DAILY INSIGHT: Differentiated technology professional development
May
7
Written by:
5/7/2012 6:33 AM
By Matt Townsley, CIO Advisor
In August 2010, my school district started using Google Apps for Education. Our primary purpose was to provide a place for our collaborative learning teams to work together. We've since expanded our use through feedback loops as well as collaboration between teachers and students. Problem:Initially, teacher accounts were setup and shown how to login with no other direction instruction. How does a staff of more than 80 teachers learn a new tool? One option was to provide whole-group instruction. This option appeared to be contrary to the idea that adults learn at different rates and in different ways. Another was no guidance at all and assume that staff would learn from each other. This option assumes enough expertise lies within each team to bring the masses up to speed.Solution:Some staff members already had a working knowledge of Google Docs. Still others felt they could catch on with some additional guidance. Other staff members indicated they would feel more comfortable learning in small groups in a face-to-face setting. Enter the
Google Apps Diploma. All teachers were asked to demonstrate they could...
- Create & share a document
- Create & share a collection
- Create a comment
We are closing in on 100% of our principals, secretaries and administrators self-certifying themselves with the "2011-12 Google Apps Diploma." Finally, I wanted to capture the effectiveness of each learning medium. Here are the results:
I am interested in learning from you.
In what ways are you using differentiated learning environments to provide professional development to your staff?
2 comment(s) so far...
Re: DAILY INSIGHT: Differentiated technology professional development
I think this is a wonderful way of providing professional development for staff. If a teacher/staff member has already taken personal time to learn more about the tool and can prove it with self-certification, then GREAT! Who knows what they will learn next! Those who for personal reasons cannot make it to class are given an alternative. I just think the whole process is absolutely smart. And what a great way of modeling other ways for reaching students.
By Danielle Abernethy on
5/15/2012 4:22 AM
|
Re: DAILY INSIGHT: Differentiated technology professional development
A powerful tool that I've used over the past two decades is the Stages of Concern Questionnaire which is part of the Concerns Based Adoption Model by Gene Hall. This tool allows me to create individual profiles for teachers which can be used to focus PD where they are at.
By Dennis McElroy on
5/16/2012 9:45 AM
|