Friday, January 30, 2009

Wisconsin eSchool Network

“Just in Time” Professional Development Model

During the Virtual School Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona Wisconsin eSchool Network provided a session on designing professional development that provided learning opportunities that would engage an educator’s creative and reflective capacities in ways that would strengthen their teaching practice by changing the way teachers think and teach.

Some of the tools mentioned for collaboration were Elluminate Live!, Basecamp, and Google Docs.

  • Elluminate Live! allows a user to have conversations over the Internet that supports a multiple platforms and low-bandwidth connectivity providing real-time online interaction and collaboration.
  • Basecamp is a client project management tool that keeps information centralized from an easy accessible location for everyone involved in a particular project.
  • Google Docs is a free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentations and form application offered by Google. Users can create and edit document online while collaborating in real-time with other users. Documents can be shared, opened and edited by multiple users at the same time.

One of the tools for authoring mentioned was Lectora.

  • Lectora – authoring software available for creating and delivering interactive multimedia content such as web-based courses.

The Wisconsin eSchool Network provides online, face-2-face and hybrid workshops with interactivity that are lightly facilitated, independent study opportunities for teacher. The Just in Time model was designed by Wisconsin to further meet the needs of staff development to prepare teachers to teach online courses.

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