B.S. Elementary Education
M.S.Ed. Instructional Technology
Ed.D. Instructional Technology & Leadership
3.b. : Facilitate and participate in learning communities that stimulate, nurture and support administrators, faculty, and staff in the study and use of technology.
Artifact:
Description:
As part of my role of technology facilitator in the Seneca Valley School District, I am
responsible for teaching both students and teachers within my building. On in-service
days, I am often responsible for conducting professional development sessions for our
staff. During the 2016-2017 school year I conducted professional development sessions
on web 2.0 tools and MobyMax. After my introduction of MobyMax to my school, our
IT department purchased a district license for use at all schools serving students in K-8.
In the 2017-2018 school year, I conducted a session on Impero for staff members. Impero is a tool that allows teachers to monitor their students while using their laptops. With the roll-out of laptops at the middle of the 2016-2017 school year, this was essential for teachers to stay one step ahead of their students. Additionally, my first training of the 2018-2019 school year was conducted on Microsoft Teams. This training ties in directly to the districts adoption of the professional learning community (PLC) model for faculty. Rather than simply meeting within our school buildings, teachers are able to collaborate with their counterparts across the district.
Reflection:
Through the creation of these tools and the professional development sessions and lessons that I have taught on them, I am consistently modeling and promoting technology for learning. Each time I create materials for professional development, I take the time to learn the tool as both a student and a teacher. I want to make sure that my colleagues are able to see both sides of things in order to know how to troubleshoot problems on the student end as well as to understand what they have to do as an educator.
In an effort to keep my school as up-to-date as possible, I make it my personal mission to seek out new technological tools to enhance instruction. This can be challenging due to the wide range of abilities in my school when it comes to technology. On one hand, I have teachers who don’t know how to reply to an email, and then I have others who are using Minecraft with their students to design their own digestive systems or are having their students design their own websites on a relevant curricular topic. As a result, I try to make my handouts as guided as possible to give my colleagues the power over their learning. I don’t want anyone to feel lost at any given point, so I do my best to be proactive in addressing problems that they may face. As a result, I find that the comfort level with technology of all staff members has increased as has their overall usage of technology in the classroom to enhance instruction.
