ProDev

Professional Development Subcommittee

Professional Development Models


 * 1) Tech Mondays
 * 2) PD Days-Districtwide
 * 3) PD Days-school based
 * 4) Peer coaching
 * 5) Drop in mini classes
 * 6) Shared "tried and true" lessons via email/wiki/district webpage/school webpage

Comments? In 1995, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) published a report on how schools could use technology more effectively. The OTA (1995) suggested that: To use technologies well, teachers not only need to access them, but they also need opportunities to discover what the technologies can do, learn how to operate them, and experiment with ways to apply them to the classroom. (p. 5) The common barriers for utilization of technology in education were citied: (a) teacher time, (b) access and costs, (c) vision or rationale for technology use, (d) training and support, and (e) current assessment practices.

I feel that we need to have a scheduled time on an ongoing basis to allow teachers to explore technology. Tech Mondays work well, but they also are sometimes limited sessions. They do not always are able to meet the skill needs of all participants (too easy/too hard). Would it work if we had multiple sessions with the same theme going on at the same time allowing for teacher choice ? i.e. Microsoft Excel - (Group 1) spreadsheets, (Group 2) formulas, (Group 3) creating macros.

Here are some more thoughts based on a review of what Peaslee covered in past Tech Mondays.


 * All training sessions were accompanied by handouts. This allowed for notetaking and/or a take-home sheet for further practice. Handouts were prepared by the presenter (often the tech specialist, but not always; teachers volunteered to teach specific skills, programs, etc.). Perhaps we could create an online file of these handouts to share between schools.
 * Here are some of the topics we covered (or planned to cover)-


 * 1) Smart Board integration
 * 2) Inspiration/Kidspiration
 * 3) Excel
 * 4) Webquests
 * 5) Teacher webpages
 * 6) Graphing programs
 * 7) Powerpoint
 * 8) Internet searching
 * 9) Databases available through regional library system
 * 10) United Streaming
 * 11) Ice Cream Truck (math software)
 * 12) BrainPop

