Professional Development

Professional development has always interested me and as I read through this week’s readings this particular topic seized my attention. Professional development is a facet of our education system that I feel needs special attention if we are to expect educators to successfully integrate technology into teaching and learning. I believe that there are training opportunities in the area of technology made available to teachers, but what I am hearing and have experienced is that there doesn’t seem to be the follow through or support. After attending workshops teachers complain that they still do not know what to do with it or how to implement in an already packed curriculum. Cuban, 2001; Laffey, 2004; Norris, Sullivan, Poirot, & Slloway, 2003; Williams & Kingham, 2003 clearly point out “Unfortunately, even though massive amounts of money have been spent on training educators, we have not seen a real difference in the ways technology has been integrated into the classroom” (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, pg. 100). I believe where we need to start is with leadership modeling the use of technology. Schrum (1999) states “Many studies of educators’ lack of technology implementation have found that the lack of accountability from administrators on their actually accomplishing technological goals as the most influential in practice” (as cited in Solomon & Schrum, 2007, pg. 111). There are so many ways administrators could integrate technology in their leadership role. For example districts could make available videoconferencing technology for training. Many teachers have never experienced a video conference. Also, administrators could require the use of blogs, wikis, or Google docs for collaboration during teacher’s learning community. If teachers learn how to use the tool to accomplish professional tasks then how much easier it would be for them to realize its place in the classroom as a learning tool for the students. Educators need more than just attending training and going back to the classroom to try and figure out how to make it work of fit in. Teachers are no different than the students they teach; it is not enough to hear and experience it for only a few hours. They need time on task, just as their students do. “One of the most exciting opportunities for professional development is to allow members of a community to participate in the creation of a goal, plan, or direction…Wikis present the ideal manner in which to accomplish this and, at the same time, educators learn about the potential for using this tool in their classrooms” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.