Professional Development- What do teachers need?

As I researched the topic this week, I reflected on my own experiences with professional development through my years of teaching and realized that I have had the gamut of professional development opportunities from engaging and enlightening to some that were a down right waste of time.  What is it that makes professional development successful?  These are my ideas:

Teachers need time- Whether attending a excellent workshop, an inspiring class or listening to a dynamic speaker on topics that are relevant and authentic, every teacher needs time to process the information and work out a plan as to how to integrate it within their classroom.  Too many times I have participated in professional learning and then not given the time to understand how this new learning would look like in my class and evaluate whether the concept could or would be effective to improve student learning.  Typically I attend the professional development, have good intentions of figuring how it would work in my class, and then never having the time to actually do that- only to be forgotten and thought about once in a while when the topic comes up-  (oh, ya- I remember something about that....) 

Teachers need a focus for professional development that is geared towards the staff or school needs- I think it would be beneficial to focus on only one or two issues throughout the year.  Jumping around on professional development topics throughout the year becomes too overwhelming and tends to make me "tune out".

Teachers need PD that is ongoing- At my school next year, we are going to have PD opportunities once a month for the staff.  Once a month, half a day will be used for School of Faith and the other half (or just an hour) will be used for professional learning.   In our current situation we have the typical two days of PD before school starts in August.  One day in the fall and one day in the spring and then one or two days at the end of the year in May.  A couple of other days might be thrown in the year on random topics that may or may not be relevant.  I think that with PD opportunities that are closer together in time and focused more on relevant, connected topics effective learning experiences are more likely to take place.

Teachers need time in their classroom- This is a big one for me.  I know that being forced to go to meetings knowing that I have a list of 50 things to do in my classroom does not give me the right mindset to discuss "What makes an effective teacher?" or other non specific, irrelevant topics.    I know that an effective teacher is prepared for her students and sitting idly listening passively is not getting those items checked off.  I think scheduling professional development and giving teachers time to work in their classrooms would be greatly appreciated and lead to a more interactive learning environment.

Researching some key elements that make effective professional development has given me a lot to think about when planning and preparing for next year.  Using the ideas listed above as well as the relevant research will give me a good starting point.

Teacher Tech Proficiencies

This week I did some reflecting on the basic proficiencies that I felt the teachers at my school would need to begin the process of technology integration in their classrooms.  After all, teachers need to have a comfort level with the technology that is available  in order to teach students how to use it.  This list is not exhaustive, but it does serve as a good starting point for the teachers at my school. 
 

Top 8 Teacher Technology Proficiencies at STW(according to me!)  

#8  App Aptitude- Teachers need to be able to search for recommended apps or be able to search on their own to find quality apps for student and teacher use that support the curricular goals of our school.  Teachers should know how to obtain approval and have the app downloaded onto the device being used.  Teachers/staff should know how to use the app and be able to teach the students how to use it.
#7  Search Success- Teachers need the ability to use search functions efficiently with various browsers to find quality content to enhance their instructional methods.  Getting "lost" on the internet has happened to the best of us!  To avoid this, teachers need to have the skills to do targeted searchers in order to determine what will be useful and what is not. 
#6  Communicate Clearly- E-mail and/or texting should be a basic proficiency that teachers need.  Communication is so important within a school system and being able to communicate any time at any place is helpful.  At our school we have moved to a "semi-paperless note going home" level.  After finding the free website and app Remind, we now send one-way texts and emails with ease to parents about events, activities and reminders that previously were sent home in bookbags.  So many times these paper notes get lost from bookbag to home (how this happens is a mystery yet to be solved) that we opted to try the communication method of Remind.  I have one set up for the whole school, but teachers can set this up for their individual classes as well.
The link for the Remind website can be found here. 
#5  Microsoft Master or GoogleDoc Guru-  Teachers should know how to create and share documents, spreadsheets, powerpoints, and forms.  Using Google Docs to create a survey is an effective method to get information from people quickly.  Teachers should know how to change fonts, colors, size, add pictures to their documents with ease.  (True story- I had a teacher that I worked with at a previous school that was unable to use the mouse to scroll. What???????) Sometimes we take for granted that everyone has the same skill level as we do when using these programs, which I have learned, is not true. 
#4  Socially Speaking- Using social media as an avenue for professional development has been enlightening for me.  I think every teacher could benefit from developing a PLN.  It can seem somewhat overwhelming at first, however, with support and maybe the tiniest push from school leaders, teachers can open their eyes to all the resources available to them outside of their close network of friends and colleagues.
#3  Connection Concerns-  Teachers need to be able to connect their hardware and devices (computer, ipad, projector, doc camera, Apple TV) to each other and be able to use these devices with ease.  Trouble shooting and problem solving would also be helpful in this area in determining why a device is not working like it should.
#2  Sharing (Sh)student (Sh)work-  (lame, I know!)  I love this tweet from @venspired- "The only way people will know the great things happening in your school is if you share it." We are doing lots of great things at our school that too few people know little about!  Sharing student learning outside of the four walls of our school using technology will keep us connected with stakeholders as well as the global community.  Real world authentic audience for our students serves the purpose of knowing their contribution in this world is needed.  Our students matter!

and #1  Embracing Change-   Teachers need to embrace the fact that we need to do what's best for our students now as they are growing and learning to live in this technology driven world.  Focusing on our goals within our Technology Integration Action Plan and changing instructional methods to meet these goals is vitally important in doing what's best for our children. 

