Reflection+on+Standard+V


 * Standard V Reflection Productivity and Professional Practice **

This standard addresses productivity and professional practice along with the responsibilities of the technology facilitator/leader that are related to productivity tools. In many cases technology tools are not used to their fullest potential because most users are unfamiliar with the tool being used. “By helping other educators become proficient users of productivity tools, technologists can help transform schools into efficient workplaces reflecting the skills and knowledge students need to be productive members of society in the digital age” (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Many of my peers are still trying to learn how to work their email accounts and the grade book program we must use for grading. “If the aim of professional development is to help teachers to teach students in ways which lead to learning improvements, leaders might want to consider the most effective ways of monitoring professional development activities to evaluate their impact on student achievement” (Joyce & Showers, 2003). I agree with this statement, a follow up monitoring system should be in place to see if the training was effective and useful and did it truly address the needs of the participants. “Furthermore, brief classes or workshops without ongoing support seem to create few substantive changes” (Cuban, 2001; Pelligrino, 2004; Sandholtz, Ringstaff, & Dwyer, 2000; Schrum, 1999; Solomon & Schrum, 2007). I have learned that in order to integrate technology throughout the curriculum there must be a significant amount of training for the users. There should also be a “go to” person that is available to answer follow up questions or to resolve problems related to the training. “Professional developers have tended to design programs that attempt to implement strategies to change practice; unfortunately, when the support and funding disappear, frequently so does the change in practice. Technology has gone from calculator usage to increased computer usage (email, grading, word processing, test generating and simple game or program usage) to creating online lessons, blogging and wikis. The number of technology tools along with their availability has increased, but the ability of teachers to implement and incorporate these new tools into the learning process has not. This is partly due to the quality and quantity of professional development training sessions that are presented to the educators. “Nothing has promised so much and has been so frustratingly wasteful as the thousands of workshops and conferences that led to no significant change in practice when the teachers returned to their classrooms” (Fullan and Stiegelbaure, 1991). It is the responsibility of the technology leader/facilitator to survey the potential trainees to determine their knowledge level before presenting the in service information. This is important because “one size does not fit all” when addressing the technology needs of staff or students. Meeting staff members where they are helps to insure staff training success.

**References ** Cuban, L. (2001). //Oversold and underused: Reforming schools through technology// 1980-2000. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Fullan, M. G., & Stiegelbauer, S. (1991). The new meaning of educational change (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press

Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2003). Student achievement through staff development. //National college for school leadership.// []

Pelligrino, J.W. (2004). Designs for research on technology and assessment: Conflicting or complementary agendas? In b. Means 7 G.D. Haertel (Eds.), //Using technology evaluation to enhance student learning// (p.49-56). New York: Teachers College Press.

Sandholtz, J.H., Ringstaff, C., & Dwyer, D. C. (2000). The evolution of instruction in technology-rich classrooms. In //The Josey-Bass Reader on Technology and Learning// (p.255 -276). San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

Schrum, L. (1999). Technology professional development for teachers. //Educational// //Technology Research and Development (ETR&D), 47(4), //83-90.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: //New tools, new schools//. Eugene, OR: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">International Society for Technology in Education, 7-44.