Technology Training

Faculty Technology Skills
At my school I feel we have a variety of levels of comfort with technology.  We have some teachers that are doing all they can it seems to check their email and those that are comfortable finding something new and innovative to use in their classroom and just going for it.  Many teachers feel fine tackling a technology challenges and there are others that go directly to our technology specialist.  

Technology Staff Development
Staff development methods for learning about technology have taken on may forms in my school.  We typically learn about new technologies during our staff meetings.  One negative to learning new skills at a faculty meeting is the staff can feel burned out and not focused.  We have also had the opportunities to sign up for different programs we would like to learn about and would meet with our technology specialist after school.  One thing that I would maybe change about the afternoon sessions would be to have a follow-up meeting to check-in to see how using the technology is going.  That way if someone walked away from the session and didn't end up using it support could be given to them.  This would also give them an opportunity for them to hear from other colleagues about what has and has not work.

Media Specialist and Technology Specialist
Having both a media specialist and technology specialist at our school has been beneficial.  They work together to teach students digital citizenship and research skills.  Both of them collaborate with teachers and grade levels to create lessons and units that incorporate up to date technology and activities.  They are both on the Technology Committee and research and look in to ways that are school can keep up with the times.

How would I provide Staff Development? 
If I was to create a plan for staff development at my school my first goal would be to create a team of teachers (preferably one from each grade level) to form a Educational Technology Committee.  In the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) White Paper the idea of peer coaching (2011) was a method that I could see being very successful.  After forming this group we would meet to discuss ways to show teachers the "must use" technology during pre-planning.  Then during the year the committee members would use different technologies and showcase them to their grade levels.  Time is a major player in how well a staff development is viewed by members of your faculty.  With having more people be a part of the mastery of a piece of technology, the teaching and support can be addressed by many.  Also, I would provided teachers with time after or before school to sign up to learn about the technologies that they are interested in.


Reference
International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). Technology, Coaching, and Community [White paper]. Retrieved 
            from its.org