Professional Learning Networks - PLCs + Web 2.0 = Dynamic Learning Environments

Picture This . . .

  . . . it's the beginning of the school year, you're feeling overwhelmed with the amount of preparation you have left to do, and you're sitting in a large auditorium having a half-day training on Bloom's Taxonomy . . . something you just finished a Master's class studying.

Picture This . . .

. . . you've been eagerly anticipating the upcoming teacher in-service day because they promised break-out small groups on topics of need or interest, and you've been dying to touch base with your tech coordinator about what he learned at the recent tech integration conference he attended.  Suddenly, you find out that the original plan has been cancelled in favor of a "motivational speaker to improve teacher moral" because the administration feels that teacher attitude has been overly negative recently and they just received a grant that allows them to afford an outside speaker to come in.

Picture This . . .

. . . you're hip, you're cool, you know all about PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) and you've formed one with a group of teachers at your school.  You decided that the best way to keep everyone focused in the busy school environment is to run it like a book club and meet weekly to discuss a new chapter.  The book is great, and you've got your fifth meeting in 10 minutes . . . only you didn't read the chapter last night because the dryer broke and you spent the evening at the laundromat but forgot your e-reader.  And last week you missed the meeting because a student needed extra support.  In fact, you haven't really even thought about what's going on in your PLC for the last two weeks, but you're sure you can catch up.

I'm a Thief!

But not when it comes to citing my sources.  Image Citation: Tzunghaor (2011). burglar [png]. Retrieved from http://openclipart.org/detail/165656/burglar-by-tzunghaor.

Ok, I admit it.  I stole the title of this post "PLCs + Web 2.0 = Dynamic Learning Environments" from a comment buried deep, deep, deep within the comments on an article about creating Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs.  How often have you found yourself in one of the above Professional Development situations, or something similar?  I've never met a single teacher who would say that he or she doesn't need to continue building expertise in the profession, but at the same time I don't think I've ever been to a workshop, training or anything else provided by a school on-campus where there wasn't at least one person, and normally many more, who complained about the waste of time.  In fact, I once went to a conference with two colleagues where the school spent thousands of dollars to send the three of us, and while I don't think either of the other two would have said it was a waste of time, they skipped the networking dinner and the closing session in order to go shopping.  Actions speak louder than words.

How can we avoid the frustration of "one-size fits all" professional development?  How can we avoid PLCs being "Perpetual Learning Catastrophes" and ensure that they are "Powerful Learning Conglomerates".

I would like to posit one simple possibility: Integrating Web 2.0 into the PLC experience on a regular basis.

PLCs
Although PLCs have been around for 20 years (see a good literature review of the first decade here).  In 2004, there were those who had already identified problems with the system, seeing that the term PLC was applied so often and in so many types of learning communities that the idea and practice was "in danger of losing all meaning" (Dufour, 2004).  Dufour attempts to steer us towards what the core goals of PLCs should be.
1) Ensuring That Students Learn
2) A Culture of Collaboration
3) A Focus on Results

PLNs
There is a strong case to be made for taking professional learning to the 2.0 level.  Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) seem the logical next step to Professional Learning Communities.  As we integrate Web 2.0 into our students' learning, why wouldn't we do it into our own?  However, many of the blogs, articles, and other resources I have found discussing PLNs seem to see them as a new thing, to be taken entirely online or to be used by those who do not have a local community available to join.

If PLNs are like PLCs with Web 2.0 integrated in, why did I recommend integrating Web 2.0 into PLCs rather than embracing PLNs?

INTEGRATE
With a new X-Men movie to be released this month, I will use my favorite superheroes as a metaphor.  Strong proponents of PLNs remind me of Magneto.  Magneto believes mutants to be better than humans, a new stage in the evolutionary line.  Humans are no longer necessary, or even desirable.  Professor X, on the other hand, sees mutants as humans with special gifts.  For Professor X, mutants should glory in what makes them human and use their powers for the good of all humankind.

We haven't decided that online learning is the best thing our children, even with Web 2.0.  Why would we think that professional development conducted only in a Web 2.0 environment is the most effective tool for increasing our knowledge?

Let us be like Professor X and the X-Men, not Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (no, I don't really think Magneto is evil, anyone who read the comics in the mid-80s knows he's not), and let us integrate the future into the past, mixing the best of both worlds and understanding the power of social media as well as respecting the power of in-person learning.

