eLearning at TIGS: Di Epoff’s Blog

Learning Technologies 2008 Conference
Thursday 6th November
Videoconference

Catherine Macklam and Danny Mass: The 2Learn.ca Education Society, Canada:

“Its easy 2Learn.ca – a unique model of technology professional development

This is a fantastic initiative that demonstrates how a structured and fully supported eLearning network for teachers can create paradigm shifts in pedagogy.
2Learn.ca is a professional development, non-profit educational organization established to help teachers use video technologies to support teaching and learning in Canada. Teachers are trained to use the technology and helped to setup conferenced events.

Teachers are supported at all levels. The team provides workshops, professional speakers and events for a provincial group of schools and teachers in Canada.

The program works with a cascade model, that provides release time for teachers to attend PD activities. They teachers contribute to this program, through ongoing evaluation and responses that help the organization develop training solutions emergently. Teachers must also provide learning opportunities for other teachers in their schools to facilitate the cascading model.

Teacher leaders for the province schools undertake the training needed to learn the technologies, and then take these back into their school communities.

Classroom teachers are given leading opportunities to train and lead their schools in various technologies. This empowers these teachers to the point where they empower other teachers in their school, leading to very effective ICT learning environments.

The key to the 12 year old program is that teachers are encouraged to lead in an area of personal passion. They don’t have to know everything.

Each year they have had a different focus:
1.Curriculum use of internet resources
2. ICT embedded curriculum
3. Grass roots projects
4. Improved broadband: SuperNet, led to multimedia in classroom
5. Videoconferencing in classrooms

They have established a great free website of resources built up of all of the resources they have accumulated over the years. The database is an aggregation of thousands of sites.

The portal focuses on theme based units of study: a teacher teaching that theme can engage in ICT units of work that are fully supported. Teachers can ask the organisation to make an event specific to their programs. This will be posted for all, on the site.

The key to this program is the professional development support that is scaffolded at all levels.

A new initiative is an online community website called 2LearnTogether. This site will connect teachers, learners, resources and events. Forums will help people to engage and establish relevant learning environments. This forum will be moderated and monitored so as to meet privacy issues, via access limitations. The software for the site was Dolphin, an Australian product.

Have a look at their site: its a great resource:
http://www.2learn.ca/