1. Update on the Building Community through Telecollaboration Project Recit Animators September 16, 2009 Alain Breuleux, Gyeong Mi HeoKaren Rye andA. E. Ted Wall

2. Cefrio Report on ICT-Supported Learning

As part of a Cefrio study, several years ago,over 100 teachers and leaders in nine of Quebecs English-speaking school boards were interviewed on the factors that influenced the use of ICT supported learning

Four factors emerged as being important:

Belief, Expertise, Support and Time

3. B EST: Belief

Teachers were willing to learn and use new teaching-learning strategies if they believed they would benefit the learning of their students

They were interested in the evidence that demonstrated the value of using ICT-supported learning

They wanted to understand why they should include ICT-supported learning in their practice

4. B E ST: Expertise

Teachers recognized that they had to acquire new knowledge and skills related to the use of ICT in their teaching

They were concerned with how they should go about acquiring such additional professional expertise

5. BE S T: Support

Theyrecognized they needed financial and technical support in acquiring and maintaining the required equipment

Teachers also called for ongoing professional development support

Moreover, they wanted that support to be as close to their classroom as possible

6. BES T :Time

Teachers recognized that learning such new knowledge and skills required considerable time and practice

Given the day-to-day demands of teaching, they were concerned about how they would find the time to learn and practice using such skills

7. BEST:Belief, Expertise, Support & Time!!

Teachers emphasized that all four factors are important

They recognized that they need the help of educational leaders as well as their colleagues to obtain the support and time they needto acquire the required expertise

8. The Learn-Cefrio BCT Initiative

Stemming from the above findings, for the past two years, with the support of MELS, the BCT Project Team has been working with teachers and educational leaders in Quebec school boards

The purpose of the BCT Project is

to encourage, facilitate and support collaboration among students, teachers and educational leaders to enhance learning across the community

9. The Learn-Cefrio BCT Initiative: Major Goals

The major goals of the BCT Project are to:

build an online community of practice to support collaboration across Quebec

facilitate the just-in-time use of ICT tools and eventually include students in collaborative projects

understand the challenges and constraints teachers face in facilitating the use of ICT-supported learning

encourage professional conversations amongst teachers and educational leaders within the BCT community of practice

10. Building Community through Telecollaboration Project

This year over 50 teachers are involved from all nine Quebec school boards

They receive release time to meet on:

September 29, 2009

November 19, 2009

February 17, 2010

May 10, 2010

11. The BCT Leadership Team

Cycle One Leaders: Donna Anderson and Dorothy Taker

Cycle Two Leader: Mary-Helen Goyetche

Cycle Three Leader: Karen Rye

Consultants: Drs. Alain Breuleux, Gyeong Mi Heo and Ted Wall

12. Communicating to BuildBCT Collaboration

Learn-supported Sakai site is a space for:

Building a community of practice for teachers (i.e., shared vision and shared repertoire)

Sharing experiences, thoughts, knowledge, and resources

More sustainable communication and collaboration among teachers

13. LiveClassroom Sessions

D uring the Fall term, two Live Classroom sessions will bepre-scheduledat times when teachers have release time to participate in them

D uring the Winter/Spring term three Live Classroom sessions will bepre-scheduledto facilitate participation

14. So what have we learned inthe BCT Project?

Let us consider some of the lessons we have learned over the last two years by considering the four major factors that affect the learning and use of ICT-supported learning and collaboration:

Belief, Expertise, Support and Time

15. Lessons Learned Related toBelief

Many discussions have taken place related to the development of the aboveshared vision of the Learn-Cefrio BCT Project

The following feedback from the participants indicates the degree to which they agree with some of the key purposes and benefits of the initiative

16. BELIEF: Questionnaire Results onStudent Learning and Teacher Involvement

Survey conducted on February 9, 2009

Based on your experiences, using the following scale, indicate to what extent you agree with the following statements related to the benefits of involvement in the BCT Project:

1= Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree

3= Not sure4= Agree5= Strongly Agree

17. Note: Year 1 & 2 refers to years in the BCT Project Teacher Responses about Student Learning Year1 Year2 The students enjoy sharing their work with authentic audiences such as other students, parents and friends 4.4 4.5 The students enjoy learning about and with information technology4.7 4.8 The students are taking increased ownership for their own learning3.9 4.3 The students are learning how to collaborate more effectively with others 3.8 4 .0 The students understand the importance of digital etiquette and are trying to use ICT more appropriately3.7 3.9 18. Teacher Responses about Teacher Learning Year1 Year2 Through my involvement, I have developed new strategies for collaborating with colleagues 3.9 4 .0 By collaborating with others I have been able to develop some valuable student collaborative learning projects3.3 4.1 By sharing ideas with other teachers, I have increased my understanding ofthe QEP 3.1 3.9 19. Lessons Learned Related toExpertise