Now that we all agree that there's a place for Web 2.0 in PLCs (and 3.0 and 4.0 and anything else that might come our way), let's revisit our school year and imagine a different scenario . . .

Picture This . . .

. . . it's the beginning of the school year and during pedagogical meetings, the school offers a "speed dating" opportunity for staff to explore a variety of educational topics and sign up to join a PLC of their choice.  

Picture This . . .

. . . it's time for Thanksgiving Break, and your regularly scheduled PLC face-to-face meeting is cancelled because of the holiday.  This doesn't faze your group, as you have been meeting regularly and the work the group does using Diigo, Blogger, Google Docs, and Voice Thread can continue unabated.

Picture This . . .

. . . it's nearing the end of the year, and when you meet with your administrator for a review session, you are both pleased with the progress you have made and have a lively discussion about what you might chose for your next topic.

Here is a sample list of Catherine Huber's use of Moodle with various Web 2.0 tools.

Huber, C. (2010). Professional Learning 2.0. Educational Leadership, 67(8), 41.

Learning 2.0 in Action

At the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, Northwood Elementary School established a Moodle as a protected place for professional learning and conversation.Located in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Northwood is a K6 school in the West Seneca Central School District; the school has 50 teachers and serves approximately 600 students. As the school principal, I work with the library media specialist to maintain the Moodle. The Moodle is open to all faculty members and houses a variety of learning opportunities.

Feedback on Lesson Plans

Teachers submit their weekly lesson plans electronically and receive my feedback in their own lesson plan drop box. Although the Moodle is public and collaborative, the lesson plans are visible only to the teacher and me. The feedback component of the drop box is set up as a wiki to promote ongoing, private, and individualized conversation between teacher and principal.

Twitter

Teachers catch up on the latest professional reading and thinking using the Twitter account linked to the Moodle. When faculty members attend conferences, they use the Twitter account to update their colleagues in real time on the learning taking place. The thinkers and associations that faculty members follow on Twitter — such as ASCD, Education Week, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, and authors Daniel Pink and Stephen Covey among others — align directly with Northwood's curricular and instructional norms and expectations. Teachers are encouraged to frequently check in to the school's Twitter account to update themselves on relevant professional discussions and reading.

Newsletter

Teachers stay updated on what is happening around the school by reading the weekly newsletter housed on the Moodle. Publishing the newsletter on the Moodle enables me to add resources, links, and information to which teachers have ongoing access. It also enables staff members to comment on and converse with one another about the information presented.

Forums

Forums are set up for discussion around a variety of topics: reading workshop, writing workshop, differentiated instruction, great reads, meeting the needs of learners with special needs, and Moodle help. On one forum, teachers recently shared observations about their students' progress in reading workshop as they implemented the model across the building. Another forum emphasized reading workshop structures, strategies, and texts.

Wikis

Each month, teachers participate in professional learning in faculty meetings that are conducted as workshops. At the first meeting of the year, groups of teachers, working by grade level or in a specific area, develop essential questions for each meeting date. The overarching essential question posed at the first meeting was simply, What do you need to learn? At the November meeting, the K-2 group discussed the question, How do retelling and other comprehension activities fit into the reading workshop? For the January meeting, the physical education department explored how to build more differentiated learning into its classes.

Wikis for each group are set up on the Moodle so that staff members can build meeting agendas collaboratively and post relevant resources both before and after the meeting. During the meeting, one of the team members captures the work that occurs around the essential questions — the conversation that ensues, the questions that team members pose, and various resources to consider — and records it in the wiki as the meeting progresses. After the meeting is over, a complete record of the learning is available on the wiki. All faculty members can continue to share, add to, and comment on the work undertaken.

Resources

Teachers can contribute to the school's list of audio/video resources as well as to the Northwood glossary on the Moodle. Both components enable teachers to share resources and continue the challenging work of creating a common vocabulary across the school. When the U.S. secretary of education was interviewed on TV, the video clip was embedded in the Moodle for all faculty members to watch. The speech teachers have recently expanded the school glossary, adding definitions related to speech therapy that classroom teachers can use in their own practice.

Blogs

Teachers use individual blogs on the Moodle to reflect on the influence this medium has had on their professional practice. They often comment on the flexible nature of the Moodle, which enables them to collaborate and reflect on issues when they are ready to engage around a topic, and on the open and interactive exchanges around teaching and learning. In addition, this practice has opened up discussions of how to use blogs in the classroom with students.