I’ve just taken a glimpse at Metiri Group’s TLINC summary document and their Year Two Midyear Report. The TLINC project was designed to “retain teachers by engaging them in networked professional learning communities.” After consideration of several platforms, NCTAF chose SRI’s TappedIn community.

TLINC looks at TappedIn implementation at three sites: Colorado, Memphis, and Seattle. I’m not going to go into detail about the reports, but will comment on a few findings and statements, especially in regard to emerging themes.

A major reported theme was the “design of relevant learning environments.” The parallel is authentic learning for students. Teachers often do not have time to experiment with something new outside of their everyday work. The report mentions that “Leaders at the Seattle site strongly believe that to make the online approach viable it must accomplish existing goals in ways that are more effective than existing methods.” There is no sense in reinventing the wheel unless the design significantly improves current functionality.

Relevancy is an issue of serious consideration in technology integration. Technology cannot be used just for the sake of using technology, and I’m not sure if an online community is necessary in all schools or districts. There would need to be a compelling reason for teachers to utilize such resources. If the current teaching paradigm is not expected to change, I don’t think an online community is needed. But for a school that has begun to develop PLCs and initiate other changes, an online community could provide a platform for collaboration and learning.

Online communities are learning and sharing tools. Asynchronous online discussions provide a notable means for capturing conversations that users can access at a later time. As mentioned, time is a rare commodity in the lives of many teachers. The TLINC report mentions several times the importance of giving teachers the time necessary to engage in learning and sharing. Scheduled sessions can take advantage of the synchronous chat features, but most teachers are likely to utilize information and communicate on their own schedules.

The TLINC study shows an admirable effort towards PLC support using online communities, but I’m not sure what stage the teachers are actually working towards a PLC. A broader study could look specifically at PLC development pre and post TLINC.