This blog is designed to assist educators with questions pertaining to the introduction of educational technology in the classroom.
Monday, February 15, 2021
Professional Development: Surfing the Tsunami
Waves of technology keep coming in, and educational technology is more like a tsunami of information. Administrators and technology coordinators are responsible for managing this tide by providing resources to keep schools afloat and surfing ahead. Every position has a role to play in this tsunami and "technology coordinators are key players in fostering, supporting, and sustaining the use of technology for teaching and learning" (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 32). Can we meet the challenge? Yes, we can!
You don't have to love technology, but the students we now educate are digital natives. Our students have never known a world without internet access. How can administrators, technology coordinators, or teachers provide a twenty-first-century education without immersing ourselves and our students in technology? How do we communicate the need for adding technology in all curriculums? We must provide "a combination of strong interpersonal skills, effective problem-solving skills, leadership and planning skills, and technical skills” (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 28). There is no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing technology because not every school is identical. There is one key to implementation that is shared over all areas of educational implementation of technology.
Professional development is the key to implementing a shift toward technology. A “professional development program allows a school district to prepare teachers (and, in turn, students) to use technology as a natural part of the curriculum” (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 38). While not all school districts share this technology goal, they should. The primary goal of any educational professional development is to provide "support of teaching and learning, from internet access, to school network infrastructure, to the hardware and software in the hands of teachers and students” (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 32). The use of technology is not going away but is growing by leaps and bounds. Professional development could be aided with feedback to assist teachers in improving their craft. The video below with Bill Gates describes one pathway for attaining professional development through feedback.
Administrators and technology coordinators must succeed in building capacity. The directive to build capacity is stated by the International Society for Technology in Education, "Educational Administrators inspire and lead development and implementation of a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology to promote excellence and support transformation throughout the organization” (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 221). The shift toward technology implementation in the classroom can be difficult and tedious. Transformation is best accomplished through the unification of “stakeholders, including students, administrators, teachers, the school boards, the community, and others must be included in the decision-making process” (Vu, et. al., 2019, p. 67). How administrators and technology coordinators bridge the gap toward the future of educational technology will come with failures and successes. Success will not be dictated by any single facet of implementation, but with a steady dedication toward an ever moving technology target or goal. Administrators will succeed by creating “relevant, timely, and individualized professional learning opportunities” (Sterrett & Richardson, 2020, p. 4). Administrators and technology coordinators do not have the luxury of quitting when so much rides on our student's future success. The video below not only reveals my nerd side but is also a good representation of grasping the advancement of technology into the future.
Technology will only become more important as education progresses, so buckle up and start now!
Frazier, M. & Hearrington, D.
(2017). The Technology Coordinator’s (Third Edition) Handbook. Portland, Oregon:
International Society for Technology in Education.
Sterrett, W., & Richardson, J.
W. (2020). Supporting Professional Development through Digital Principal
Leadership. Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership, 5(2).
Vu, P., Fredrickson, S., &
Gaskill, M. (2019). One-to-One Initiative Implementation from Insiders’
Perspectives. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning,
63(1), 62–67.
The best support for a technology infused environment is quality professional development. This can be done by conducting a needs assessment and observations to determine what is needed and who needs support. Just as with students teachers learn at different levels and have different learning styles. Therefore, if we are going to provide professional development it should be intentional and strategic. Pam Davis EDU 621
Continued... Standard 5 of the ISTE states it best, “leaders model and promote continuous professional learning for themselves and others”. We must remember that whatever we do one of our goals should be to improve teaching and learning.
Reference
Iste standards for education leaders. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2021, from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-education-leaders
Hi Darren, thanks for such a great analysis of the chapters. Like you, I believe professional development is crucial for successful implementation of technology for teaching and learning. According to an article entitled Faculty Professional Development in Creating Significant Teaching and Learning Experiences Online, it is mentioned that due to the shift in skills and qualifications required of teachers in the Digital Age, there is a constant need for educators to advance not only technological skills, but also communication, social media, and problem solving skills in addition to traditional reading and speaking skills. The professional development must be on-going to ensure continued success.
