5.2 Professional Learning
Candidates develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning, and promotes best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment. (PSC 5.2/ISTE 4b)
Artifact: Technology Workshop (ITEC 7460)
Reflection:Developing a Technology Workshop was culminating project of ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Innovation. In the technology workshop that I designed, I encouraged teachers to use VoiceThread as an alternative to a traditional discussion board. The workshop was designed to meet the standards of Resources (by embedding the workshop into the teacher workday, as well as by using resources already available to both teachers and students), Learning Designs (by modeling the technique being taught, and by encouraging active engagement during the workshop), and Implementation (by integrating a variety of support, feedback, and time for reflection) as detailed by Learning Forwards standards for professional learning.
The workshop begins by asking teachers to brainstorm several possible discussion prompts for use in their class. Teachers then plan in advance how they want students to participate in the discussion and how they will grade student participation. Next, teachers use these three processes to create a Power Point that will form the basis of their VoiceThread discussion. Finally, teachers create a VoiceThread account, create their VoiceThread presentation and discussion, and then participate in a sample discussion to document their participation in training.
Planning this Technology Workshop allowed me to demonstrate mastery of Standard 5.2, which states that candidates “develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning, and promotes best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment.” In the planning document that accompanies the workshop, I aligned the workshop to NETs Teacher Standards, as well as stating clear learning objectives for adult learners. The planning documentation also asks teachers to identify the content standards that a VoiceThread discussion will address and provides links to Georgia standards for each content area. The technology that I chose as the focus of the workshop is an online discussion that supports face-to-face interactions. By asking teachers to reflect first on how they want students to participate and how they will grade student participation, teachers are using best practices for teaching and assessment.
Because this workshop was designed during the summer, it was not delivered to the faculty at my school. If I am able to deliver a modified version of this workshop in the future, I will move the sample discussion that I created for teachers to the beginning of the workshop. When I created this technology workshop, I was unaware that Forsyth County Schools has a district subscription to VoiceThread that provides access for all teachers and students in the district. I have also attended many more training sessions since then, and the best have begun by asking participants to get their feet wet by using the technology before teaching them how to use the technology from a creation standpoint. Consequently, I would begin the workshop by asking teachers to sign in to our district site for VoiceThread and answer the sample questions, and then proceed as the workshop was originally designed.
The workshop begins by asking teachers to brainstorm several possible discussion prompts for use in their class. Teachers then plan in advance how they want students to participate in the discussion and how they will grade student participation. Next, teachers use these three processes to create a Power Point that will form the basis of their VoiceThread discussion. Finally, teachers create a VoiceThread account, create their VoiceThread presentation and discussion, and then participate in a sample discussion to document their participation in training.
Planning this Technology Workshop allowed me to demonstrate mastery of Standard 5.2, which states that candidates “develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning, and promotes best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment.” In the planning document that accompanies the workshop, I aligned the workshop to NETs Teacher Standards, as well as stating clear learning objectives for adult learners. The planning documentation also asks teachers to identify the content standards that a VoiceThread discussion will address and provides links to Georgia standards for each content area. The technology that I chose as the focus of the workshop is an online discussion that supports face-to-face interactions. By asking teachers to reflect first on how they want students to participate and how they will grade student participation, teachers are using best practices for teaching and assessment.
Because this workshop was designed during the summer, it was not delivered to the faculty at my school. If I am able to deliver a modified version of this workshop in the future, I will move the sample discussion that I created for teachers to the beginning of the workshop. When I created this technology workshop, I was unaware that Forsyth County Schools has a district subscription to VoiceThread that provides access for all teachers and students in the district. I have also attended many more training sessions since then, and the best have begun by asking participants to get their feet wet by using the technology before teaching them how to use the technology from a creation standpoint. Consequently, I would begin the workshop by asking teachers to sign in to our district site for VoiceThread and answer the sample questions, and then proceed as the workshop was originally designed.