EMBRACE CHANGE!!

A Little on Technology Integration...

My module this week is on technology integration.  I have spent the week researching and learning about two different models of integration- the TPACK and the SAMR. Check out the link here that briefly explains them.  Both of these models will be useful when developing a vision and a plan for technology integration at St. Wenceslaus.  Having all the stakeholders (students included) have input on the vision of how technology will be used to help support the teaching and the learning will be vitally important. 

I believe at St. Wenceslaus, we put the cart before the horse when trying to update and integrate technology.  We purchased the devices and have since found out that our infrastructure needed updated, the comfort levels of some teachers with using the computers, iPads, document cameras, and projectors has been-to say the least- uncomfortable, and simply, we did not have a plan.  Now I know that we will need to do some backtracking to develop a vision of where we want to be and an action plan of how we want to get there.  I know it is never fun to back track, however, I think this step is a must and will make our road focused for everyone.  

I had a great Aha moment yesterday....a little background first.  

I have had a Twitter account for some time (since July 2011- wow- really that long???).  I had only followed fitness, motivational, and a few personal accounts of people I knew- ok, only my husband. :)  I only checked it maybe once every two weeks, if that.  I could not see the benefit of or even how to use it professionally.  I would go to conferences and be curious but not in the loop of the #tweeters. 

Then I started EDU 617- #culearns617.  I now follow everyone in the class and have also started following other professionals in the field of education that are geared toward early childhood education and professionals in educational leadership.  So in the past two weeks I have tweeted, retweeted, liked and favorited more than I have in the past 4 years.  I enjoy learning about what others are doing all over the country, reading their struggles and successes and finding great resources to use in my classroom.  

Lately, I have been reading about #genius hour and find the concept fascinating.  This is where time is given to students once a week to learn what they want to learn.  The students come up with essential questions, they are given time to research and then are tasked with putting together a project that shows what they learned and level of understanding.  (This format sounds very familiar to a class I am taking right now, hmmmm................)  Anyway, I want to try to incorporate something similar to this in Kindergarten.  They have questions, lots of them.  They have particular interests, lots of them and they would be so excited to use technology to learn and create something to share.  The only trouble is - HOW DO WE DO THIS IN KINDERGARTEN???  They have limited reading skills, limited writing/typing skills, and limited technology skills.  How can I make this work successfully when there is only one of me?  I did a little googling online and found a few things but I needed more information of how to even start.  

So, I did it.  Nervously I tweeted directly to a professional in this area.  This professional has 3,700 followers and is someone that I would probably never have the chance to talk to- ever!   So here I tweeted and asked a simple question:
Any ideas/resources on #geniushour for kinders. #gettingitstarted.  

After tweeting, I thought to myself- "Ok, a shot in the dark, but worth the try".  Well, less than two hours later, on a Sunday, I received three replies from her.  She gave me an idea to try and then another one to follow up with apps to look into.   I was #soexcited!  

So, my Aha moment was finally learning how Twitter can be used to connect me with other professionals outside of my circle for help and support and opening my eyes to how small this BIG world can become.   What can it do for our students????

For more on Genius Hour, click here.

Here we GO!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first Blog post.  This will be an adventure for me and I am looking forward to a lot of learning along the way.

On the spectrum of where I am with technology - beginning, intermediate, or advanced- I would have to confidently say "intermediate".  I can navigate around what I need to and am not afraid to experiment and try new things with technology, however, I have so much more to learn.

St. Wenceslaus is a small, rural school- Preschool-6th.  We have a teaching staff of 4, yes FOUR, and you guessed it- we lack a technology specialist or even someone at our school that is technology "advanced".  We muddled through updating our technology with the purchase of  iPads, projectors, document cameras, and upgraded our computers to MacBooks.  We are not a 1:1 school but that is a goal of ours in the long-term.  With the upgrade you would think (or I thought) that we would be smooth sailing and our kiddos would be on the road to being high level learners on that technology highway.  I could picture project collaborations, diversified learning, real-world applications, and responsibility for individualized learning.  What a wonderful picture!
Top 10 Reasons Todays Students Need Technology

Well, needless to say, that technology highway is leading us in the right direction but has not always been so smooth.  A few bumps in the road were expected and others hit us quite unexpectedly.  Listed below are a few of the bumps that we met along the way.

1)  Apple ID's and "the cloud"- The day that the iPads came in and opening them up in all their splendor was a great day.  However, figuring out that an Apple ID can only be used with 10 devices was another story.  And the cloud- I still don't quite understand the cloud and can't figure out why it never has enough storage.

2)  Printing from the ipad- Had to purchase an AirPrint printer!

3)  Storing and charging the iPads.  Brilliant use of old record holders.  The iPads fits perfectly into the slots and we are able to charge them together.

4)  Technology Integration- This is still an ongoing issue for us.  How do you go from only gaming apps to integrating tech into lesson plans on a regular basis?  I want my staff to know and understand that technology use is more than just a time filler by using gaming apps.  

5)  The Wireless Network- Our wireless network was not able to handle the addition of 12 MacBooks.  This means that currently a class cannot be working wirelessly on the internet all at the same time.  FRUSTRATING for students and for teachers.  We are currently working on this issue with the help of the new Tech Director of the Archdiocese and looking into updating our whole infrastructure.

We will get there- having a plan for integration should have been our first step.  We stepped into this half-blind and our learning curve has been huge!  We now have a plan and we are working our way through it.