Kyei-Blankson, L., Ntuli, E., & Blankson, J. (2020). Handbook of research on creating meaningful experiences in online courses. In Handbook of research on creating meaningful experiences in online courses. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Darren, I really liked that you also tackled the role of professional development, and we had some similar thoughts on the subject. I also think this is one of the most pressing issues in education. I have noticed that even teachers who are trying to incorporate technology are often doing so in more administrative and forms of delivery, while we want students discovering and creating. If we can get teachers to that level I think it will have an extremely positive impact on education. As Karlin et al (2017) explain, “Therefore, exploring the approaches being utilized when tech-PD experiences are planned and implemented is important to determine if alignment exists between current practices and research-based effective approaches” (para. 2). So we have to make sure we are using research and data to determine best practice both for implementing technology and professional development for teachers. Another valuable idea from the text was the idea of evaluating professional development. While the ISTE standards are a good place to start, we can also look at evaluation models. As Frazier and Hearrington (2019) tell us, “To assess the effectiveness of professional development, technology coordinators may also want to use a resource such as the one found in Kirkpatrick’s Training Evaluation Model” (p. 41). This model gives four levels to evaluate - “Reaction”, “Learning”, “Behavior” and “Results.” Results stands out to me because I believe most teachers will react positively to professional development that gets results. Most teachers that I know want to do great things for their students, so professional development that delivers seems like the most important evaluation in my mind.
References
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's Handbook (Third ed.). Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4).
Karlin, M., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., Ozogul, G., & Liao, Y. (2018). K-12 technology leaders: Reported practices of technology professional development planning, implementation, and evaluation. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4). https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-4-18/current-practice/k-12-technology-leaders-reported-practices-of-technology-professional-development-planning-implementation-and-evaluation
Excellent points!
ReplyDeleteThe best support for a technology infused environment is quality professional development. This can be done by conducting a needs assessment and observations to determine what is needed and who needs support. Just as with students teachers learn at different levels and have different learning styles. Therefore, if we are going to provide professional development it should be intentional and strategic. Pam Davis EDU 621
ReplyDeleteContinued...
DeleteStandard 5 of the ISTE states it best, “leaders model and promote continuous professional learning for themselves and others”. We must remember that whatever we do one of our goals should be to improve teaching and learning.
Reference
Iste standards for education leaders. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2021, from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-education-leaders
Pam Davis
Hi Darren, thanks for such a great analysis of the chapters. Like you, I believe professional development is crucial for successful implementation of technology for teaching and learning. According to an article entitled Faculty Professional Development in Creating Significant Teaching and Learning Experiences Online, it is mentioned that due to the shift in skills and qualifications required of teachers in the Digital Age, there is a constant need for educators to advance not only technological skills, but also communication, social media, and problem solving skills in addition to traditional reading and speaking skills. The professional development must be on-going to ensure continued success.
ReplyDeleteKyei-Blankson, L., Ntuli, E., & Blankson, J. (2020). Handbook of research on creating meaningful experiences in online courses. In Handbook of research on creating meaningful experiences in online courses. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Jasmine Densmore
Darren, I really liked that you also tackled the role of professional development, and we had some similar thoughts on the subject. I also think this is one of the most pressing issues in education. I have noticed that even teachers who are trying to incorporate technology are often doing so in more administrative and forms of delivery, while we want students discovering and creating. If we can get teachers to that level I think it will have an extremely positive impact on education. As Karlin et al (2017) explain, “Therefore, exploring the approaches being utilized when tech-PD experiences are planned and implemented is important to determine if alignment exists between current practices and research-based effective approaches” (para. 2). So we have to make sure we are using research and data to determine best practice both for implementing technology and professional development for teachers. Another valuable idea from the text was the idea of evaluating professional development. While the ISTE standards are a good place to start, we can also look at evaluation models. As Frazier and Hearrington (2019) tell us, “To assess the effectiveness of professional development, technology coordinators may also want to use a resource such as the one found in Kirkpatrick’s Training Evaluation Model” (p. 41). This model gives four levels to evaluate - “Reaction”, “Learning”, “Behavior” and “Results.” Results stands out to me because I believe most teachers will react positively to professional development that gets results. Most teachers that I know want to do great things for their students, so professional development that delivers seems like the most important evaluation in my mind.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's Handbook (Third ed.). Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4).
Karlin, M., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., Ozogul, G., & Liao, Y. (2018). K-12 technology leaders: Reported practices of technology professional development planning, implementation, and evaluation. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4). https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-4-18/current-practice/k-12-technology-leaders-reported-practices-of-technology-professional-development-planning-implementation-and-evaluation