ERIC Number: EJ876345
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Weaving the Fabric of Professional Development in the 21st Century Using Technology
Chesbro, Patricia; Boxler, Nancy
Journal of Staff Development, v31 n1 p48-53 Feb 2010
Network learning supported by 21-century technology is reweaving the fabric of how educators acquire and create new knowledge. At the Alaska Educational Innovations Network (AEIN), educators believe this has the potential to change how a profession looks at professional development. They have learned that using technology to support networks around a shared purpose enhances professional development and provides fertile ground for professional learning communities. The goal of the U.S. Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement Partnership grant was to create a network of professional development and distributed leadership with educators across the geographically dispersed distances of Alaska, many not reachable by road. As Alaska makes up almost 20% of the total landmass of the United States, educators knew that it would be necessary to connect people through technology. One of their most productive uses of technology is to form, support, and sustain communities of practice, otherwise known as mininetworks. These informal, participant-guided groups are organized around themes such as leadership or content such as science literacy and language acquisition. In this article, the authors discuss how Alaska educators used technology tools to create communities of practice supported by careful facilitation.
Descriptors: Professional Development, Social Support Groups, Networks, Educational Change, Technology Uses in Education, Communities of Practice, Learning Activities, Discourse Communities, Federal Aid, Grants, Leadership, Participative Decision Making, Geographic Isolation, Educational Innovation, Educational Technology, Program Development
National Staff Development Council. 504 South Locust Street, Oxford, OH 45056. Tel: 513-523-6029; Fax: 513-523-0638; e-mail: NSDCoffice@nsdc.org; Web site: http://www.nsdc.org/news/jsd/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Alaska; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
IES Cited: ED544210
Author Affiliations: N/A