6.1 Continuous Learning
Candidates demonstrate continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice. (PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b)
Artifact: One-Hour Technology Workshop
Reflection:
As part of 7460, I was tasked with designing, developing, and delivering a one-hour technology workshop for teachers at my school. I developed instructional materials that covered web tools and resources we learned about at the GaETC conference along with two other teachers and our school’s assistant principal who attended the conference with me. The workshop covered information on Wikispaces, Google Drive, Graphite, Twitter, and tools to measure technology use, including the SAMR model, LoTI Framework, and Technology Integration Matrix (TIM). I decided to house the instructional materials on a wiki for teachers to both access and add to the information provided after the workshop was completed.
Attending professional learning workshops and conferences such as the GaETC conference is a great way to ensure continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies. For example, at this conference I attended sessions to learn more about current technology programs such as how to use the Garage Band app and software to produce student compositions and recordings, how to use Wikispaces for student and professional collaboration, and how to use online resources to provide professional development. I also attended sessions about emerging technologies with which I had no prior knowledge, such as augmented reality apps and 3-D printers and their uses in the classroom. I was then able to apply the knowledge and skills I gained from attending the conference into my personal productivity. For example, I was able to take what I learned from the Garage Band session and apply it to my own personal use to edit and create music as a private/amateur musician. I was also able to apply the knowledge and skills I gained from the conference to my professional practice. For example, I applied the information I learned about Wikispaces and Twitter during one-hour technology workshop. I also applied my new knowledge about online professional development to create the Findley Ed Tech wiki for this workshop. Finally, I applied many of the tools I learned about at the conference such as Garage Band and Aurasma into my own lesson plans featuring these technologies for student-centered learning experiences.
This workshop was the first time that I had led a professional learning activity at my school, although I had previous experience leading professional learning for other music teachers. It was also the first time I had created an online component to accompany professional development. I found this to be a very valuable addition to the workshop, and I believe the other teachers felt the same way. I also got hands-on experience with using Wikispaces for collaborative use. My experience with creating the wiki for this workshop was very helpful when I later used Wikispaces to create a wiki for my capstone, as I it helped me practice and understand many of the technical aspects of the Web 2.0 tool. If I were to conduct a similar technology-based professional learning workshop in the future, I would strive to make it even more effective for the teachers by sending out a survey before the workshop to ask teachers for specific topics they would like to learn about. I also would like to extend this workshop into an opportunity to offer PLUs to teachers.
The workshop had a positive impact on faculty development, as measured by the post-workshop survey. Seven out of the sixteen attendees responded to the survey. Six of the seven indicated that the workshop overall was “very helpful” (the seventh person said “somewhat helpful”). Teachers had varying responses to the tools they would actually consider using in the classroom, which I interpret as a good thing. This means that teachers are making choices about what they think will work for their own setting, and it also means that there was not one tool that was considered unworthy of further investigation. Six of the seven respondents indicated that they were already planning on attending the follow-up session (the seventh person said “maybe”). All seven respondents indicated that the handouts from the workshop were “very useful.” Six of the seven respondents felt that using the Wiki was “very useful” as an online platform for the workshop (the seventh person said “somewhat useful”). Three respondents also gave additional feedback, all of which was positive: one person very much appreciated the written directions for Twitter, one person thought the workshop was “very informative” and was looking forward to using the information in the classroom, and the third person noted appreciation for the pace of the workshop – slow enough to cover questions and grasp concepts.
As part of 7460, I was tasked with designing, developing, and delivering a one-hour technology workshop for teachers at my school. I developed instructional materials that covered web tools and resources we learned about at the GaETC conference along with two other teachers and our school’s assistant principal who attended the conference with me. The workshop covered information on Wikispaces, Google Drive, Graphite, Twitter, and tools to measure technology use, including the SAMR model, LoTI Framework, and Technology Integration Matrix (TIM). I decided to house the instructional materials on a wiki for teachers to both access and add to the information provided after the workshop was completed.
Attending professional learning workshops and conferences such as the GaETC conference is a great way to ensure continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies. For example, at this conference I attended sessions to learn more about current technology programs such as how to use the Garage Band app and software to produce student compositions and recordings, how to use Wikispaces for student and professional collaboration, and how to use online resources to provide professional development. I also attended sessions about emerging technologies with which I had no prior knowledge, such as augmented reality apps and 3-D printers and their uses in the classroom. I was then able to apply the knowledge and skills I gained from attending the conference into my personal productivity. For example, I was able to take what I learned from the Garage Band session and apply it to my own personal use to edit and create music as a private/amateur musician. I was also able to apply the knowledge and skills I gained from the conference to my professional practice. For example, I applied the information I learned about Wikispaces and Twitter during one-hour technology workshop. I also applied my new knowledge about online professional development to create the Findley Ed Tech wiki for this workshop. Finally, I applied many of the tools I learned about at the conference such as Garage Band and Aurasma into my own lesson plans featuring these technologies for student-centered learning experiences.
This workshop was the first time that I had led a professional learning activity at my school, although I had previous experience leading professional learning for other music teachers. It was also the first time I had created an online component to accompany professional development. I found this to be a very valuable addition to the workshop, and I believe the other teachers felt the same way. I also got hands-on experience with using Wikispaces for collaborative use. My experience with creating the wiki for this workshop was very helpful when I later used Wikispaces to create a wiki for my capstone, as I it helped me practice and understand many of the technical aspects of the Web 2.0 tool. If I were to conduct a similar technology-based professional learning workshop in the future, I would strive to make it even more effective for the teachers by sending out a survey before the workshop to ask teachers for specific topics they would like to learn about. I also would like to extend this workshop into an opportunity to offer PLUs to teachers.
The workshop had a positive impact on faculty development, as measured by the post-workshop survey. Seven out of the sixteen attendees responded to the survey. Six of the seven indicated that the workshop overall was “very helpful” (the seventh person said “somewhat helpful”). Teachers had varying responses to the tools they would actually consider using in the classroom, which I interpret as a good thing. This means that teachers are making choices about what they think will work for their own setting, and it also means that there was not one tool that was considered unworthy of further investigation. Six of the seven respondents indicated that they were already planning on attending the follow-up session (the seventh person said “maybe”). All seven respondents indicated that the handouts from the workshop were “very useful.” Six of the seven respondents felt that using the Wiki was “very useful” as an online platform for the workshop (the seventh person said “somewhat useful”). Three respondents also gave additional feedback, all of which was positive: one person very much appreciated the written directions for Twitter, one person thought the workshop was “very informative” and was looking forward to using the information in the classroom, and the third person noted appreciation for the pace of the workshop – slow enough to cover questions and grasp concepts.