Planning for Effective Technology Staff Development	The most powerful form of learning; the most sophisticated form of staff development, comes not from listening to the good words of others, but from sharing what we know with others. Learning comes more from giving than from receiving. By reflecting on what we do, by giving it coherence, and by sharing and articulating our craft knowledge, we make meaning, we learn. Roland Barth
presented by Barbara Bray Owner/Manager, Computer Strategies February 11, 1999 Email any comments to Barbara at bbray@compstrategies.com Computer Strategies, LLC Copyright © 2000 Calendar of Technology Events

Leadership Institute Heartland Area Education Agency 11 Johnston, Iowa Vision Understanding Adult Learners Needs Assessment Instruments Opportunities and Constraints Learning Opportunities Building your Team Creating your Action Plan

Slide Show Presentation

1. Vision
   What do you think your school, students, and teachers will be like in the future? Go visit the I.S.T.E. (International Society for Technology in Education) site on National Education Technology Standards for Students (N.E.T.S.). Check out some of the scenarios for your grade level and what students are expected to do with technology. Another place to visit is the George Lucas Education Foundation where they developed "Learn and Live," a video and book, and at their website read this article "Building a Bridge of Knowledge for Every Child." Or visit "Reinventing Education" to see what is happening in North Carolina. Do some brainstorming on what teachers and students will be like using Inspiration software. Each district works as a team to develop a vision of where they want to be in the future as it relates to their students, teachers, and curriculum. Each team then takes the information they collected and designs a poster about their school of the future. When they are all done, do a gallery walk and see what other teams visioned for their school. 

    

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2. Understanding Adult Learners
   Review the collection of resources on adult learners. Read the articles on adult learners and some different strategies on assessing comfort level and attitude about technology use. Go to CBAM and evaluate your own comfort level with technology and change. Edgar Dale 1978) suggests that schools should teach learners to read with questions in mind. With that in mind, when working with adults keep Dale's Cone of Learning in mind. When you design learning opportunities for adults, refer to these learning preferences.
   

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3. Needs Assessment Instruments
   How do you know what is expected as a technology using teacher? I.S.T.E. (International Society for Technology in Education) has developed standards for teachers on a continuium. So how do teachers know where they are when they don't know what they don't know? First strategy may be a survey that asks basic information such as "do you have a computer at home?" Another tool that is based on the Stages of Concern and written in non-threatening language is this rubric. Spend time listening to your teachers. Have grade level or department meetings to find specific needs. Now work in your team to define where you are today as it relates to students, teachers and curriculum.

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1. Opportunities and Constraints
   In the slide presentation, we will try to cover some examples of opportunities and constraints. When you start brainstorming where you are today, you will find some opportunities and, unfortunately, many constraints (also called challenges). Using this form in Inspiration, we will brainstorm as a group some of our main concerns.

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1. Learning Opportunities
   As part of the slide presentation, we will cover a variety of learning opportunities. Wested in San Francisco gives examples of strategies to reach different learners. From Online K-12 Levels: Librarian's Information Network for Essential Curriculum website, they have a rich collection of resources of opportunities for staff development. Gaston County in North Carolins gives a layered approach to staff development. Link2Learn Professional Development developed by the state of Pennsylvania with extensive and rich links to resources developed by teachers and curriculum specialists. A member from each team meet with another team member and spend a few minutes sharing what they have done for staff development.

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1. Support - Building a Team
   Building a team involves not only teachers but all stakeholders. When you include technology as part of the curriculum, it changes the way teachers teach and students learn. You will have some teachers that are resistant. Surprise! So here is a list on how to deal with resistance. NCREL has put together a site that provides background information and articles on change. National School Boards Association developed a resource to be used for planning staff development and when working with the community and school board. The Center for Education Reform provides issues, questions, and resources on school reform. If you involve all stakeholders as you begin to develop a plan, you will get more ownership from the teachers. They need to know they are being heard and listened to. Change is scary!

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1. Create an Action Plan
   In designing an action plan, each team will gather all the resources they created during the day: their vision, poster, where they are today, and opportunities and constraints. From all of this information and background info from several resources: The Elements of High Quality Professional Development and articles on change, article that covers the taxonomy of how technology is an effective tool in the classroom, Filling the Toolbox, an online journal created by Jamie MacKenzie, and the other resources listed on the Professional Resource site. Use this form to begin designing your action plan.

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