Blog 6: Technology Training

At our school, I would say that our use of technology is pretty basic. We all use our Interwrite boards and know how to use Easiteach or Interwrite to write or show things on the board. Most of us know the basics of our new email that has one drive on it. As for much more than that, most of us don’t know how to use a lot of technology in our classrooms. We just haven’t been taught how to. This year we have a new member to our technology department who has come in and helped us with one drive and finding resources on our semi new math series and our new reading series. Most of these meetings have been during our PLC time and they were more exploring or showing one or two things that you can do within the series. We only had 2 or 3 meetings on this at the beginning of the year. Personally, it’s not enough time to help someone gain a better understanding or become comfortable using the specific technology. 

I think that good ways to support productive technology staff development is to first, according to our ISTE standards, conduct a needs assessment by teachers. You need to find out what teachers want more information or help on using. For me personally, I get shown 4 or 5 new things and I start getting overwhelmed and confused. I don’t have time to master things before I’m shown another thing. I just end up not using the new things that I’m shown. I would do better to focus on one particular thing and become comfortable using it before being shown something new. 

I think that best way as a librarian that I could provide technology development to my teachers is to collaborate with them by listening to their concerns and needs. That way I can ask questions and gather information to best fit their needs. I could show them how to use, according to ISTE standards, technology to asses student learning, help with differentiating (big need and concern among fellow teachers), and provide relevant learning for all students. There is so much technology out there but teachers don’t know how to access it. I could provide a great wealth of information to them and help them find the resources that they need. I could show them how technology can better assist them in the classroom and make their jobs a lot easier.

Blog 6: Technology training

In my school setting, there are several types of professional developments that pertain to improving academic excellence. The professional development occurs during the school term where days have been set aside for professional learning. Usually the learning is led by the academic coaches.  Unfortunately, there is no professional development set aside for technology training. The media specialist says there is some technology available that is not being used because of the lack of training. Some training has been done with peer teachers who have knowledge of different technology. Most of the technology implementation is done by the Central Office technology staff which rarely visits the school for implementation. Technology development would be a great asset for the staff, since over half are millennia’s teachers who would enjoy technology assisted instruction.

We as present or future media specialists must convince the principal or district of how important implementation of technology is in achieving the ISTE standards to help improve academic excellence for 21^st century learners. We must assume the role as coaches. We must learn how to use the technology efficiently and transform the learning to our colleagues.

By becoming a professional and coach in this field, I would have the vision on how to lead the faculty in becoming technology literate to support student learning. This can be done by learning about the different topics of technology in education by attending professional development programs. Additionally, I would research and gather data about the digital age learner’s expectations and different tools for implementation that are available for learning, become aware of the safety issues and how to be pro active to obtain safety when in use, share this experience by teaching, demonstrating, collaborating, implementing, and coaching teachers to adopt and use in the classroom. I would have a program available so that teachers can express their technology needs for student learning and find information to meet them, develop an evaluation tool to see how the implementations are working in the classroom setting and make adjustments as needed to improve. My main focus is to encourage principal and district to set aside days for ISTE standards professional learning for teachers. I would be an advocate in the school and community on how technology can lead to better preparing 21^st century learners in job performance. Lastly, I would always be open to ideas to help move the staff and students to the next level of success in using technology for educational purposes.

References:

ISTE/Coaching White Paper. (2011, January 1). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=2157

ISTE Standards Coaches. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-C_PDF.pdf