District Administration - January 2012 - (Page 62)

Equipping Teachers to Infuse TEchnology curriculum and online community. AELs often provide no-cost webinars on topics of interest to K16 educators. However, online professional development in the area of technology is a tricky thing. The disadvantage with any face-toface or asynchronous training model is the inability of the local trainer to get to all the teachers who need support. How do teachers feel comfortable enough with the technology to take advantage of online professional development options? Local initiatives in school districts are helping to solve this dilemma with what I call “homegrown” initiatives. Homegrown With the ease of setting up and maintaining a Moodle server as a course management system, many school districts are using the in-house expertise of their instructional technology specialists or tech-savvy teachers to provide professional development for the teachers in the district. Providing technology professional development by well-trained teachers in a district definitely targets the goals and vision of the district. Insiders will provide better professional development than outsiders because they know the district’s goals and vision? These trainers most likely have taken part in online professional development events, graduate courses and workshops to give them the knowledge they need to promote technological literacy in their districts. In the William Floyd School District in Mastic Beach, N.Y., teachers provide professional development courses for other teachers using a Moodle server for hosting. “The best thing about it is our teachers write the professional development content, and its rigor is based on our rigor,” says Kathleen Pantaleo, an instructional technology specialist in the district. “We can diagnose and prescribe courses based on our needs,” she continues. “We have a Teacher Center Policy Board that does a lot of the reviewing process. Our board includes a teacher or two from each 62 January 2012 Cynthia Treichler, a social studies teacher in the Prince William County (Va.) Public Schools, helps a student. Treichler earned a master’s degree in instructional media from Wilkes University, which collaborates with Discovery Education to offer the online program. The program provides teachers the tools, knowledge and strategies to be successful 21st century educators. of our eight buildings, a principal from one of our middle schools, a few assistant principals, our technology coordinator, RESOURCES Adobe ConnectNow, www.adobe.com/products/ adobeconnect.html Adobe Education Leaders, www.adobe.com/education/k12/adobeeducation-leaders Annenberg Learner, http://learner.org Atomic Learning, www.atomiclearning.com Boise State University, http://edtech.boisestate.edu/web /certs_compare.htm CaseNEX, www.casenex.com Discovery Educator Network, http://community.discoveryeducation.com ePals, www.epals.com Google Certified Teacher, www.google.com/educators/index.html Knowledge Delivery Systems, www.kdsi.org PBS TeacherLine, www.pbs.org/ teacherline Pearson, www.pearsonschool.com School Improvement Network, www.schoolimprovement.com Solution Tree, www.solution-tree.com Star Online, http://star-online.org Thinkfinity, http://thinkfinity.org Wilkes/Discovery Master’s Program, http://masters.discoveryeducation.com the special education assistant director, and two of the assistant superintendents. There is also a policy board director who is one of the elementary teachers.” As for deciding what content gets turned into a course, Pantaleo says, “When I see a lot of people struggle with a certain topic, I help them, but then I try to develop a course so that more can benefit from the instruction.” Pantaleo does mention one disadvantage of this homegrown model: There is limited PD with others outside of the district, which may inhibit the adoption of new ideas and practices. A different model is used at the Bernards Township Public Schools in Basking Ridge, N.J., reports Steve Isaacs, teacher and staff developer. The district has a formalized program, called “Staff College,” which includes face-to-face, hybrid/ blended and fully online courses that are generally three, six, or 15 hours in length. Bernards Township uses a Moodle server for hosting a number of the courses. Nontenured teachers are required to take certain courses face-to-face with consultants during their first three years in the district, and tenured teachers may take Staff College courses throughout the year to cover their PD requirements, or they may attend a district-sponsored professional development day. District Administration http://www.adobe.com/products/ http://www.adobe.com/education/k12/adobe-education-leaders http://www.learner.org http://www.atomiclearning.com http://edtech.boisestate.edu/web/certs_compare.htm http://www.casenex.com http://community.discoveryeducation.com http://www.epals.com http://www.google.com/educators/index.html http://www.kdsi.org http://www.pbs.org/teacherline http://www.pbs.org/teacherline http://www.pearsonschool.com http://www.schoolimprovement.com http://www.solution-tree.com http://www.star-online.org http://www.thinkfinity.org http://masters.discoveryeducation.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2012

District Administration - January 2012
Contents
Letters
News Update
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Finding the Perfect Fit
Kansas City Plots Next Steps
Seeking Savings in Special Ed
K12 Guide to Audio/Visual Solutions
Equipping Teachers to Infuse Technology
Flipped Classrooms Gaining Ground
Buying in Bulk
Online Identity Management
Going Mobile
Student Counsel
Online Edge
New Books
New Products
Product Focus
Professional Opinion

District Administration - January 2012