As the above results show, the teachers recognized the importance of teacher learning and especially underscored the value of support from their colleagues

Like the participants in the Cefrio study, they recognized they had to learn more about:

T echnology,

P edagogy, and

C ollaboration

20. Stages of LearningProfessional Skills

The four As to Mastery:

Awarenessof the need to develop new skills

Attemptingto learn new skills

Acquiringnew skills through deliberate practice

Adaptingour skills by using them inincreasingly more difficult environments

Masteringour skills so they become relatively automatic

21. Performance Stages in Professional Learning Awareness Attempting Acquiring Adapting Phases: Mastery High 22. AWARENESS: The Initial Stage of Learning

Personal reflection, collegial conversationsand involvement in professional development can increase awareness of the value of learning new skills

Participation in the BCT project has helped teachers become aware of ways they can increase their repertoire of teaching-learning strategies

23. ATTEMPTING : The Planning Stage in Learning

Attemptingto learn new skills and practices

An important early step in learning is thinking about how one can best learn a skill

Does one have to consult or model others, read books, or just practice on ones own?

The BCT Project team and teachers in the BCT network have helped in the planning of learning process

24. ACQUIRING : Stages of Learning Professional Skills

Acquiringa skill through deliberate practice

Using a set of key cues that remind us how to initially perform the skill ( posted on the website)

Practicing the skill in a supportive environment that helps build competence and confidence

The BCT Project Team provided instruction and support along with the help of BCT network teachers and Recit animators

25. ADAPTING :Stages of Learning Professional Skills

Adaptingour skills by performing them inincreasingly more difficult environments

• Using our new skills in deliciously uncertain environments (just hard enough to provide a challenge but not so hard as to ensure failure)

• As competence and confidence increase,trying our skills in more challenging situations

The BCT Network provided opportunities to try new practices at a variety of levels of difficulty

26. MASTERING : Stages of Learning ProfessionalSkills

Masteringour skills so they become relatively automatic so that we dont have to think about how to use them

The path to mastery varies in length but the four stages of learning are usually involved

Performance dips should be expected

BCT participants encouraged and supported people to acquire new skills at their own pace

27. Lessons Learned Related toSupport

Based on feedback from teachers,we have found that the following are important components of support:

Support of theprincipal andother administratorsin providing the resources, time and technical support

Support from members of theBCTProject Teamboth face-to-face and online

28. Lessons Learned Related toSupport

Support from thelocal Recit and ICT stafffor both technical and pedagogical support

Support fromcolleagueson pedagogical, technical and collaborative aspects

Support fromteacher leaderswho facilitate the development of projects and opportunities for teachers to learn and work together

Support from theschool boardin providing matching resources for the initiative

29. Lessons Learned Related toTime

Again, feedback from our colleagues shows that some of the most importantconcerns and needs center around the whole question of time

Some of the time challenges people face are:

Time tomeet and share together

Time tolearnhow to use the technology and adapt it with their pedagogy

Time tocollaboratewith in-school and online colleagues

30. Lessons Learned Related toTime

There are wide differences in the demands placed on teachers due to the needs of the students in their classes. Hence,there are significant differences in the time that teachers can allot to their work in the project

Be aware ofthe danger of overloading teacherswithin the project, their major focus must be on the learning and development of the students in their classes

31. Lessons Learned Related toTime

Recognize that teachers are very busy at certain times during the school year so getting the time to share their knowledge and contribute to the network can be a significant challenge. Hence,there needs to be a flexible time window for making such contributions

Emphasize that involvement in the project shouldblend work and learning

32. Group Discussion

Please take a few minutes to discuss the above update

Do the findings reported ring true?

What other important factors should we consider?

What suggestions/recommendations would you like to make?

33. Post-Its Input

As individuals, on separate post-its, please post answers to these questions:

1. How can the BCT project be useful to achieving your goals as RECIT animators?

2. How can you as a Recit animator help theBCT project?

As a group, review the post-its and categorize them and be ready to report on the suggestions made by your group

34. Update on the Building Community through Telecollaboration Project

Thank you for your time

participation, and support!