Practice logs can promote these helpful activities.
Such logs can show how often teachers use a new practice, how it worked, what
problems occurred, and what help they needed (Sparks, 1998).
Perfect use for reflective blogging on the teacher's part.
Professional development for technology use should demonstrate
projects in specific curriculum areas and help teachers integrate technology
into the content.
Specific content can help
teachers analyze, synthesize, and structure ideas into projects that they can
use in their classrooms (Center for Applied Special Technology, 1996).
The best integration
training for teachers does not simply show them how to add technology to their
what they are doing. "It helps them learn how to select digital content based
on the needs and learning styles of their students, and infuse it into the curriculum
A professional development curriculum that
helps teachers use technology for discovery learning, developing students' higher-order
thinking skills, and communicating ideas is new and demanding and thus cannot
be implemented in isolation (Guhlin, 1996)
teachers need access to follow-up discussion and collegial activities
The only way
to ensure that all students have the same opportunities is to require all teachers
to become proficient in the use of technology in content areas to support student
learning.
An effective professional development program
provides "sufficient time and follow-up support for teachers to master new content
and strategies and to integrate them into their practice,
teachers need time to plan, practice
skills, try out new ideas, collaborate, and reflect on ideas
The technology used for professional development
should be the same as the technology used in the classroom. Funds should be
available to provide teachers with technology that they can use at home or in
private to become comfortable with the capabilities it offers.
he Commission
suggests partnering with universities and forming teacher networks to help provide
professional development activities at lower cost.
This was well before development of Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)! Twitter, Facebook, Ning, and such all provide opportunities to make this idea happen.
consists of three types: preformative evaluation, formative
evaluation, and summative evaluation.
Preformative evaluation
formative evaluation,
summative evaluation,
Such a program gives teachers the skills
they need to incorporate the strengths of technology into their lesson planning
rather than merely to add technology to the way they have always done things.
School administrators may not provide adequate time and resources for high-quality
technology implementation and the associated professional development. They
may see professional development as a one-shot training session to impart skills
in using specific equipment. Instead, professional development should be considered
an ongoing process that helps teachers develop new methods of promoting engaged
learning in the classroom using technology.