Friday, June 11, 2010
Professional Development Options for 2010-2011
What technology professional development options would you like to see at Maryvale or your school for the 2010-2011 school year? One idea is to create a one-to-one program tailored to individuals' needs. This is good way to learn about each teacher's skills and what they want to learn and apply in the classroom. Another idea is to hold Tech Skills days after school once or twice a month. Teachers could sign up to attend a Tech Skill session and be responsible for their own learning by doing this. What ideas do you have?
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What I'd really like to see at my school are tutorials on Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2007. We're getting new laptops for the 2010-2011 school year and they are equipped with Windows 7 and Office 2007. I haven't used either of these programs and am interested in learning about them.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the tech skills being offered after school a couple times a month. That way professional development could be tailored to teacher's individual needs. In addition to "advertising" a new program, application, etc., you should give an example of how it could be used, as I am often unsure about how I will use a particular technology.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of technology skill days. We tried this at my school last year and it went well for the first trimester. We had someone available for meeting during our planning periods.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to continue with the one-to-one or small group program tailored to individual or small group needs. There are many music-based programs I would love to explore but I need assistance with navigating these. Perhaps for my department a small group session or two would be possible. In addition, I think a few large-group sessions would be needed, especially for our new email systems.
ReplyDeleteOur teachers have a vast diversity in computer skills. So we have small groups of teachers who are able to participate in a class like this. I would like to start with just one of the topics that we have covered - either wikis or blogs and have experienced teachers participate in a class over the school year. I would like to start this group.
ReplyDeleteFor at least half of our teachers email and attachments to email are still a challenge. For these we need to start with baby steps. I hope to have everyone able to at least post a document or two on their edline page this year and then get them to gradually move into incorporating technology in classroom discussion.
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I am one of the most competent technology people in our school and I am close to overwhelmed!
We hold optional tech training after school when appropriate. I would like to see this more often and, as the tech teacher, provide training specifically for teams/grade levels that would be more tailored to teacher needs. This was something we recently put in our new school technology plan. There are so many areas needed for training because the experience level of our teachers is so varied. We have teachers who are very self-sufficient and other that have no training at all. My questions would be - should training be made mandatory for teachers or optional? How involved should the principal be in motivating teachers? For example, we have laptops for teachers to sign out and use with their classes. Although they have all been "trained" on how to use the carts, the laptop carts are often returned in various states of use. Even though each teacher heard the same "rules" these carts can be in pristine condition and then with many laptops in the wrong slot, not plugged in properly, etc. So as a tech teacher, how do you train and then hold people accountable?
ReplyDeleteI would like the idea of tech days. Because there are so many different levels of comfort among the teachers with technology, it would be beneficial to have "leveled" classes. I would also like our tech days to give us some practical uses for the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have more in-service days dedicated to programs I could use in the classroom. I never seem to have enough "time" to practice using the programs. I would like to use the laptops in my classroom more often than once or twice a year. If I felt more comfortable, maybe I would.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see at my school is each teacher hosting their own blog. I think that this would be a great tool for teachers to get their information and ideas to both the students and the parents. I am still not sure that I like it to be interactive. To help the teachers with this we would need several inservice sessions.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the opportunity to focus on one of these Web 2.0 skills that we have been working with this week. I think by focusing on one technology skill, like the use of a wiki, the faculty could work together to learn and implement use of this technology. Also, by focusing on just one technology, we could brainstorm and share best practices for use in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see are opportunities to spend more time on developing lessons using ideas such as what we are doing in this class. Maybe sharing these ideas with other teachers and then spending time developing a good, solid lesson using maybe a wiki.
ReplyDeleteSaint John Westminster already has a great tech teacher who offers summer courses and some after school workshops on an as needed basis. It would be nice to have a few half days during the year to address the needs of teachers. For example, on-line lesson plans, distribution lists, smartboards, etc.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying this course and have great plans to hopefully improve communication in the middle school with parents and students. Would really like to see more middle school teachers try a blog. My idea is to start my blog and actually give professional development to the middle school teachers myself. Maybe once mine is up and running they will give it a try :)))
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I will be surveying the faculty at Maryvale to find out their expectations for next year regarding training and the kinds of technology they want to incorporate into their lessons.
ReplyDeleteI greatly appreciate Lisa's patience and willingness to work with me in using Web 2.0 tools as they relate to my department. I look forward to using a blog to reach all of the constituents within our school community. As for continuing Professional Development, I would like to see more individual training opportunities reinforcing what has been presented this week and perhaps grouped by experience and comfort level with the tools.
ReplyDeleteSince the needs of the teachers at my school vary greatly, it would be a good idea to survey all to see which needs appear the most. I personally would like to have professional development on using the Smart Board and designing activities for it. I would also like to have more professional development that would remind me how to use the Web 2.0 tools that I have learned about this summer.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a Professional Development tech. session that would instruct and train teachers how to generate a resource wiki or blog for the teachers at my school. This way, teachers, throughout the school year, could add links to online resources, lesson plan suggestions, instructional videos, or even samples of students work. With such limited time during the school day, this would provide professional support, without taking away from instructional and lesson planning time. Additionally, it would be a great venue for colleagues to encourage and plan/remind each other of upcoming events.
ReplyDelete