Making Performance Improvement Easier

While at the NSDC conference in St. Louis this week, we were introduced to a service called "Teacher Studio." The formal description is as follows:
TeacherStudio is a vital, worldwide professional learning community allowing teachers to see, hear, and collaborate with exemplary educators in action. Through a unique combination of networking technology, rich-media, and proprietary tools, TeacherStudio allows educators from member districts to come together anytime, anywhere to share ideas, receive mentoring, and learn best practices.

An oversimplified description would be a professional development YouTube for teachers-without all the clutter and irrelevant media. Think about it. Teachers are always so busy and professional development, especially viewing the practices of seasoned veterans and dynamic instructors, is almost impossible. With this service, however, teachers in districts who subscribe to the service can leverage the best practices of their instructors and share across the district. You can also view content posted by other member school districts. The information is searchable as well so you can find just what you are looking for.

And as a teacher, you can work on your performance improvement when it works best in your "lineup." I also envision a first year teacher struggling with how to teach a concept or deal with a classroom issue-and they have waited until late in the evening to begin focusing on it. With Teacher Studio you could log on, find the information or assistance you needed and be better prepared for the next day-how cool is that? There is much more to the service-that's just one example.

How about in your organization? How convenient is professional development for your employees? With busy schedules and unique development needs of each employee, how do you make it easier for "improving myself professionally" to be an act in their lineup on a regular basis?

NSDC Conference Exhibit

This week we exhibited at the NSDC (National Staff Development Council) Conference in St. Louis, MO. Participants were individuals from schools and school districts who plan professional development for their teachers, administrators and support staff. With options ranging from book club discussions to our train the trainer program to live trainers and speakers, we have an option to fit even the smallest school budget.

Time and time again as people would approach the booth they would immediately say, Juggling Elephants?!....... "That's what it feels like for our staff!"

Like corporate environments, the education climate continues to place increasing demands on it's people. Some of the "elephants" educators are dealing with include:

• Increasing student test scores with decreasing resources to accomplish it.
• Distracted students who can't stay focused on subject matter.
• Parents who are already juggling elephants and often offer little or no assistance to their children at home.
• Finding time for themselves when they are giving so much of their time and energy to be an effective educator or administrator.

If you have not done so recently, thank a teacher, principal or someone who works to support the activities of a school. They definitely don't get enough standing ovations from those of us in the audience.