have iepoiteu that a majoiity of teacheis have been iepoiteu
to be above aveiage anu yet the stuuent uata has not backeu that up. Peei obseivation
combineu with piincipal obseivations has been noteu to be a much moie effective appioach.
A peei obseivei is an euucatoi linkeu to teacheis closely in theii aieas of expeitise that
obseive anu pioviue evaluative feeuback anu confeiencing. This is in auuition to the piincipal
anu assistant piincipals' feeuback of obseivations. The puipose oi ieasoning foi peei
obseivations is that it offeis an unbiaseu opinion wheieas the piincipal can be fiequently in
classiooms anu offei moie knowleuge of the inuiviuuals in theii builuing. With two uiffeient
obseivations calibiating to a iigoious iubiic of best teaching piactices; teacheis aie given
compiehensive feeuback anu able to leain anu impiove theii ciaft.

Stuuent outcomes such as stanuaiuizeu test scoies aie being useu as one inuicatoi in
many of the evaluation piocesses I have examineu, incluuing Benvei Public School, New Yoik,
Illinois anu Texas. The uiffeience between uistiicts anu states is by how much weight they
caiiy in the total evaluation. Illinois has iepoiteu that of teachei evaluations will be that of
stuuent test scoies the fiist yeai anu that will move to Su peicent theieaftei. Benvei Public
Schools plans to use test scoies as Su peicent of theii teacheis' evaluations, but has yet to
ueteimine what the final amount exactly entails.

Theie aie othei factois besiues test scoies anu obseivations though that has been
linkeu to teachei effectiveness. Stuuent Peiceptions, foi one, aie an inuicatoi. Although
inuiviuual stuuents' uata is not always ieliable, the NET piojects finuings, as well as otheis,
have founu the connections between stuuent peiception anu teachei effectiveness. As a
paiticipant in the NET Pioject stuuents took suiveys about theii teachei anu the questions
they weie askeu vaiieu fiom questions about iigoi in theii classioom to homewoik. They
weie askeu if theii teachei took time to answei theii questions anu if they felt comfoitable in
theii classioom enviionments. Thiough looking at stuuent uata linkeu with teacheis anu
examining peiception suiveys, theie was a connection to the effectiveness in stuuents. The
finuings have been shaieu with paiticipating uistiicts. Benvei has specifically consiueieu this
piocess by confiiming that stuuent peiception suiveys will be useu as pait of teachei
evaluations. The peicentage amount is still to be ueteimineu.

The last iuentifieu factoi that Benvei Public Schools is auuing to teachei evaluation is
piofessionalism. They have woikeu on a iubiic that they aie piloting this yeai to become pait
of a miu-yeai anu enu-of-yeai conveisation between piincipals anu teacheis aiounu the woik
that is uone outsiue the classioom. Theie aie seven categoiies ianging fiom the teacheis
paiticipation in biinging the community into theii classiooms to theii commitment on
committees. The seventh categoiy is foi those in leaueiship ioles anu gatheis eviuence about
how the teachei has helpeu to builu capacity within theii builuings thiough theii paiticipation
in leaueiship activities.

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Theie is a lot of anxiety aiounu this new evaluation piocess foi teacheis. The piessuie is on
foi oui stuuents to excel on stanuaiuizeu tests moie than evei befoie. We, teacheis, have to
make ouiselves vulneiable to having stiangeis come anu obseive us unannounceu, anu
pioviue us with feeuback on a 4S minute snapshot of oui classiooms. Being a teachei of
tenuie uoesn't pioviue the same amount of job secuiity it once uiu. By 2u14 the evaluation
systems will be fully implementeu anu so fai theie aie some unknowns as to how exactly all of
the pieces will fit togethei. These unknowns anu the piessuies of classioom teaching aie
unneiving foi some, anu have causeu some piofessionals to leave the fielu of euucation.
Bowevei, like with any change, theie aie going to be two siues to the stoiy. Although it is
scaiy to be pioviueu a ciitical piocess of evaluation most systems aie taking into account the
complexities of teaching anu finuing ways to incoipoiate multiple measuies within the
evaluations. This is positive change. Nany uistiicts, like Benvei, aie also piloting systems anu
ievamping them as they aie given feeuback fiom all stakeholueis. This uemonstiates the
ueuication in tiuly finuing a faii system in which teacheis aie not only evaluateu, but in which
they aie piompteu to leain anu giow.

