Techno-what?
Technology skills of faculty members vary greatly. Some struggle with email and others utilize IPads, blogs, Google Docs, and other technology in the classroom. At one time, I considered myself pretty techno savvy…I soon discovered otherwise. I still consider my technology skills to be pretty sharp in certain circles, but in many circles I am very naïve. According to Jurkowski, “Technology has been tightly linked to information literacy, and a great deal of effort must be spent keeping up with changes in our profession.” Keeping up with the changes can prove to be very difficult. It wasn’t long ago that the Phillips Cassette Player was considered to be high-tech gadgetry in the classroom. The overhead projector that was in demand when I was a student is not the same overhead projector that is in demand in classrooms today. At my school we call the LCD projec
tor mounted to the ceiling an overhead projector and it can do a LOT more than its predecessor. We now have many more options and ways to utilize technology in the classroom. It is amazing at the advances in technology that occur each generation…year…month…day. “The library of today looks far different than from 20 years ago, and it’ll surely look quite different in another 20 years (Jurkowski, 2010).”
tor mounted to the ceiling an overhead projector and it can do a LOT more than its predecessor. We now have many more options and ways to utilize technology in the classroom. It is amazing at the advances in technology that occur each generation…year…month…day. “The library of today looks far different than from 20 years ago, and it’ll surely look quite different in another 20 years (Jurkowski, 2010).” 
Staff development is delivered through monthly ‘Before School Specials,’ grade level meetings, and staff development days. An obstacle that constantly arises during these staff development meetings is simply lack of time. There is too much content to deliver and not enough time to cover everything. Other obstacles include lack of attendance (specifically Before School Specials) and lack of participation. I have found it to be true that teacher’s make the worst students! An obstacle of grade level/subject area meetings in the middle and high schools is the fact that many teachers instruct multiple grade levels and subject areas and they do not share planning times with other teachers within their grade/subject area. I found myself in this position and I was never able to attend any of these meetings and found that teachers were too busy to pass along any important information. Very frustrating!
The obstacles are numerous, but so are the solutions. Our media specialist is not involved with training or staff development but we do have a technology specialist that provides training during grade level meetings as well as offering credit classes in the evenings that cover many of the technologies that are available through the Cobb County School District. Our technology expert is a former teacher and she does a fantastic job (along with the technology services department). As a media specialist, I will strive to assist teachers with technology in several ways. I plan to conduct small and large group professional development sessions, one-on-one assistance, and I will provide a wiki that is packed with useful information. My wiki will contain simple but detailed instructions that may be printed for easy access, podcasts, video tutorials, troubleshooting, and tech tips. Teachers will be able to add to the wiki. The most important factor is ADVERTISING! If teachers do not know the information is available…they will not be able to utilize it and the wiki would be useless. Cobb County offers a wiki for media specialists that is very informative: http://cobbk12-org.campuspack.net/Groups/CI_Library_Media_Education_-_Spinks/Cobb_Library_Media_Wiki/Instruction_Lessons-Middle
Staff Development Do’s J | Staff Development Don’ts L |
Wiki’s Blogs Reference Guides Publicize Success Small Groups Utilize in-school experts Keep it Short (teachers have a lot to do!) Do it Often Make it Relevant Assess Yourself & the Audience Analyze the Learner Have an Objective Provide Incentives Utilize Gu ided Practice Evaluate Enthusiasm!!! Be Available After the In-Service Advertise Be familiar with the technology | Large Groups (avoid when possible) Mandatory Attendance |
Jurkowski, O. (2010). Technology and the School Library. Scarecrow Press:
Plymouth, PY, UK
Stacie,
ReplyDeleteNice post! I agree that those meetings can be very difficult to fit into everyone's hectic schedule and if you miss one it seems like you are lost! We have introduced Smartboards into about half of our classrooms this year and have had training sessions about once every month to guide us through some of the basics. I missed one session due to our face to face meeting for this course and I felt completely out of the loop. It was so hard to find a time to meet and get the information from the other teachers, luckily we went over much of the previous lesson in the next one. I think that using a wiki is a great idea, that way if someone has a question they could look there first, you could even post notes from training you've held.
Thanks,
Suzanne
Hey Stacie,
ReplyDeleteLoved, loved, loved your staff development do's and don'ts. Sometimes I think only teachers can relate to staff development hell. Most of the time, they are boring or do not reach everyone involved which is exactly why not making them mandatory is important! A lot of teachers are intimidated by technology, especially when it's a program that seems time consuming to learn. Administrators should also look into staff who can deliver technology workshops in a way that is 'tech friendly' to most teachers. From my experience, most facilitators delivery their workshops as though they are speaking to a group of techies as opposed to teachers who may not be technically inclined.