Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research, learning, creating, and communicating in a digital society.
Reflection
“There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new age technology, but if teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails.”
~Nancy Kassebaum At the beginning of the school year the staff was called into the media center to discuss a new technological initiative that the school system was rolling out. From now on teachers will be expected to use Google Apps for Education with their students, in their classrooms. When the staff began to ask questions about this new mandate the answer was always "we don't know yet but you should start using Google this semester." The staff left the room frustrated, confused, and for the most part, unwilling to try out a new mode of teaching that could revolutionize the way we interact with our students.
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Artifacts
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The scenario above was not the first time I have been asked to use technology in the classroom without any training. Digital tools in the classroom are only as effective as the teacher using them. As media specialists, we are often the building resource for the training and use of the current technologies. I found this out first hand when I started my internship in September. I was put in charge of designing a professional development opportunity that would teach teachers how to use Google Apps in their classroom. I started by making a list of the major barriers that would keep a teacher from using it. From there I tried to work my way down the list to address all of the issues that could be faced.
I decided that the best way to teach Google Apps was to use it and show its use in action. I sent out a Google Form to survey the staff for a time to meet. Then I analyzed the data using the apps breakdown feature and used the data to set up the ideal time. I asked teachers to bring their laptops and the first thing we did as a group was set up our class lists on Google.
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I also created a class list made up of the people within our PD group. We would use this list to play around with some of the different applications so that teachers could try out the tools. I felt that the best way to present the information was to create a Google site with links to resources that could be used with students. This way teachers could return to the site at their leisure and locate, analyze and evaluate the lessons that they felt were applicable to their content. One goal was to show teachers how students could locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information found on classroom websites. I linked the websites of various teachers within our building so that we could share how teachers at school were already using the applications in class. We talked about how the AP English teacher was using her site to link research that she expected her students to analyze based on their current readings in class. We could also see how the math teacher used a questions form as a way for students to address confusing topics discussed in class. I shared a data collection lesson plan that a science teacher uses to measure blood splatter research for her forensics class. I also shared some of the collaborative papers that my students had created in their recent unit. It was neat to look at the way students communicated using the notes feature to create their final product. At the end I asked the teachers to complete a survey using Google Forms again. This allowed me to plan for future professional development opportunities. Once all of the teachers had completed the form, I posted the results on the LCD projector so that they could see how the information could be broken down for evaluation.
In the end, I think the PD went really well. It was the first time that I had ever presented to a group of professional peers as the "expert" in a technology. I was really nervous when I was first asked to do it and had to do a lot of research. One of the biggest lessons I learned from this was the importance of being prepared before presenting to my staff. The presentation in August was not well planned and left a bad taste in many teachers' mouths. When November came and it was time to do my PD it was very difficult to generate interest because of the previous experience. I ended up going to each department at lunch to put a quick plug for the presentation and still only had six teachers show up. The feedback from these teachers was really great and many of them are actively using the Apps with students. I have also been asked to repeat the in-service, even though my internship is finished, because more staff members have requested help after seeing what the six attendees have been doing. When I start in my own library, I think that I would like to have this in-service at the beginning of the school year. I could use the feedback from the exit survey to plan other professional development opportunities throughout the year based on teachers specific needs. There are infinite ways to use Google Apps for Education, I think it would be a great year-long goal to make teachers comfortable with it so that they are ready to use the technology with their students and create a digital society within our school.
In the end, I think the PD went really well. It was the first time that I had ever presented to a group of professional peers as the "expert" in a technology. I was really nervous when I was first asked to do it and had to do a lot of research. One of the biggest lessons I learned from this was the importance of being prepared before presenting to my staff. The presentation in August was not well planned and left a bad taste in many teachers' mouths. When November came and it was time to do my PD it was very difficult to generate interest because of the previous experience. I ended up going to each department at lunch to put a quick plug for the presentation and still only had six teachers show up. The feedback from these teachers was really great and many of them are actively using the Apps with students. I have also been asked to repeat the in-service, even though my internship is finished, because more staff members have requested help after seeing what the six attendees have been doing. When I start in my own library, I think that I would like to have this in-service at the beginning of the school year. I could use the feedback from the exit survey to plan other professional development opportunities throughout the year based on teachers specific needs. There are infinite ways to use Google Apps for Education, I think it would be a great year-long goal to make teachers comfortable with it so that they are ready to use the technology with their students and create a digital society within our school.