Although my school is quite limited in technology currently, given the fact that my classroom has only one computer, and it is my school laptop, we are beginning to take baby steps in this area. Starting in August, the school will have access to a shared iPad cart with 30 iPads for the school. There are 12 classrooms in the school (2 per grade, K-5) who will be able to check out the whole cart or a number of iPads on a sign-out process. I don't know exactly how this will work as far as individual student usage (signing in, saving data, etc) but I am excited regardless!
In my research about effective professional development in the school setting, I found that one of the most important things principals can do in this area is to provide clear objectives for their PD. Just as teachers must have clear, measurable objectives for their lessons, principals must do the same. Without a clear purpose, even a well-run PD session can leave the attendees wondering what they were supposed to gain. My principal, who will be mostly in charge of implementing the iPads into our classrooms, is an effective educator who should be able to do this without a problem.
For my project, I researched a variety of iPad implementation techniques and connected those to an 8-month PD plan. I did research about what should and should not be done when a school implements iPads into instruction, and incorporated a lot of those ideas into the plan. For example, we start by talking about general iPad care and expectations and basic functions. We also will discuss our goals and objectives for using the iPads before we dive into specific functions. By the end of the year, we have met our objective of each teacher using the iPads at least once weekly for whole group and once weekly for small group instruction in any subject area. The teachers in my school come from a wide background of technological capabilities, with some brand new teachers and some who have been teaching for 30+ years. For this reason, it is important to provide some differentiation and some general instruction to all 12 of us. Hopefully, even though we do have some differences, we will all be able to meet the goals.
There is a lot of discussion and many expectations already about using the iPads next year, and I hope we will be able to use them for instruction and not to replace instruction. With an effective PD plan, we should be able to incorporate our iPads efficiently and successfully into our classrooms.
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteThe success of iPad implementation is directly related to the quality and amount of PD that your school offers. I am so glad you see the importance of a strong PD plan.
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think having those clear objectives is really important, especially where technology integration is concerned. I also like how you outlined the expectations of using the iPads once weekly for whole group instruction and once weekly for small group instruction. That's a great way to not get stuck using them the same way every time!
Melanie, Very informative post. I think you are on the right track with clear objectives as a leader. I know that the professional development sessions that teach me the most state clearly what I should be looking for, so I appreciate the reflection from you. The implementation plan with slowly introducing the technology because of the different tech backgrounds seems sound. maybe some of the teachers who are more tech savvy could assist those who aren't during the sessions. I think it is a sound plan to use though, and I'm sure it will be a success. Good luck and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMelanie, I really enjoyed reading your post. I believe from moving into a school recently that is technology advanced, clear expectations are critical for success. That was one of the areas of struggle that our school had early in the process. We use teacher directed breakout sessions for iPad integration. This greatly benefits individual teachers and their attainment of information when peers teach the information. I believe that your plan has many similarities to our school's implementation plan that was outlined a few years ago, and I believe it will work well! Good luck!
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