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Technology is part of our everyday lives and more importantly it is embedded in our students everyday lives. As educators we need to realize that for what it is and take full advantage of that technology in our classrooms. What many teachers think of as new technology is really old technology to our students. The teacher is the key component in the development and use of technology in schools. (Office of Technology Assessment, 1995; Trotter, 1999) This video is a spin off of The Office from an [|article] at freetech4teachers.com called "Seven Videos All Educator Should Watch". media type="youtube" key="6svk_R_rVhA" height="385" width="480" align="center"



A spring 2009 survey by the U.S. Department of Education found that 53% of teachers surveyed had 1-8 hour of technology PD is the previous 12 months and 13% had none. 61% of teachers cited technology PD or training by technology staff had prepared them to make effective use of educational technology for instruction while 78% cited independent learning as the method.(Table 10, USDE, 2009) Of those teachers that did participate in technology training over 81% cited the training met their goals, the goals and standards of the state, school and district, applied to technology available in their school and was available at convenient times and places.(Table 11, USDE, 2009). Clearly, more time needs to be allotted to technology training. Many teachers are learning technology on their own rather than having training delivered and supported by their school. A high percentage of those teachers that do receive technology training find it beneficial and it would reason to be more likely to integrate technology into their instructional methods. A well constructed professional development plan is needed to foster the growth of technology-related instruction in the classroom.

The steps in getting started are: 1. Develop a technology plan that promotes the district's vision. 2. Conduct a technology survey to determine the staffs levels of knowledge. 3. Build a team to develop goals and strategies to achieve them. 4. Develop and deliver professional development that is relevant. 5. Provide on-going support to the teacher/learner.

__**Technology Plan**__ A school needs develop a technology plan with professional development as a key component and it must be integral to the overall school improvement plan. PD needs to be an ongoing process rather than one-time introductions or presentations. Teachers must see a need for the technology and receive support for continued learning of the technology or we will have teachers continuing to revert to the old ways that they know. PD should be research-based and focus on implementing strategies to effectively use technology. Always remember, the goal of technology use and the technology plan is to improve student learning and not to simply say “Look at the cool technology we have”.

__**Technology Survey**__ Before designing professional development, you begin by determining the levels of technology, technology use and the environment within your school. Seven Dimensions for Gauging Progress (Lemke, Coughlin, et al., 1998), identifies the seven areas that must be assessed to have a effective use of technology in the classroom. The seven dimensions are:


 * 1) Learners
 * 2) Learning Environments
 * 3) Professional Competency
 * 4) System Capacity
 * 5) Technology Capacity
 * 6) Community Connections
 * 7) Accountability

Learners and learning environments must be matched with age and grade appropriate technology and strategies. What works in a elementary classroom may be not work in a high school setting and vise versa. Technology and system capacities needs to be identified. Do all students have access to a computer or are they limited? What programs are the computers able to support? Will the system support 500 students streaming video at the same time? The support of the community needs to be determined from parents, businesses, and leaders. Accountability has to be addressed to determine the success or failure (or somewhere in between) of the applied plan and professional development. Finally, we need to find the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching staff. Recently the US Department of Education mandated that in order for Michigan to receive Title 2D monies through ARRA, districts must report data on "the number of instructional personnel assessed and deemed skilled in the use of technology within the LEA. Michigan does not require or provide a technology skill assessment for instructional staff, but the USED is requiring us to report the data we can collect from districts." If you have any questions on completing this survey, please see your administrator. Thank you for your assistance. (Dawn Mosher, Assessment, Data and Instructional Services Manager, LCISD)

 A plan needs a starting point.. Some teachers may be struggling with formulas in an Excel spreadsheet while others think Twitter is the best thing since the last big technology. The survey can be a federal based survey or a locally generated one. Moodle and Google Docs forms are a couple of formats used to administer and tabulate surveys. The survey should encompass the classroom setting, technology available, teacher levels of knowledge and how technology is currently being used. A copy of the 2009 federal survey questionnaire is located in Appendix C of this report.

__**The Team**__ A deliberate implementation team is critical for the successful integration of technology in schools. The team needs be comprised of teachers, administrators, technology specialists that will represent the views of all concerned parties, making the process inclusive and cohesive. The team will identify the goals of the professional development based on results of the technology survey while keeping the district's technology plan and vision in mind. The goals developed should include the big goal, but interim goals must be set that are realistic and relevant given the scope of the changes and the time frame. Initially, the team will identify the appropriate tools, secure and/or develop PD material and setup up a time-line of delivery and goals, but will continue with technical and moral support.

When developing technology PD keep two practices in mind; how to use the tool and how to integrate the tool into given teacher's classrooms.
 __**Developing PD**__ North Central Regional Educational Laboratory identified several components of effective professional development for technology use. Teachers need to see the connection of technology to student learning, but the technology should be curriculum based. The teacher want to see how can this particular application work for me in my classroom. A survey showed that 73 % of teachers cited student achievement as the main reason for participating in professional development. PD needs to show how a teacher can take a given technology and apply it to their students. The teacher needs to be an active participant in the process. The teacher needs hands-on experience in technology use. A demonstration can give them an overview of the capabilities of a technology, but PD should provide the opportunity for the teachers to use the technology for themselves such as a sandbox learning situation or a fun assignment that applies the technology to a relevant goal. PD does not and should not need to be confined to a traditional group setting. Technology PD tends to be a personal learning experience based on the teachers prior knowledge. PD can be more effective through mentoring, curriculum-specific training or ongoing workshops. Effective strategies can be modeled in the classroom and for most people seeing is believing. Several items tend to hamper effective technology professional development and need to be addressed. Administrative support in the form of common goals, funding, resources and sufficient time plays a pivotal role in the success of effective PD as well as continuing support in technical assistance. The teacher has to feel the support behind them or the increased effort to learn technology will take a backseat to other school and classroom demands. ====The team needs to develop a PD day just like a lesson in the classroom. Be prepared with the necessary technology and peripherals. Present the technology. Give a relevant assignment that uses the technology. Review the assignment to share with the group further possibilities of the technology. The training cannot end at that point or the implementation will end with it.==== 

__**On-going Support**__ A review by the Center for Implementing Technology in Education found that in addition to PD having relevance to context and curriculum and administrative support, schools need to build a “community of practice”. Professional development needs to go beyond “sit and get” sessions and build a network among staff and even students to foster and strengthen our technological abilities. Set up a schedule of mini sessions. These can range from small group settings that introduces new tips and tricks on the given technology or introduction a new technology to a best practices event that again allows teachers to see how others are using the technology. Teachers can find support between meeting and events, but a set schedule will avoid a 'let it happen' and direct the PD to a 'make it happen'.

 Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals is a good overall guide to creating successful professional development with the intention of making a significant difference in the quality of professional learning in schools.