Learning is Change

This is a wonderful summary of how to Gamify PD. It is inspired by one of my favorite experts on the subject, Philip Vinogradov. I would love to learn/think more about how “leader boards” affect a group of adults that aren’t used to them within more traditional games. Are they helpful or hurtful to the Professional Learning environment. 

How to Gamify Professional Development in Your School – A.J. Juliani

Sometimes we act like professional development is hard. It doesn’t have to be. Sometimes we treat professional development like a chore. It should be fun, engaging, and wanted.

As I am working on something very similar right now for teachers and leaders in DPS, I thought this post was a wonderful introduction to the concept. It also provides a great template in Google Drawings to get started with creating the visual side of the badge. Nice work, Robert Schuetz.

Nocking the Arrow: Digital Badges for Teacher Professional Development

Many teachers readily acknowledge the importance of personalization of learning for students. Shouldn’t professional development experiences offer the same promise? Ask a typical teacher to describe their PD experiences in a single word and you will likely get responses such as irrelevant or boring. Besides personalization and relevance, digital badges provide opportunities for teachers to discuss the skills and knowledge that support educational best practice, and professional growth. These conversations support the form and function of professional learning communities. Teachers that earn badges gain recognition for specific knowledge, accomplishments, or abilities. Teachers working for badges are provided opportunities to reflect, self-assess, and then engage in learning that supports steps towards clarified, teacher-driven, targets.

This is about what MOOCs could be if we let them. It is about learning. It is about us. All of us, individually and together.

Half an Hour: The MOOC of One

The MOOC of One I want to talk about the MOOC of one. What I mean by that is I want to talk about the development of the MOOC or the Massive Open Online Course. I’m one of the people who designed the concept originally in 2008. I want to explain myself so that you know what we did and why we did it. And I want to lead into a discussion of what will follow, what the next generation technology will be to follow after the MOOC.