Tools to use in Technology Professional Development!!!!

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I  spoke with the technology coordinator/ librarian at my school earlier this school year. Her job is  to help teachers in our school use technology in their classrooms in the best way possible. I expressed to her that our teachers would need a lot of professional development on how to integrate technology in the classroom. Professional Development is a very important part of integrating technology. According to Ronald (2015) “Six in 10 teachers feel they are inadequately prepared to use technology in classrooms, according to the survey, and those over 43 express less confidence in their ability to harness technology effectively”.   Although she had some awesome ideas for how to approach the position, she wondered if I had any thoughts or advice on how she could best serve the teachers in the school since she knows i'm in school for Instructional Technology.

I think it’s safe to assume that most librarians are thrown into the role of technology coordinator without proper training. There’s just so much buzz about technology in education, so many opinions about the right and wrong way to do it, and very little authoritative information; there’s no definitive guide to tech integration. Everyone’s just kind of doing what they think is best. Administrators are setting aside funds to purchase new devices and trying to figure out the best kind of training to give their teachers, and in this process, surely there have been a lot of mistakes and missteps.

So today I’m going to share with you what I found for her to use in some of our school PLC's (Rink, 2013) for tech professional development.


  1. Teacher Training Videos
    Teacher Training Videos, an online database created by Russell Stannard, contains training videos on a variety of subjects, such as teaching online, flipped classrooms, and interactive whiteboards. This website was featured in our Top 20 Influencers in Ed-Tech blog.

  1. Adobe Education Exchange: ConnectED
    ConnectED is an initiative by Adobe, the well-known software company, that aims to help students express their creativity and build digital skills. This section of their site offers access to both free and low-cost online workshops and courses to help train teachers in technology.

  1. MERLOT
    The Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community. MERLOT is a program of the California State University System, but it offers some useful free resources to those not in the system.

  1. OpenLearn: Educational Technology
    OpenLearn offers free online courses on a variety of topics. The educational technology portion of their website collects expert blogs, free courses, and other resources specific to the ed-tech sector of teacher training and discovery.

  1. Learning to Teach Online Podcast
    Although podcasts are often overlooked as a method of teacher training, this podcast ‒ which is free on iTunes ‒ offers over 50 episodes of guides and lessons to help teachers learn how to use technology to teach their students. A wide variety of topics is covered in this video and PDF-based podcast for teachers.

  1. EdTechTeacher
    EdTechTeacher offers free tools for teachers, such as webinars, lessons, and app suggestions, to help them learn about teaching with ed-tech. In addition to their Free Tools for Teachers section, they have a blog that posts tips and tricks, other resources, and workshops and presentations for a price.

  1. The U.S. Department of Education: Office of Educational Technology
    The United States Department of Education offers a variety of ed-tech training resources through their Office of Educational Technology. This office works to improve the use of educational technology in U.S. schools, and their website connects teachers to a collection of tools and resources that can help them learn how to best facilitate technology use in their classrooms.

  1. Intel Teach Elements
    Intel offers access to engaging online professional development courses to help K-12 teachers engage students with digital learning in all subject areas. These courses are free, and course facilitation materials are also available to integrate into currently existing professional development plans.

  1. EdTech Leaders Online
    EdTech Leaders Online provides research-based programs and courses to enable organizations to build successful online and blended learning programs. Some of their offered resources include online professional development, custom development paths, virtual and blended learning information and training, and webinars.

  1. SimpleK12
    SimpleK12 offers more than 800 hours of training topics that are organized into specific and helpful categories such as desktop applications, digital media, and interactive whiteboards. These training lessons are presented in the form of videos, which can be downloaded and easily distributed to teachers.

To begin to integrate this technology in our school, I suggested she use  a technology plan called Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology 2010. According to (Whitehead, Jenson & Boschee, 2013) there are five key goals under this plan. The five goals are :



  • Learning Goal: All learners will engage in learning experiences in and out of school to prepare them to be globally network society.

  • Assessment Goal: All learners will be assessed on the power of technology for continuous improvement.

  • Teaching Goal: All educators will be supported to inspire more effective teaching for all learners.

  • Infrastructure Goal: All students and educators will have equitable access.

  • Productivity Goal: Learning outcomes will be increased  while also making efficient use of time, money and staff.

References:

 Rink, T. (2013, November 3). Retrieved from https://blog.mimio.com/15-free-tech-training-resources-
for-teachers

 Roland, J. (2015, October 7). Empowering teachers to implement technology-driven educational programs. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/explore/Innovator-solutions/Empowering-teachers-to-implement-technology-driven-educational-programs

 Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for technology: a guide for school administrators, technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin, a Sage Company.


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