Reply by Hélène Fournier on September 8, 2008 at 9:52am

Key Success PIllar: Collaborative Coordination of Standardized Resource Development and Shared Access

What values do you feel this pillar represents?
How would you define this pillar?

Reply by Hélène Fournier on September 8, 2008 at 9:53am

Key Success PIllar: Focused Social Network

What values do you feel this pillar represents?
How would you define this pillar?

Reply by Steven Greene on September 11, 2008 at 9:58pm

I wonder about the term focused. Maybe Evolving instead.

The social network in the DL framework would involve student-students, but the social network would change depending on geographical limitations.

The professional community still prefers to be able to meet face to face, and I believe that any learners will want to as well at some point.
DL will change this idea, but the term focused still condfuses me. Why would the social network not be open?

Reply by Alec Couros on September 14, 2008 at 11:08pm

I actually just scrolled down the page to make the same comment re: focused. Does focus mean 'centralized' here?

Reply by Lesli on September 15, 2008 at 9:30pm

I think in the context it was discussed it meant creating a network with a focus on capacity building and sharing of best practices... a place where people knew they could go to get and share info on DL.

Reply by Hélène Fournier on September 17, 2008 at 9:27pm

Hi Steven and Alec,

Steven, your comment about "the professional community still prefers to be able to meet f2f" is right on. Our research from the Discover Phase (which should be available shortly on this site) says exactly that. It also suggests that online professional communities and 'distributed' PD have not been successful as of yet in Alberta.

The group that came up with this title was trying to capture the ideas of a larger group and comments from others which dealt with: professional learning PD, all educators having access to a community of practice, the need for a comprehensive PD plan, need for champions/mentors for DL, need to increase teachers' technical proficiency, need to reinforce teachers' DL facilitation skills, enable/promote province-wide showcases, lessons learned and promising practices...

I believe the intent was to lightly capture the essence of professional learning communities, but also recognize that learning communities are not necessarily only for 'professionals' and that these 'communities' are most often successful if they have a specific focus...

That said, if the term 'focus' is causing confusion, I wonder if we need to rethink this title?

Reply by Karen Pegler on September 22, 2008 at 2:44pm

Hi Helene, Steven and Alec,
I just felt the need to jump in here. I am not certain what criteria you are using to define success in terms of distributed p.d. This is a bit close to my heart as here in the Calgary Board of Education we have been offering successful online professional learning opportunties for nearly eight years. In fact, over the last year, interest has almost exceeded capacity in that our participation numbers have doubled. Have you had a chance to see the research completed by Maria Spagnolo on our e-PD courses? Her research examined not only satisfaction but implementation in the classroom.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about these courses can visit them at our website.

Reply by Hélène Fournier on September 22, 2008 at 4:24pm

Hi Karen, I haven't heard of Maria's research... it would certainly be valuable information for this discussion! Thanks for sharing the link to CBE's ePD site (http://www.cbelearn.ca/pd)

Reply by Linda Finlay on September 23, 2008 at 2:07pm

Hi, Helene,
I have just joined this discussion. It would be valuable for me to know what criteria you are using to define successful distributed learning? Can you also give me your opinion as to why distributed learning has not been successful in Alberta?

Reply by Hélène Fournier on October 14, 2008 at 9:35pm

Hi Linda,

So sorry for the late response... I was hoping to create a new conversation just to discuss the criteria you mention and to answer 'why hasn't distributed learning been successful in Alberta?'... We are putting together the background documentation for the official launch of the online DL Forum starting October 20th. This will provide a broader overview of the 'What? Why? and How?'. In the meantime, though, I think 'successful distributed learning' is characterized by 'equitable access to high quality learning opportunities and choices that are independent of time and/or location'. The definition of distributed learning on the main page is what I personally see as 'successful distributed learning'.

As for my opinion as to why DL has not been successful... I would start by stating that I think it HAS been successful in some cases, and unsuccessful in others. The DL Strategy strives to build collaborative and sustainable relationships that allow learning and teaching to be individualized and independent of time and/or location - equitably throughout the province.

I've attached a brief synopsis that explains the What? Why? and How? to give you an idea of the reasons that have been expressed for a provincial approach to distributed learning.

Hope this helps... Looking forward to seeing you at the live Forum on November 4!

Attachments:
DL Strategy - Brief [pdf]

Reply by Hélène Fournier on September 8, 2008 at 9:53am

Key Success PIllar: Continuous Improvement of the Learning Framework

What values do you feel this pillar represents?
How would you define this pillar?