A Model for Professional Development Workshops for using the EdNA Services
Michelle Williams, David Potter, and Janine Bowes
Introduction
If professional associations are to run workshops about using EdNA, it is not enough
to say to a group of professional teachers 'Go to the EdNA web site and use the search or
browse facilities to find educationally relevant sites'. Teachers will want to know why
they should use EdNA, what tools are available and how they can use the EdNA services for
their professional work — as teachers and as members of professional associations.
How can the use of EdNA contribute to the development of online professional support
networks? How can associations help teachers understand the power of online communities
for themselves and their students and how can associations help teachers understand the
importance of their online experiences, in determining the stories they in turn, tell
their students?
The model is based on the communities' definition of the
Internet, a definition that
encourages a transition to the communication age. This contrasts to the information
definition of the net which is based on Information Age thinking. (See Thornberg 1995 for
a discussion on the perils of remaining information age dominant in a communications age.)
The model consists of the following
phases:
Phase 1 -
What is an online community?
Determine the features and tools of a web site that exemplifies an online community.
Phase 2 -
The EdNA Services
Using a scenario-based approach, examine the range of services available at EdNA and
determine how professional teachers can use the services.
Phase 3 -
Policies and Procedures
What are the policies and procedures that must be adhered to when using the EdNA
services?
Phase 4 -
Association Profile
Examine the profile that a relevant association has in the EdNA service.
Resources
Resources that will be useful to the
implementation process. |
