2.0 for the teachers too

“I would like to go to the other teaching team and suggest that we start having weekly meetings (maybe 30 min. to start) in which we talk about what has worked for us that week, children we need help with, new curriculum ideas, etc. I feel like I don't get to talk to the other teaching team except on workdays and after school, and then it's not usually about curriculum/kids, but personal stuff. Some days I feel like an island in my classroom.”

What I enjoy about this comment is how it was posted on
http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/

The fact that (s)he can turn to forums.atozteacherstuff.com shows how much online communities and internet resources can help the teacher with their job and skills and not just in their decisions of content and ways of passing on information to the student. Hopefully the answers coming from fellow teachers on atozteacherstuff made him/her feel like less of an island.

Staff meetings are great opportunities for teachers to:
-discuss curriculum, lesson plans
-discuss great ideas
-discuss and plan larger goals for the semester or year in terms of learning and grade improvement for their students

These in person meetings when done well can be a great benefit to teachers within a school as they can all learn from each other’s knowledge and years of experience, or from the fresh ideas and outlook that can come from new teachers.

The opportunities provided to teachers from online forums and social communities allow for this kind of sharing of knowledge and expertise to be expanded beyond the school level to a greater area, local or national, and not relegated to 30 minutes once a week (or less, or not at all depending on the school). A good online network for passing on information to fellow teachers about Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in teaching is Classroom20.com. This uses Ning, the social platform to create online communities. The power of 2.0 technologies can work as a tool for teachers to communicate with each other even before they use it for their students in the classroom.

One of the reasons why these sites are great is because they are so open and allow for teachers from all over the country to share their expertise. However, that is also one of the reasons why it might not be as helpful for schools that face different challenges, such as if it is located in a small town in Georgia versus a city like Detroit. The concept though could be more localized, to a local area or a school and could potentially be helpful for teachers to also have internal websites for their district or school in a Classroom20.com way, where they can discuss their ideas and issues throughout the week online. This ongoing communication and resources will no doubt prepare the teachers in advance and create new ideas for the weekly in person meetings.