Planning for Next Year (But Not Right Now…)
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: Technology | Tags: edtech, Education, Educational Technology, initiatives, Professional Development, technology, Technology Plan Leave a comment »At a recent county meeting I went to, I was shown a document that was being used in another state as a matrix to analyze technology integration in their lesson plans. I’m not sure if that particular document is the one I want to use next year, but I definitely see some room for improvement for us in this area. I want to talk about the NETS standards and other important documents in edtech that can help us understand what we’re supposed to be doing before we are doing it. I can only hope that teachers are willing to participate and that we can use some of these documents to make a lasting change around here.
Encouraging Critical Thinking About Technology
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Professional Learning, Technology | Tags: edtech, Education, Educational Technology, initiatives, Professional Development, technology, Technology Plan 1 Comment »That’s what the early edition of today’s #edchat was on. Deep, right? I heard a lot of great ideas from people about ways they had made changes around this in their schools and ways I might do the same in mine.
I think one way for me to improve for the rest of this year (and really, next school year), is in reaching out to teachers and not waiting for them to come to me. With all the other demands on teachers’ time, I didn’t want to get on their bad side by requiring them to give up their already-limited free time for me. But now, I’m not so sure. As long as what I’ve got to offer is meaningful, worthwhile, educational, and exciting (no biggie, right?) maybe it’s worth it to schedule mandatory tech PD stuff. Clearly, the choose-your-own philsophy isn’t working, as evidenced by my recent Twitter class, where I bought three-dozen locally-handmade doughnuts with my own money and had six people show up.
Something to think about.
The Future Looks Bright!
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Professional Learning, Technology | Tags: district, edtech, initiatives, Professional Development, technology Leave a comment »Yesterday, I spent the entire day at the county office, previewing (among other things) the first components of a new county-wide system, scheduled to start coming out to schools by the fall. I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised and encouraged by what I have seen! It looks great and has almost all of the things that teachers have been asking for. Furthermore, the attitude is right on this one, and it was described as “a teaching and learning initiative, not a technology initiative.” I left feeling highly motivated and excited–I can’t wait to get my hands on it this summer!
P.S.: this is my first post from my phone’s WordPress app…we shall see!