The Whitsby Story with ASCD

Hello there, fellow knowledge-seekers! You’re about to read a transcript that’s been generated by the AI in Adobe Premiere Pro and then proofed by me. I’ve gone through these lines like a cat chasing a laser pointer. But, all that chasing sometimes wears me out, and I do make mistakes! Spot a mistake in this transcript? Help this teacher out and shoot an email to vicki at coolcatteacher dot com. Thank you for being helpful! – Vicki, your podcast host and friendly fellow classroom teacher.

Transcript

Introduction
00:00:00:55 – 00:00:03:49
John:
Welcome to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

Sponsor Message and Introduction to Today’s Topic
00:00:03:49 – 00:00:31:38
Vicki Davis:
Today’s sponsor is the Modern Classrooms Project. Are you ready to explore modern pedagogy and center students in your classroom? Join us at coolcatteacher.com/modern now. More details will follow at the end of the show.

Hello, I’m Vicki Davis, and today, we’re at ISTE with ASCD experts discussing Whitsby, a new PD platform.

Introducing Whitsby and Penny Reinart
00:00:31:38 – 00:01:01:45
Vicki Davis:
Whitsby is a mobile-based PD platform. Joining us today is Penny Reinart, Deputy Executive Director of ASCD. Penny, a two-time Teacher of the Year and veteran of K-8 education, brings immense credibility to this discussion.

Guest Introduction: Penny Reinart and Robert Letcher
00:01:01:49 – 00:01:14:38
Vicki Davis:
Also with us is Robert Letcher, Managing Director of Digital and Learning Products. Thank you both for joining us today.

00:01:14:38 – 00:01:15:09
Penny Reinart:
Thank you very much.

00:01:15:09 – 00:01:22:24
Vicki Davis:
So, Penny, let’s start with you. What is Whitsby? What’s your vision?

00:01:22:29 – 00:01:54:44
Penny Reinart:
Having taught for 18 years, and then delivering professional development for about 20, I realized some persistent problems. Teachers lack time, face too many initiatives, and it’s hard to measure the effectiveness of PD. As a teacher, applying what I learned to my content area or grade level was a challenge.

00:01:54:51 – 00:02:23:40
Penny Reinart:
At ASCD, I worked on various platforms, but none fulfilled all needs. We aimed to build a platform allowing educators to combine their subject matter with our quality content and make it their own. The key is bite-sized information for time-constrained teachers, offering immediate solutions.

00:02:23:45 – 00:02:46:43
Penny Reinart:
The goal is a unified portfolio of professional development, even when moving between districts, ensuring a complete record of growth and learning.

00:02:46:43 – 00:03:10:55
Penny Reinart:
Our vision was to simplify PD for teachers and administrators, ensure its effectiveness, and make it portable and accessible on mobile devices.

00:03:11:00 – 00:03:34:38
Penny Reinart:
It’s essential for teachers to easily transfer their PD learning from one district to another without losing their progress.

00:03:34:43 – 00:03:36:16
Penny Reinart:
I don’t lose my information.

00:03:36:27 – 00:03:41:48
Vicki Davis:
Rob, you and your team have been the brain trust behind this project.

00:03:41:50 – 00:03:42:26
Rob Letcher:
Oh boy.

00:03:42:28 – 00:03:48:58
Vicki Davis:
I’ve always admired ASCD’s high-quality, research-based content. It’s fantastic.

00:03:49:00 – 00:04:14:02
Rob Letcher:
Joining ASCD, the value we bring through our expert practitioners was immediately clear. With a focus on classroom experience, we have an abundance of valuable content. Understanding the vision for Whitsby, we aimed to address barriers like time constraints by focusing on actionable insights.

00:04:14:07 – 00:04:33:06
Rob Letcher:
We concentrated on delivering concise, practical content, promoting job-embedded work, and leveraging our extensive resources, including decades of publications.

00:04:33:06 – 00:04:55:59
Rob Letcher:
Our approach was research-driven, looking at what constitutes effective PD specifically for educators and shaping the platform around these best practices.

00:04:55:59 – 00:05:16:26
Rob Letcher:
It’s about offering short, applicable learning and facilitating collaboration among educators.

00:05:16:26 – 00:05:25:37
Vicki Davis:
It’s shorter, applied, and often collaborative, right? Is there a collaborative component?

00:05:25:37 – 00:05:44:06
Rob Letcher:
Yes, the platform is integrated with our community platform. After watching a video, there are reflection questions for individual or community discussion. This fosters collaboration among educators.

00:05:44:11 – 00:05:46:33
Rob Letcher:
And there’s a collaborative aspect too.

