Exploring Learning

A reflection on my thoughts around staff development and training comes along nicely on the coattails of a piece of research I conducted last year into the role technology professionals have in the school environment today, and where I see that role going in the future (see my post, Teacher Geeks ). My research unequivocally states that “it is essential that educators remain current in content, pedagogy and technology practices and theory”, as we move towards empowering ALL teachers to be skilled in the effective use of technology in their classrooms, and away from discrete roles for tech coaches. For an inclusive community model cultivating “teaching geeks” (Guerin, 2016) to be a reality, constant training in relevant content, pedagogy and technology is essential, and schools (and educators) must be committed to providing time and space for effective professional learning opportunities. Too often, I have learned what not to do when it comes to effective professional learning (PL) and...

In the latest module of my Masters in Education and Instructional Technology, we studied "Administration of Technology Initiatives: Planning, Budgeting, and Evaluation". This involved us exploring how to research and write for grants, as well as design and plan at both classroom and school initiative level. As many schools are implementing technology into their curriculum, it is important that we think about the role that educators and technology integrators can play in successful technology use in the classroom. This following is my research into technology professionals conducted during the summer of 2016. I have since gained employment elsewhere and am no longer working at the school mentioned in this paper. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> Technology Professionals: The ‘Interview’ With the advent of technology becoming more prevalent in schools, many establishments...