I have been forced to think very hard about the importance's of face-to-face collaboration for teachers versus an on-line collaboration. Not so much in the sense of digital versus real but in the sense of time out of the classroom.
I was recently informed of the number of days I have missed for committee meetings, which was a large number when added to days missed for sick days, medical, dentist, etc. The amount of time out of class was identified as "too much".
So...I analyse. Face to face meetings I attend are quite a geographic distance and therefore I am in travel for a third to half the time of being out of class. I also attend conferences and workshops for my two main professional interests, PLC's and Educational Technology. This has added up this year.
On that note, this year I have learned more than any period of time in my life. So...again...I contemplate...where do I do my best learning and why?
There is no doubt that most if not all people who would actually read my blog would agree that we learn most from our PLN's, like here, and those are digital...so question one answered. I do MY best learning at home, in my PJ's, at night or on my own time. Why? Because I have handcrafted my PLN to be a group of people very closely related to my interests.
Wait...it is not that easy. The most important question has not been answered, nor do I know if I can answer it, yet. Do my students benefit from my learning and/or do they suffer from my learning? I think of this in terms of what I bring to the classroom from my PLN or PD and how my students learning is interrupted by my absence or integration of new strategies, technology, etc.
How do you feel your PLN benefits your students?
How do you feel you PD benefits your students?
How are students suffering from teacher absence from PD or other?
How does one weigh the answers to these questions?
