Someone asked me today to identify the worst and the best things that have happened for our association in this economic downturn.

As I thought about my answer, I found myself articulating something I have been thinking and even saying in some small circles, although not enough in circles that matter. The worst thing that has happened to us in this economic situation is that our members find that they do not have sufficient or even credible evidence of the impact of their work to advocate for maintaining funding for professional development. Without the data to support the impact of professional development on professional practices and student learning, it is difficult to substantiate an argument about not dramatically reducing, or even eliminating, resources for professional learning. Educators, unlike business, are not as adept at providing return on investment data or impact data about professional development. I regret that we as an association have not provided sufficient support to our members to evaluate their work.

Fortunately, with the launch of the Evidence Database, we are making it easier for members to find research studies and other information about the impact of professional development. The database is a searchable resource that includes annotations of studies related to professional learning. The database includes research studies, newspaper articles, magazine articles, and other occasional papers about how professional development contributes to school improvement, improved practice, and student achievement. While we can't provide information that will help each school or district provide the evidence needed to support their local arguments for maintaining resources for professional development, we can provide our members with access to evidence that might assist them as they construct their case for the importance of professional learning as a crucial factor in improving schools, teaching, leadership, and student learning.

The best impact of the economic downturn for Learning Forward and hopefully for our members is increased access to information and continued opportunities for professional learning through our expanded e-learning programs and the Virtual Conference we will be piloting at our Annual Conference in December. Members who are not able to travel to participate in professional learning will be able to attend our conference virtually and be able to enjoy a full conference experience by being present at all five general sessions and a host of concurrent sessions. This also opens the conference to our international members who are not able to travel great distances to attend the conference in Atlanta, and who want to experience our acclaimed conference. We also look forward to launching networks that will create ways for members to connect with one another and to share expertise and resources with members of their virtual communities.

These opportunities to connect with members in new ways using technology are advancements we can attribute to the downturn in the economy, yet they will result in permanent benefits to engage all members more substantially in association services.

The economic downturn has significant impacts, yet it is also leading us to more creative options for continuous improvement. I wonder how others would answer the question I was asked today.

Joellen Killion is Learning Forward's deputy executive director.