Now that I am in my second year as a media specialist I see professional development from a different perspective. In this job I am charged with conducting quite a bit of professional development on educational technology and I try to remember to put myself in the place of those classroom teachers when I make my plans. Thankfully, I have the luxury of providing snippets of ed tech PD during faculty meetings and then the extent to which I continue training on various resources is entirely dependent on teacher interest. Each time we have a faculty meeting I demo a new resource (usually web 2.0 stuff, but sometimes equipment) and then they can sign up by team or department or grade level for further training based on interest for further training. This has proven to be pretty popular amongst my teachers and they say they appreciate being able to pick and choose what they want to learn. I, myself, sometimes feel overwhelmed with the constant influx of new ed tech resources, so I can see how teachers who aren't as comfortable or tech saavy could easily want to throw in the towel because they just don't know how to proceed.
Something else we do for technology training at my school is that the instructional facilitator and I put together sample lessons to demo to teachers during their bi-weekly group planning periods. Based on what teachers see in those sessions teachers can then request that the IF and I plan with them as a subject area or individually to incorporate technology into their lessons. We do also offer on-demand refresher courses and equipment training for new teachers.
It's important that teachers feel supported in implementing ed tech into their lessons, and therefore must have access to relevant, effective training. The biggest complaint I hear is that teachers don't know how to incorporate the tech into their existing lessons. I saw the pyramid below at our district technology office and use it in helping teachers figure out how and what to use. By breaking down the various resources by levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, they're better able to decide what tech resources are best for the various types of lessons and assessments they deliver.
You have a great perspective on the tech training. I like that the teachers are not all required to sit and learn something that they may not use and that they can sign up for what they are interested in. It is very nice that you get to present some little tidbit of technology at the staff meetings. This must be a great way to intrigue your staff and get them to utilize you more often. I know at our school our LMS's do not enhance our technology or teach anything to the staff. They do help students from time to time but they leave the PD to our administrators and district. I have to say that I am looking so forward to becoming a LMS so that I can teach my colleagues how to enhance their lessons. I think I will take a page out of your book and let them sign up for what interests them, I really like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that the problem is not that we have to attend another professional development day but that the information covered during these very short sessions must be implemented immediately. We as teachers have many demands placed on a time and we often look at these training sessions as just another THING to do. I like how you incorporate the short tips into your faculty meetings. This method of redelivery will provide a greater response in that the teachers interested will be accepting your help. Thanks for the blog and the insight on how you handle technology training in your media center.
ReplyDeleteI agree that teachers need to be presented with relevant and effective training. I am an instructional coach and have to provide teachers with a PLC at least bi-weekly if not weekly. Usually the training we provided is from directions at the county office, however, we also look at our SIP plan and determine the areas of weakness and try to find ways to help increase those areas. I am a fan of integrating technology as much as possible so I make sure to share innovative ideas with the staff as much as possible. Depending on the grade level and the technology depends upon if the staff plans to implement the new idea. Usually our fifth grade team takes the new ideas and just runs with them! Depending on the new technology, I share with one or two staff members first (those that I know will implement the idea) and get them to try it out with their students. This helps to determine if there are any kinks and if the technology is beneficial to our learners.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the media specialist has changed drastically in the past decade. We have gone from managing the media center and teaching library skills to being the "go to" technology person in the building. Being tech savvy is a requirement rather than an added bonus skill. I often find myself balancing teaching technology skills with library skills. The best way to tackle this is to combine the two. That's why I find it important for teachers to be present and interactive in media lessons. It is a good way to demonstrate new technologies/programs to teachers and show them how to incorporate the technology into their lessons. Many tech reluctant teachers feel more confident about using technology if they see it executed successfully with students. I do still think that it is rather ironic that we are more of a technology specialist than a librarian in this modern day.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your initial take on PD. I am often excited to learn new things and I feel as though I have some great PD leaders in my school and they provide exposure to many useful programs. However, often the information is compacted to fill a 45 minute open slot in a staff work day, then it seems expected that we implement it ASAP. I think students time and education is a terrible thing to waste on a "trial and error" learning system.
ReplyDeleteI have recently been asked to begin participating in our PD as a presenter. Thus far, I have tried to keep my presentations to two areas as I see them as the most helpful in the classroom : a.) our eClass initiative and tools that can assist teachers and b.) web 2.0 tools that can be used by teachers to deliver content. Each time I have been asked to present, I have had about 20 minutes to present. I begin with making sure the teachers present know that what I am showing is simply an overview and that I am available to collaborate with them on any particular project they may have in mind. I had a teacher come to me recently after and as we discussed her project and what she was trying to accomplish with it, we discovered the tool I had presented on was not the tool to do the job. But, in the "hashing it out", she learned the in's and out's of the program and how I have incorporated it in my classroom, giving her ideas for future planning.
I am grateful for the opportunity to present at my school while I am still in the role of teacher. It is providing me with valuable experience that I hope to use in the future as a media specialist.
I too dreaded professional development days when I was a classroom teacher. Not because I don’t like to learn but because most professional development requires more work to be done by the teachers and frankly, I didn’t need to add anything else to my plate. I understand that we all have areas that as professionals we need to deepen or further our development as educators but there has got to be a better way to incorporate the development without creating more work. The advancement in technology over the years has been an adjustment for many teachers, especially the older generation. In the county I previously worked in, I remember several teachers complaining about having to use Blackboard as the online platform for learning the Georgia Performance Standards. They eventually got over that and then when it was time to learn the CCGP that too was an adjustment because that involved a different web platform (moodle), which was not the most user friendly tool and took some training on how to find information. Another HUGE adjustment for teachers was transitioning from completing attendance and report cards by hand to completing them online. The Media Specialist and I were chosen to go to the training for this transition and be the experts so we could train the teachers. I would consider myself proficient with technology so I didn’t mind being the “expert” for infinite campus, which is the online student information system that the county uses to keep data on students. When he school where I used to teach purchased Promethean boards for all of the classrooms, there was a professional development training that was required for all teachers so they could learn how to use it in the classroom. The initial training was very basic. I found the promethean boards to be user friendly, however, I can see how a person who is not technology saavy could be overwhelmed with how to use them. The county offered advanced promethean board trainings for teachers who wanted to learn more about the many ways you can use promethean boards but the trainings were not required. I was amazed at the tools, skills and resources that are available and looked forward to learning all the ways I could incorporate this new technology into the classroom. Once I become a Media Specialist, I hope that part of my job will require me to either conduct professional development trainings on educational technology or at least be the resource for teachers who need help with incorporating technology into their classrooms and lessons especially since incorporating technology in the classroom is one of the components in the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES). By the way, The Bloom’s Taxonomy Technology Pyramid that you posted is a GREAT resource. Thanks for sharing!!
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