Information overload

As an educator, I often find myself buried with the responsibilities of teaching during the school year let alone keeping up with the exponentially growing number of resources available to me through the internet. Yet, I know that it is my social and professional responsibility to keep up the growth of technology in order to better serve the generation of digital learners that populate all of our classrooms. There are, of course, a variety of options open to allow me to keep up with some of the instructional tools available through technology. Online learning is a great way to continue professional development at a pace, time, and location that fits my schedule.

PODetc courses are offered 24/7 in an asynchronous setting but that does not mean that there is no interaction between student and instructor. With the use of discussion posts and forums, as well as periodically scheduled synchronous chats, extensive communication occurs among the participants of a course. Many such courses exist and some combine synchronous with asynchronous interaction at a specific ratio.

Another option occurs with many degree programs where a ratio is set between face-to-face meetings and online interaction. This is the case with the Pepperdine Doctoral program in Educational Technology. I was able to hold down a full-time teaching job while earning my doctorate because the course was designed with professional students in mind. Our face-to-face interactions occured in blocks throughout the year, but we had ongoing online assignments and collaborative opportunities throughout.

With the PODetc model, professional can earn graduate credit while fulfilling standards established, for example, through ISTE with the Teacher NETS (National Educational Technology Standards). (www.iste.org) In the future, we will offer a certificate indicating completion of coursework that covers all of the NETS and their subcategories. As professionals, educators are obligated to keep up with learning research and learning opportunities for themselves and their students.