Professional Development Collaboratory Wiki: Extended Summary

Definition of Professional Development

... an artifact or activity, a process or product?

... different to, or comprehensive of collective:

• assessment and certification or similar documentation of individuals' professional development?
  
• community development?
• curriculum development?
• curriculum vitae development?
• economic development?
  
• educational innovation?
  
• faculty development?
• materials development?
• personal development?
• scholarship of teaching and learning?
  
• technological development?
• telementoring?
  

Professional Development Definition

Definition of a Professional Development Collaboratory

A professional development collaboratory may share fundamental characteristics of other collaboratories including, but not necessarily limited to: organized, rule-governed processes for socialization, instrument (tool) and data sharing, contextualization, and collaboration--either consequent or subsequent to a collaboratory's collective organization, but certainly consequent to its governance if indeed governance is taken for granted. Such a collaboratory stretches the concept of laboratory to embrace endeavours other than "geographically distributed scientific research" (Wikpedia, Collaboratory, Summary, ¶2; 2008.08.25) in order to promote activities and interactions, conceivably experimental, yet conducive to evolutionary and sustainable professional behaviours.

How do we find out about Pro-D opportunities?

• Listings in trusted online communities (ETUG, SCoPE, WikiEducator, CIDER)
  
• Direct recommendations from colleagues
• Identify a gap in own learning, then seek out pro-d
  
• Google searches for specific topics, activities, resources
• Follow leads from individuals in our networks (using a variety of tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Tags, Ning, shared calendars)
• Lurking close by those who are passionate about teaching and learning
  
• Advertising on home institution websites
• Mailing lists
• Websites
• Compilations created by others
  
• Event services/tools, such as The Conference Calendar, Facebook Events, Upcoming, Google shared calendar
• Online libraries

• Conceptualizing
• Collecting
  
• Connecting
  
• Convening
• Learnscaping
  
• Planning
  
• Professionalizing Post-Secondary Teaching: 2009
• Telementoring: Dates TBA
• Reflecting upon...
  

How do we make the time?

• Personal Management of Participation in Social Networks: Oct 27-Nov 9, 2008
• ...
  

How do we manage the information?

• Use Netvibes or other aggregation tools to bring in RSS feeds, calenar events, social networking channels, bookmark tags, etc. -- one stop shopping overview of PD developments in a given area
• Build... a Virtual Museum on the History of EdTech: October 1-21, 2008
• ...
  

Exemplary Pro-D Websites

• SCoPE: a Moodle site with scheduled discussions
  • Examples though links in other §§:
    
    • ... opportunities for what?
      
    • How do we make the time?
      
    • How do we manage the information?

• WIMBA: a commercial site with Distinguished Lecturer sessions
  

Guiding Principles

• Keep it clean, flexible, and simple so that it's easy to find information and make connections.
  
• We need indicators of quality and reputation of...
  
• Origin (Do you mean loci?) of pro-d events is not important, because...
• Fees for... are appropriate if it looks like the gains are there.
• Consider Remember that not everybody has time for F2F events at home institutions, or suitable events at all at home.
• Taking pro-d at other institutions has advantages, such as...
• Best recommendations are from people who have experienced PD themselves
• Build on what already exists - don't duplicate; feed!
  

Essential Elements

• quick, easy access to information
  
• personalization and customiz-ability
• overt and accessible tagging mechanisms
  

• WGBH Forum Network