Just before our holiday break from work, I had the opportunity to register for an upcoming national conference on Critical Friends Groups that will be held here in Houston in just a few weeks.
As I read the information on the conference I noted with special interest that one of the pre-conference sessions focuses on the use of CFG protocols and strategies in online environments. I couldn’t believe my luck and yes, I did register for this pre-conference session which is described below. 
Moving CFGs Online: January 14, 2009, Houston, Texas
This session is for experienced facilitators who are interested in exploring the benefits, strategies, and challenges of conducting CFGs in an online environment. While CFGs have traditionally been face-to-face communities, online environments offer great potential for supporting teachers who are geographically dispersed or who desire a learning community outside their local building. Facilitating in such environments requires an expansion of skill sets beyond those of face-to-face facilitation. This group will analyze successful online sessions, discuss strategies for facilitating online CFGs, and share specific websites that can host online CFGs for free. Laptops are not required, but encouraged if possible. This pre-conference will be facilitated by Julie Moore, Co-Director of the BRIDGE (www.teachersbridge.org), a resource and learning community site for teachers and an outgrowth of the work of the Georgia NSRF Center of Activity.
I don’t know the exact agenda for the day (times, protocols, etc.), but I imagine from my previous experience with official CFG workshops that there will be ample opportunity for me to bring my own questions to the discussion. While I do have many questions based on my own experience in the Edublogosphere (as well as with wikis, Twitter, and many others), I want to give members of my PLN an opportunity to share your questions with me. I have set up a wiki to record my notes and work from this session, and I invite you to visit the wiki to share your questions with me.
If aren’t familiar with Critical Friends Groups, here is a very good description from the National School Reform Faculty Website.
Technorati Tags: professional development, CFGs, Technology, Web 2.0
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