Exploring Ways to Make Technology Inviting for All Students and Teachers
School leaders who encourage innovation and model scaffolded risk-taking help create a culture where teachers feel confident and supported in trying new technology-infused instructional practices. Without this type of leadership, even high-quality professional development may not result in changes to actual classroom practice.
Continue reading “Culture & Technology-Enhanced Instructional Practice”
When powerful digital formative assessment tools are woven into professional development, they help teachers reflect on their own learning while giving them the practice and confidence to use these tools in their own classrooms.
Continue reading ““Try It, You’ll Like It”: Formative Assessment in Professional Development”In this post I would like to explore how data can be used to support key adult learning principals for professional development, including practical, problem-centered instruction and autonomy. This supports ISTE (2011) Coaching Standard 4b: Design, develop, and implement technology rich professional learning programs that model principles of adult learning and promote digital age best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment.
Continue reading “A Data-Driven Approach to Professional Development”Like many people, I had my doubts about online education prior to joining the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University. Would it be rigorous enough and personalized? Would others take the degree seriously once they knew it was an online program? I had taken a number of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and appreciated certain aspects, but didn’t want them to be the model for a graduate program.
Once you experience well-designed, smaller-scale online learning, however, you realize the value and potential – not just the convenience, but also the way it can promote deep learning and quality collaboration. In this module I would like to explore how online learning can be successfully applied to professional development by providing personalization, access to distant communities and experts, and the opportunity for long term learning and support.
Continue reading “Online Methods Support Effective Professional Development”