A Model for Maximizing Your Professional Development Through Webinars
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The Regional Educational Technology Assistance (RETA) Program uses webinars to maximize ongoing professional development (PD) opportunities for K-12 teachers. As a series of synchronous events and utilizing the PD community, webinars have the potential to enhance existing virtual school programs at all levels. RETA Webinars can serve as a model to help your organization build capacity in addressing the PD needs of multiple audiences. Practical advice, resources, and strategies will be provided.
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A Model for Maximizing Your Professional Development Through Webinars
- 1. A Model for Maximizing Your Professional Development Through Webinars Presented by the RETA Team
- 6. The Team
- 10. Needs Analysis
- 12. Website/Database
- 13. RETA Webinars Website http://webinars.nmsu.edu
- 15. The Presenters
- 16. Webinar Content
- 18. Behind the Scenes w/ Holly
- 19. Getting the Word Out
- 23. Develop New Presenters http://reta-webconferencing.pbworks.com/
Editor's Notes
- Synchronous online events Logos or screenshots of org webinars, ISTE, NACOL, Higher Ed Web, Classroom 2.0, RETA, ASCD (Swine Flu) – Timely information, maine121.org/webcasts JIT or Timely information & Training – Swine Flu Org/program meetings PD webcon course, C21CL OTLO PLC Learning objects - recording uses - minisodes, on demand review Educational Series - NMSU/RETA webinars
- We also got very busy and didn’t have the time for so many f2f meetings. In about 2001, we joined an NMSU consortium in purchasing Centra, realized the potential, especially of blended PD and gradually webconferencing has permeated our culture and work flow. RETA turned to the webinar format as a way to address the challenge of providing accessible, affordable, convenient, ongoing, quality professional development opportunities for educational technologies to K-12 teachers. For the past two years, RETA Webinars have provided K-12 educators with synchronous online professional development sessions on Classroom Technology Integration Fall 2009 , Connect! Your PLN Lab , eLearning with Emerging Technologies , Increasing Interaction with Audio/Video Tools Spring 2009 . This spring, we are looking at Emerging Technology, Technology & Pedagogy, Online Teaching & Learning, & Back by Popular Demand
- Need a team pic on Thursday Susie – RETA/CEL Kerry – RETA??? Bethany – RETA/CEL Cissy - RETA Miley – DSS/RETA Cynthia - RETA Holly – DSS/RETA/CEL Sandy – CEL/RETA Julia – CEL/RETA
- Adventurous Experimental Innovators Understanding (tensions, emotions, etc.) “ Dart throwing” Different skill sets (i.e. databases, webconferencing, project management, video production, teaching, tech integration)
- http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AanJzUPxW5ofZGRjYzM3Ym1fNDZnNGdnczM&hl=en
- Load this page prior to event - http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AanJzUPxW5ofZGRjYzM3Ym1fNDZnNGdnczM&hl=en
- Cost – willing to pay but limited budget Primary Audience Needs – teachers at school (downloads can be a problem) and home (possible slower connectivity) Features –presentation file types, audio, video, recording & archive, chat, application sharing, white board, polling, etc.
- iNacol - http://www.inacol.org/events/webinar/index.php ISTE - http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment/WebinarSeries/20092010Webinar/2009_2010_Webinars.htm Wimba - http://www.wimba.com/company/events/ What is that tech talk one that promoted us? Homegrown database To discuss? Free, charge, subscription…
- We brand selves as RETA Webinars but we do live under the umbrella of NMSU, so we are also NMSU branded…
- Our team already had webcon experience, we also run courses for webconferencing If experience needs to be fostered, we highly recommend attend a variety of webinars and the texts Finkelstein, J. (2006). Learning in Real Time: Synchronous Teaching and Learning Online. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hofmann, J. (2003) The Synchronous Trainer's Survival Guide: Facilitating Successful Live and Online Courses, Meetings, and Events. Pfeiffer.
- What does your audience need or want? Conduct audience polls (listservs, webinar attendees, etc.) Sometimes they don’t know what they need or want, they need “exposure” to topics like online/blended topics, emerging technology tools, etc. Is this a good place for webinar attendee data? Spring planning doc - http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWQFSCGRiWokZHdmZHZ6cV8yN2Nqa3NjemNi&hl=en
- For presenters For participants To keep on top of system issues, updates, renewal, etc.
