Making Professional Development Work for You

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, July/August 2017 Issue

By Meagan Gillmore

At 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning in May, Peter Cameron booted up a computer in a Seattle hotel room and prepared to learn from more than 60 teachers around the world. He was attending MAD PD—short for “Make a Difference.”

Cameron didn’t simply attend the 12-hour conference. He also presented and co-organized it with Derek Rhodenizer. A few months earlier, the two friends had decided to hold a professional development day where teachers would share one thing they’ve done that has made a difference in their classrooms. “We limited it to nothing,” says Cameron.

The conference broke barriers. First, geography wasn’t a factor. It was entirely virtual, using Google Hangouts, YouTube, and Twitter. Presenters broadcasted talks on individual YouTube channels. They spent 15 minutes speaking and the next 15 minutes interacting with other educators. Many topics came up: #MADPD trended all day, reaching number two in Canada.

“The concept of this conference has helped blow apart the size of where we can learn. It doesn’t stop in the walls of your school and your district,” says Rhodenizer. “This type of technology is the highway to help us connect these people.”

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Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.

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Meagan Gillmore
Meagan Gillmore
Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.

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