Generation YES Blog

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a podcast about technology professional development. The interviewer was Matt Vilano, editor at THE Journal. Matt said afterwards that it went so well that it might become an article, and sure enough, it has!

Five on Five: A Dialogue on Profession Development

A quintet of educators gathers to sound off on what works and what doesn’t in the ongoing mission to train teachers to use technology in classroom instruction.

Thanks Matt for turning an audio interview with 5 people on the phone into a great article! Plus, they did caricatures of us — kinda cool.

If you are an auditory learner try this:

Five on Five: Professional Development Podcast

Thanks also to the other podsters - Kristin Hokanson, Jim Gates, Bob Keegan and Cathy Groller. It was so much fun we kept talking after the time was up!

Sylvia

Megan Evander and Emily McCartan were interviewed by Wes Fryer (Moving at the Speed of Creativity Blog) at the NCCE 2008 conference last week in Seattle.

Megan is the Generation YES customer service lead, and Emily is our development coordinator (and ex-GenYES student.) The podcast, recorded on the exhibit hall floor at NCCE, is about the leadership and teamwork skills students develop in the GenYES program as they team with teachers to integrate technology at their own schools.

Link to the podcast. - Compelling Reasons to Involve Students in Technical and Instructional Technology Support with GenYES and TechYES

At TCEA 2008, Tim Wilson of the Apple Distinguished Educators interviewed me about the Generation YES approach to professional development. The 14 minute podcast is on the Apple Learning Interchange site.

We discussed how to help teachers quickly move to student-centered uses of technology. Many professional development sessions focus on teaching tool features, yet this method can sometimes result in less teacher confidence as they become overwhelmed. By teaching students, or teaching students and teachers together, teachers can see how quickly students learn technology and that their fearlessness overcomes many obstacles. Teacher fears need not translate to student fears, but it’s hard for teachers to believe that until they see it with their own eyes.

Sylvia