- Utilize existing resources Cultivate followers Leverage Partnerships Develop new presenters Provides School Reform Strategies for systemic change through online learning (10 points) As recommended by iNACOL's 'Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning' publication, virtual school and teacher preparation programs need to 'increase their capacity to become involved in professional development' to serve the important need for 'all educators to become aware of virtual schooling because it is part of a 21st century education.' The RETA Webinar model illustrates how synchronous professional development models can work for both traditional and virtual educators; in partnership with other organizations; and serve to develop capacity and mentoring for facilitation of synchronous learning environments. Mission Critical Provides fundamental training for managing and operating a virtual school program (you can't succeed without knowing how to do this); provide a checklist or handouts. (10 points) Virtual schooling providers need to implement effective and engaging professional development. Webconferencing tools can be valuable for managing and operating virtual school programs. RETA Webinars provide a model to support and sustain educator learning, build capacity for effective teaching methods, and utilize existing resources to extend mission critical support to educators and support personnel in virtual schooling situations.
- people, budgets, time, tools Provides School Reform Strategies for systemic change through online learning (10 points) As recommended by iNACOL's 'Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning' publication, virtual school and teacher preparation programs need to 'increase their capacity to become involved in professional development' to serve the important need for 'all educators to become aware of virtual schooling because it is part of a 21st century education.' The RETA Webinar model illustrates how synchronous professional development models can work for both traditional and virtual educators; in partnership with other organizations; and serve to develop capacity and mentoring for facilitation of synchronous learning environments. Mission Critical Provides fundamental training for managing and operating a virtual school program (you can't succeed without knowing how to do this); provide a checklist or handouts. (10 points) Virtual schooling providers need to implement effective and engaging professional development. Webconferencing tools can be valuable for managing and operating virtual school programs. RETA Webinars provide a model to support and sustain educator learning, build capacity for effective teaching methods, and utilize existing resources to extend mission critical support to educators and support personnel in virtual schooling situations.
- Evangelists concepts A lot coalesces here – tech support, relevant valuable content, presenters, communications (getting word out, feedback, polls, now yammer), etc…
- Recruit from your audience Teach others your strategies Webconferencing courses Pilot RETA course > are we running again? > CEL 571 for Fall 2010 http://reta-webconferencing.pbworks.com/
- The Diverse Team (DSS – RETA – CEL) Friendly organizations (RETA – NMSTE – iNACOL – USDLA) Programs (PVIA, OTLO, BeBOLD, C21CL, OCIP)
- As for challenges – I would say some of our ongoing challenges are: Scheduling: Deciding what time of day/ day of week to do our presentations when our presenters, our audience, and our team needs don’t necessarily coincide. Trying to maintain a robust webinar schedule (present, host, prepare presenters, tech support, etc) given our small team size and all our other projects Catalog: Choosing topics Trying to discover a good mix between RETA team presentations and presentations by others (maintaining quality, consistency of experience, brand integrity, etc.) Eliciting suggestions for topics from our audience/ potential audience 1. Reaching the teachers who really need what we offer (those teachers still rely on their mailbox in the lounge to fill them in on pd) 2. We don't always take a look at the webinar surveys before we decide on new topics, times, ideas, etc. 3. Being too available? Sounds weird, yes, but we always have the lowest turnout when we offer then more than once a week (this semester is going really well!) 4. Keeping all past and present webinar information (past attendance, topics, workflow, tech. issues, new ideas, etc.) in a working folder that we all know about/use.
- As for challenges – I would say some of our ongoing challenges are: Scheduling: Deciding what time of day/ day of week to do our presentations when our presenters, our audience, and our team needs don’t necessarily coincide. Trying to maintain a robust webinar schedule (present, host, prepare presenters, tech support, etc) given our small team size and all our other projects Catalog: Choosing topics Trying to discover a good mix between RETA team presentations and presentations by others (maintaining quality, consistency of experience, brand integrity, etc.) Eliciting suggestions for topics from our audience/ potential audience 1. Reaching the teachers who really need what we offer (those teachers still rely on their mailbox in the lounge to fill them in on pd) 2. We don't always take a look at the webinar surveys before we decide on new topics, times, ideas, etc. 3. Being too available? Sounds weird, yes, but we always have the lowest turnout when we offer then more than once a week (this semester is going really well!) 4. Keeping all past and present webinar information (past attendance, topics, workflow, tech. issues, new ideas, etc.) in a working folder that we all know about/use.