00:05:46:44 – 00:05:59:42
Vicki Davis:
Educators often feel isolated in their schools. Finding like-minded colleagues, especially regarding specific interests or methodologies, is crucial.

00:05:59:42 – 00:06:25:11
Rob Letcher:
Schools themselves can be isolated within their districts, focusing on their unique goals. Whitsby offers self-choice for educators, with an extensive range of courses and curated content on various topics.

00:06:25:11 – 00:06:52:21
Rob Letcher:
It’s an all-access platform, providing an abundance of learning resources, from full courses to curated content on specific topics, making it easy for educators to find what they need quickly.

00:06:52:25 – 00:07:11:51
Vicki Davis:
How does Whitsby align with the traditional seat time model, and how can teachers earn professional development credit?

00:07:11:51 – 00:07:20:52
Vicki Davis:
Can teachers apply what they learn in short bursts and receive credit?

00:07:20:59 – 00:07:49:12
Penny Reinart:
We measure the time spent on learning but emphasize reflection. Teachers can reflect on their learnings, record them, and apply instructional strategies in their classrooms. We’re also planning to add AI coaching to enhance this process.

00:07:49:17 – 00:08:13:13
Penny Reinart:
Ethics in AI is crucial for us as educators. We aim to provide both AI and personal coaching to assist educators in applying their learning effectively.

00:08:13:27 – 00:08:28:49
Penny Reinart:
Our vision includes a blend of AI and personal coaching to support teachers in applying their learnings effectively.

00:08:28:49 – 00:08:45:01
Vicki Davis:
AI coaching can be a powerful tool for educators, especially when trained with high-quality data. How do you ensure the integrity and effectiveness of such tools?

00:08:45:06 – 00:09:11:32
Vicki Davis:
As AI becomes more prevalent, ensuring its ethical use and integrity in educational settings is critical.

00:09:11:32 – 00:09:20:01
Vicki Davis:
How do we maintain the authenticity of the learning process with AI?

00:09:20:03 – 00:09:37:39
Rob Letcher:
There’s a growing market for teacher-facing AI tools. Our concern is ensuring the source of these tools is transparent and that they genuinely aid in creative and effective teaching.

00:09:37:45 – 00:09:59:41
Rob Letcher:
Our focus isn’t on automating tasks like lesson planning but on developing an AI instructional coach that offers suggestive, research-based guidance, not doing the work for the teacher.

00:09:59:56 – 00:10:21:53
Rob Letcher:
We aim to develop AI tools that act more as coaches, providing suggestions and guidance based on research, rather than automating tasks for teachers.

00:10:21:58 – 00:10:27:09
Rob Letcher:
It’s about guiding, not doing the work for them.

00:10:27:14 – 00:10:47:26
Vicki Davis:
The rapidly evolving technological landscape can be overwhelming. However, by committing to continuous learning, educators can stay ahead and learn alongside their students.

00:10:47:30 – 00:11:09:40
Vicki Davis:
Thank you, Penny and Rob, for sharing insights on Whitsby and the innovative approach to PD at ASCD. This isn’t an advertisement; it’s genuine interest in quality PD and AI training.

Vicki Davis on the Value of Continuous Learning
00:10:47:30 – 00:11:09:40
Vicki Davis:
By committing to continuous learning, we can grow alongside our students. A big thank you to Penny and Rob, and to ASCD for their work on the innovative Whitsby tool. This discussion isn’t a commercial for Whitsby; it’s a genuine interest in quality PD.

Highlighting the Importance of High-Quality AI Training in PD
00:11:09:40 – 00:11:31:04
Vicki Davis:
I’m truly fascinated by exceptional PD, particularly those training AI with high-quality data. It’s essential to move beyond the ‘spaghetti on the wall’ approach to a more refined method of PD. Thank you both for joining us.

Modern Classrooms Project – This podcast’s sponsor
00:11:31:04 – 00:11:58:20
Vicki Davis:
The Modern Classrooms Project offers a free online course and community to enhance your teaching. Visit coolcatteacher.com/modern to sign up for their essential course and learn strategies, research, and resources for student-centered, self-directed learning.

Encouraging Technology Use in Education
00:11:58:25 – 00:12:26:20
Vicki Davis:
Modern Classrooms can guide you in using technology to deepen student relationships. In response to AI, we must adapt our teaching practices to research-based best practices, which you’ll find in the Modern Classrooms Project.

Conclusion and Sign-Off
00:12:26:24 – 00:12:27:25
Vicki Davis:
You’ll be glad you did.

00:12:27:27 – 00:12:39:56
John:
You’ve been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. For more from Vicki Davis, follow her on Facebook, X.com, TikTok, Threads, Instagram, Blue Sky, and YouTube at CoolCatTeacher. Thank you for listening.