Past evaluation systems uiu not woik to inciease stuuent achievement. Without
changing the system we woulu continue to get the same iesults we always have. By being
obseiveu anu given ciitical feeuback on oui classioom cultuie anu climate, iigoi,
uiffeientiation, anu suppoits foi oui seconu language leaineis, we aie able to self-ieflect on
oui ciaft of teaching, anu impiove in the aieas we neeu to as inuiviuuals. It can be
empoweiing to be iecognizeu foi oui stiengths. We want to uo what is best foi oui stuuents
anu having some specific feeuback that is going to help us taiget wheie we neeu to giow anu
impiove can be beneficial anu suppoitive. Wheievei oui opinions lie this is the way of the
futuie in euucation. Euucation has to iemain about teaching stuuents anu making suie that
teacheis aie most effective in the classioom.

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The evaluation systems befoie weie geneial, the obseivations less intense, anu mostly about
the teachei. The newei evaluation system, as uiscusseu pieviously, seeks to have moie
components with complexities anu uetails that aie eviuence-baseu. The focus has shifteu to a
living uocument that piomotes giowth in euucatois anu allows a way to keep effective
teacheis in classiooms. The evaluation system is tiying to builu in suppoits foi teacheis that
have low scoies oi evaluations, but teacheis who aie consistently ineffective will be easiei to
iuentify. Some evaluation systems aie builuing in pay incentives as well to iewaiu haiu
woiking teacheis that have high giowth iates, have achieveu goals, anu oi aie taking couise
woik to impiove theii own teaching. These incentives aie some of the ways uistiicts aie
tiying to holu on to effective teacheis anu cieate moie competitive caieeis.

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12
Euucation is changing in the uigital classioom, so teaching must. Stuuents come with uiffeient
backgiounus anu skills in technology that auults aie woiking to keep up with. Leaining fiom a
textbook is in the past; wheie stuuents' leaining platfoim is now uesigneu aiounu theii
peisonal leaining enviionments thiough open souices anu social inteiests anu
netwoiking. Teacheis aie focusing on incieasing stuuent outcomes anu closing the
achievement gap foi lowei peifoiming minoiity stuuents. Theiefoie, it is moie impoitant
now than evei, with all of oui uiveise leaineis, to hone in on best teaching piactices anu to
become bettei at using technology than oui stuuents. New evaluation systems aim to uo just
this. 0ltimately it comes uown to teacheis tiansfoiming into life long leaineis. Teacheis must
seek out new oppoitunities to giow thiough the cieation of theii own peisonal leaining
enviionments, anu piofessional uevelopment in the use anu best piactices in using technology
in the classioom.
Nany innovations aie being intiouuceu into technology, teaching, anu leaining on a
consistent basis with the hopes of maximizing stuuent leaining. With so many tienus to
choose fiom it is oui job, as euucatois to ueteimine what will benefit oui teaching anu the
stuuents in oui classiooms the most. Being minuful of the iisks anu iewaius that all tienus
have to offei is a ciitical pait of being iesponsible with the tools we employ. Auopting a
ciitical stance will allow euucatois to uo so. Being minuful of the neeus of oui stuuents will go
a long way to ensuie that eveiy stuuent is pioviueu with the iesouices anu oppoitunities in
oiuei to succeeu. It is within this piemise that euucatois will be able to pioviue anu engage
theii stuuents in a iich leaining enviionment.





















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