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May 1, 2001
Professional Development
Compiled by Gwen Solomon from Techlearning resources*
Technology changes fast, but schools rarely do. Yet in just a few short years, computers and educational Web sites are increasing in number and use in classrooms. How does an educator keep up? We hear that professional development is the key, but there's so little time. So technology itself is often the answer. There are hundreds of Web sites with information and materials that are geared toward professional development. Some provide courses; some give advice; some have lots of resources. With that said, it's not so easy to find the best among them. So this Web Tour points out some of the Web sites that other educators recommend. These sites were culled from the resources available on techLearning.com.
Education Week: Professional Development
Starting with an informative essay overview on this topic, the site includes links to full-text Education Week articles on professional development, annotated links to other websites on the subject, a bibliography, and links to related organizations.
National Staff Development Council
The two most helpful parts of NSDC's site are its Library of selected full-text articles and citations from its 3 periodicals and its Links to other sites focused on professional development. Other good spots to check here are Standards and the Bookstore.
McRel: Professional Development
A growing list of 32 quality links to sites for research and information on this topic. Includes the excellent Professional Development Schools site maintained by AACTE. This is a good location to start research on professional development.
ERIC--The Educational Resources Information Center
Universal access to all the ERIC sites all over the United States is provided here. ERIC is an indispensable source of useful ed info--contributing to the professionalization of teaching. Abstracts and digests can let you know if you need the original source of research, which you can then order for a small fee. The site also has interactive opportunities. Brought to you by the National Library of Education.
Free Resources for Educational Excellence
The U.S. Department of Education has done it again--delighted us with freebies and other goodies for increasing our professional development and improving our students' performance. Here, look at various subject areas, search the site, give feedback, and contribute a site.
MiddleSchoolTeacher.Net
MiddleSchoolTeacher.Net is dedicated to helping middle school teachers and students integrate technology into their daily classroom activities. It is primarily a collection of links to internet resources in the following areas: academic and exploratory subjects, search and research, professional development, school improvement, teacher timesavers, integrating technology and tutorials.
ENC Online
The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Online contains hundreds of valuable resources for math and science teachers. Highlights include links to web sites with lesson plans and professional development ideas, an easy-to-search collection of curriculum resources, and teacher articles and interviews. Topics covered include equity, integrating educational technology, inquiry and problem solving, and assessment.
OOPS: Our Overnight Planning System
The OOPS website is both a Classroom Use and Professional Development website. It offers K-12 educators with Just-In-Time resources for the chaotic or OOPS moments of teaching. It also offers activities for students, such as I'm Done, Now What, an online scavenger hunt for early finishers. The site has search options, Bloom's Taxonomy, curriculum materials in most core subjects.
www4teachers
The www4teachers site has more than 1,000 resources designed to help K-12 teachers effectively integrate technology into their classrooms. It is organized into four main areas: tools, stars, professional development, and integrating technology. The site's organization allows teachers to find the resources they need quickly.
PBS TeacherSource
PBS TeacherSource includes more than 1,000 free teaching guides, as well as professional development resources like PBS MATHLINE and SCIENCELINE. To help educators find materials quickly, resources are organized into six subject areas (Arts & Literature, Health & Vocation, Math, Science, TechKnow), can be searched by subject, grade level and keyword, and are correlated to 46 sets of national and state educational standards. The site aggregates the resources that PBS and its member stations provide educators and helps teachers learn effective ways to incorporate video and the Web in the classroom.
Tapped In
This Online Multiuser Virtual Environment for educator professional development offers real time discussions and forums on important educational topics and issues.
* With thanks to Jim Lerman, Carolyn Pool, Joe Strickland, Tracy Crow, Susan Reid, Melissa Burgos, Carol Dufault, and Linda Ullah.
Email: Gwen Solomon
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