Professional Development Plan

Goal: To incorporate more technology into the classroom through the use of learning.com and gaggle into the regular curriculum.

Looking back at week 3’s student surveys, I have concluded that our students are not adequately using technology in the classroom. There are many choices of technology tools in the classroom for teachers to use when giving instruction to students. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities where technology is actually in the hands of the students as they are learning. Meaningful professional development needs to be provided for the teachers. This professional development will include training the teachers so they are comfortable using new software applications in class. Our district goal this year is to train the teachers in using learning.com and gaggle.

In years past, training a teacher in the use of new technology hardware and software was not a problem. The district is constantly providing new opportunities to learn new software. What our district lacks is follow-up and support. To ensure that learning.com and gaggle are actually being used after the training, the instructional technology specialist (IT) on our campus will need to do some follow-up training. This will be in the form of a teacher actually showing the IT finished student products from using the software programs. To encourage teachers to try these new software programs, our IT will provide support through modeling of lessons as well as co-teaching with teachers. This will provide them with immediate support as they present their lessons using new software for the first time. The IT will provide a report to the principal on the required Secondary Campus Staff Development Action Plan form. This form is used to state which technology courses the teachers are required to complete, how they will be delivered and when they must be completed.

Below you will find the Technology Organizational Flowchart for our district. Here are the roles and responsibilities of each member of the organizational chart:

Organization and Development – Prepare an annual budget that is supportive of and aligned with the district strategic goals and objectives

Curriculum Department – Create an instructional management system to ensure all students meet or exceed the state standards

Director of Information Technology – Provide the technology hardware and training required to integrate technology into the curriculum as a tool for teaching and learning.

Principal/School – Develop, implement and evaluate focused sustained professional development for all staff

Instructional Technology Specialist – Develop meaningful professional development for all staff as well as provide support system that facilitates the use of technology hardware and software in the classroom