A Critical Need for Change

In recent years, many school districts have established collaborative practices among teachers by developing professional communities of practice.

Teachers operating in these communities have regular, face-to-face discussions for the purposes of reviewing evidence of student learning, determining student needs and designing interventions to address those needs.

However, the creation of similar communities of practice among school administrators lags behind what has become common place for some teachers. Often, the very same school leaders who go to great lengths to ensure that their teachers meet together regularly to discuss practice often avoid making the same commitment for themselves.

A recent study by NCREL revealed that 70% of principals feel "not at all prepared" to "somewhat prepared" in instructional leadership of which 21st Century strategies are a key element. Because instructional leadership is essential to successful schools, principals and other leaders, must receive consistent, job-embedded support. One effective way to do just that is through virtual learning communities.

In a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills registered voters revealed that Americans are deeply concerned that the United States is not preparing young people with the skills they need to compete in the global economy. What is needed is a strong commitment to help educators and educational leaders implement 21st century strategies in their schools.

Last night in a live chat that was part of the K12Online Conference culminating event- "When Night Falls" this very subject surfaced. These two questions kept repeating themselves in different ways:

* How do schools/teachers help administrators understand the importance of getting *all* teachers on board with using 21st Century teaching strategies and content in their classrooms?

* Who should be the target group for the message- teachers or administrators?

It was an interesting discussion and Chris Harbeck did a wonderful job of facilitating the conversation. For me personally, I believe part of the problem lies in the way we frame the question. In looking at an either/or between teachers or administrators we are leaving key voices out of the conversation. Yes, administrators are important in that when they understand the trends that are impacting the current shift, they become powerful leaders of change. Yes, teachers are important because if they do not understand and buy-in to the needed change in their current practice, nothing will change. But are they the only voices we want to have at the educational decision making table? What about students, parents, and other stakeholders in the school community? What about those of us in the education blogosphere community that have so much expertise to share? Do we have a role to play?

In my opinion, true educational reform in the 21st Century comes down to building community- specifically virtual community. Professional communities of practice are critical to carrying out induction, mentoring, ongoing professional development, and other forms of knowledge management that typically take place in a school environment.

Trends that Drive the Change

Change and tension are constant in the life of school professionals. Some change initiatives come from observations of need that occurs within a school and some are the influence of outside trends- economic, societal, and demographic. I was reading an article recently that brought this into clearer focus. In the Journal of School Improvement, Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2002 a couple of the trends described by Gary Marx voiced my thinking about how change should be implemented in schools.

Trend 4: Social and Intellectual Capital are the New Economic Values in the World Economy

"In an economy driven by technology and information, a dramatically increasing level of knowledge is needed to function in any occupation, ranging from managerial and professional to technical, service, manufacturing, and agricultural. One thing is clear in an economy based on social and intellectual capital-what you know and who you know both count" (Marx, 2002).

This new economy will be held together and advanced through the building of relationships. "Unleashing and connecting the collective knowledge, ideas, and experiences of people creates and heightens value."

Additionally, educators will need to stay current with the trends so they will know what knowledge and skills students will need to be successful in their future.

"They should also capitalize on their own social and intellectual wealth. Schools develop hundreds, even thousands, of relationships with students, staff, parents, other units of government, nongovernmental organizations, universities, the surrounding community, business and professional colleagues, vendors, and other groups. Each and every school should be seen as a source of intellectual strength" (Marx, 2002).

That last quote is powerful- read it again and let it sink in. "Schools should be the source of intellectual strength" and I would add, that is developed and facilitated through virtual communities of practice. The virtual translation of traditional professional learning communities holds particular promise in that global educational partners can be part of the connections taking place online. Schools should lead the way in modeling the transformative power of online communities.

Unpacking the Idea

So what form does a virtual school community of practice (CoP) take? It begins with two points of intersection. First, administrators set up a virtual space for communication and collaboration. They will need to choose a platform that has both public and private spaces and allows for the formation of subgroups that can be created by community members as needed. The platform should be very intuitive and require a minimal learning curve. Once the platform is selected then a community organizer who understands how to develop community online should be chosen. This person's contribution can not be underestimated in the beginning of the work.

Second, teachers need to have easy access, full permissions and the ability to use the platform in ways that make sense. By developing CoPs within their classroom, teachers model for their students how to establish learning networks of their own. Student networks should consist of content experts who are critical to mastery of curriculum objectives and classroom goals.

The main page of the virtual community will have the familiar branding of the school's logo, Web page and other established cultural artifacts to make it easily identified and to provide the connective pieces needed for members to feel part of the school community. The main page provides the portal through which all other community pieces can be accessed or where various stakeholders can request access.

Role of the Larger Community

In addition to the flurry of activity taking place within a school's local virtual community space, there exists a role for the educational blogger community at large. When called upon to help mentor or share, educational bloggers need to rise to the occasion and make ourselves available. New teacher induction, inservice professional development, preservice instruction and other collaborative opportunities are just a few of the ways we can band together around the world to help create the change needed "one school at a time." Using tools like Twitter and RSS educators can stay connected to the teaching social networking community and ask for/or volunteer when needed.

Trend 7:Technology Will Increase the Speed of Communication and the Pace of Advancement or Decline

"Twenty-first century technology is having a profound effect on every person, every organization, and every nation on earth. Those who have it and know how to use it are moving forward at an unprecedented rate. Those who don't are declining at the same dizzying pace" (Marx, 2002).

Social networking is coming into its own in part from the way age-old social practices surrounding trust and cooperation are being mediated by new communication and computation technologies. Howard Rheingold in his recent book "Smart Mobs" believes that a new kind of digital divide is forming that in ten years from now will separate those who know how to use new media to band together from those who don't.

"That means a new role for teachers. Great teachers will not only serve as subject matter specialists but will also become partners with students, helping them learn how to turn information into usable ; knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. Rather than simply dispensing information, 21st century teachers will become orchestrators and facilitators of learning" (Marx, 2002).

Through school-based CoPs we will open our classrooms to the world, allowing diverse teams of students, made up of members from varying corners of the planet, to work together solving real world problems and society's ills.

Taking it to the Classroom

Classrooms in the 21st Century should be: collaborative, student centered, project/problem based, encourage student choice/voice, experiential, democratic, places of shared knowledge construction, risk taking, and a place where a learning ecology develops and thrives.

Virtual communities of practice can play a vital role in making the shift from schools that are teacher driven to student centered places of learning. Through using a virtual CoP schools can create an enhanced learning environment where all members of the community- administrators; teachers; and students; can gain insight from each other, deepen their understanding, knowledge, innovation and expertise, all while overcoming the feelings of isolation that many teachers experience within the four walls of their classrooms.

Additionally, through school-based virtual CoPs educational bloggers can play an important role by connecting and collaborating with educators in our various schools and places of work across the globe.

How have you collaborated with other teachers or students to enhance the professional development experience or classroom curriculum? Please share your experiences here and feel free to add to the conversation.

Photo Credits:
http://flickr.com/photos/niallkennedy/40727794/
http://flickr.com/photos/monica_andre/336074931/

Posted by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
From TechLearning.com

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