4 b.

<-Return to ISTE 4 Professional Development and Program Evaluation

 

Design, develop, and implement technology- rich professional learning programs that model principles of adult learning and promote digital age best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment

Professional Learning Considerations

Untitled

I have explored what designing, developing and implementing technology-rich professional learning looks like in two of my blog posts, Ed Tech Professional Learning Considerations and How Can Administrators Best Support Professional Development in Education Technology? These explorations have led me to negotiate why some professional learning is effective and some isn’t. It has invigorated me to bring some of this knowledge to future leadership opportunities within my own school and beyond.

BYOD Action Plan & The Ed Tech Cafe

Screen Shot 2015-07-26 at 7.10.59 PM

My experience actually designing, developing and implementing technology-rich professional learning programs culminated with my BYOD Action Plan, and its use to develop a professional learning opportunity, an Ed Tech Cafe to promote digital age best practices in teaching, learning and assessment.

The design, development and implementation of the Ed Tech Cafe had numerous iterations, documented in a number of blog posts. First, in my post, Perceptions, Emerging Technology & Instructional Shifts, I considered some frequently seen, and often pervasive, perceptions about technology in education. Then,  I evaluated How BYOD Fits Into an Idea Learning Environment before I began to write draft my plan and share it in my post, My Emerging BYOD Action Plan: Responding to Feedback and Criticisms. I considered issues of equity, functionality, cost, and the challenges that come with possible lack of support. All of this work, led to a final consideration of how professional learning would play an important role. I wrote about the need for professional learning in an unconference model, as well as the need for an adjoining online space in Revising a BYOD Action Plan: Creating an Online PD Space. My full action plan can also be read below.

BYODUsingProfessionalDevelopmenttoInfluencePerceptionandInstructionalPractice1

This plan ended up coming to fruition this school year, but did not focus on BYOD alone. Instead the goal became to provide a collaborative space for teachers to share their learning, seek guidance from peers, and have a continuous system of support. The largest challenge has been participants who have not felt ready or comfortable to share their expertise or seek help. As a result, the online space has also not yielded much use. However, a door of communication within the community has been opened. As an educator who has often attended technology training sessions, only to forget about what I learned the next day, I was keenly set on developing an opportunity that gives participants a chance to learn and experiment, alongside a community of support. With this community of support now established, certain participants returning month after month this year, and others seeking one-on-one support or feedback from me, a step in the direction of professional learning for the digital age has been taken.

 

<-Return to ISTE 4 Professional Development and Program Evaluation

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *