RSA: Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency
In her article Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency Sandra Plair calls for improvements to the professional development available to teachers for technology integration. Despite writing the journal almost ten years ago, many of the same concerns that she voiced are still shared by teachers today. Many times the pressure to incorporate technology in education brings about rapid adoption of the newest technology tools in districts where teachers have no experience effectively using the tools for instruction. Teachers either don't understand how the new technology fits into their existing curriculum or they don't see the implementation of these devices and programs as part of their content responsibilities. Unfortunately, the problems worsen when only short periods of training (which are much more sales pitch than training) are provided for teachers with little to no continued support afterward. Plair points out that many teachers leave these trainings not knowing how to bring what they have learned into their classroom, not understanding how to begin using the new technology tools, or discontinue use of the technology tool when problems arise and they have no support for how to trouble shoot.
Technology directors are overwhelmed with questions and are unable to provide support to each teacher or are unable to provide support specifically for each teacher's class or content area needs. The answer, Plair suggested, could come in the form of technology "knowledge brokers" or technology coaches who would be able to serve as an intermediary between technology directors and classroom teachers. In order for Plair's vision to work, these technology coaches must be allowed to keep up on current technology trends by reading current literature and by attending seminars. These technology coaches also have to be available to address technology questions, there when teachers are initially implementing tech-heavy lessons, and available in a timely manner when problems arise.
After reading this article, I felt like many of my past concerns with professional development had been validated. Too many times, new programs or technology devices are shoved at use with little or no training. If training is provided for new technology, continued support is hardly ever successfully provided. In the past, our in-school technology teacher served as a coach. Even with his vast knowledge of what technological tools are available for educational uses and how to use the technology, he had a very hard time explaining how to implement the technology in my classroom or how to fit it into our current curriculum. With a shrinking budget, we no longer have a technology teacher for each school. In fact, our technology teacher is spread between three elementary schools which makes our teachers' in-class technology questions difficult to address. I'm truly hoping that after completing our MAET program, I will be able to partially satisfy the role of a technology coach for my grade level team. By having a general understanding of how to use the technological tools in an elementary setting and a good understanding of our content area information, I may be able to better support elementary teachers successfully integrate the technology into their current teaching practices.
Technology directors are overwhelmed with questions and are unable to provide support to each teacher or are unable to provide support specifically for each teacher's class or content area needs. The answer, Plair suggested, could come in the form of technology "knowledge brokers" or technology coaches who would be able to serve as an intermediary between technology directors and classroom teachers. In order for Plair's vision to work, these technology coaches must be allowed to keep up on current technology trends by reading current literature and by attending seminars. These technology coaches also have to be available to address technology questions, there when teachers are initially implementing tech-heavy lessons, and available in a timely manner when problems arise.
After reading this article, I felt like many of my past concerns with professional development had been validated. Too many times, new programs or technology devices are shoved at use with little or no training. If training is provided for new technology, continued support is hardly ever successfully provided. In the past, our in-school technology teacher served as a coach. Even with his vast knowledge of what technological tools are available for educational uses and how to use the technology, he had a very hard time explaining how to implement the technology in my classroom or how to fit it into our current curriculum. With a shrinking budget, we no longer have a technology teacher for each school. In fact, our technology teacher is spread between three elementary schools which makes our teachers' in-class technology questions difficult to address. I'm truly hoping that after completing our MAET program, I will be able to partially satisfy the role of a technology coach for my grade level team. By having a general understanding of how to use the technological tools in an elementary setting and a good understanding of our content area information, I may be able to better support elementary teachers successfully integrate the technology into their current teaching practices.
Plair, S. K. (2008). Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency. Clearing House, 82(2), 70-74.
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