Bill Gates announced his multi-billion dollar plan to videotape teachers in his TED Talk earlier this month (see The Best Of “TED Talks On Education”). As part of his talk, he highlighted videos of teacher Sarah Brown Wessling, who just wrote a post in The Huffington Post about it.

One portion of her piece, in particular, caught my eye:

If we want video to be an effective tool for teacher growth, here are some ways to help shore up enthusiasm.

• Keep evaluation and exercises for growth separate. As soon as evaluation becomes part of this process, the process changes. Teachers are far more likely to go into compliance mode, fearful of making mistakes. And when fear prevails, authenticity loses. So, instead, make the purpose of using video very clear: for self-reflection and growth.

This is the same point I made in The Washington Post in Videotaping teachers the right way (not the Gates way).

I don’t think Mr. Gates is too clear on that, though….

I’m adding this post to The Best Posts & Articles About Videotaping Teachers In The Classroom.