Carter's Adventures in Educational Technology

When I first took the position as a technology integration specialist, I knew I would have to facilitate learning sessions with educators; but as a teacher, my only role was to attend and learn. Now, I am helping to plan and run them, a big change of perspective! This past summer I helped with the expo portion of our Know Your Impact conference  organized by my district and runs for 3 days in early June. That was my first look into the behind the scenes aspect of professional development. I was amazed at the man hours put into organizing a conference of this size, and I didn't even help with the main session planning! I only helped to find teachers to present on technology and vendors for the expo.  I now find myself planning my own mini professional learning sessions that I will deliver to the staff during faculty meetings, planning periods, and modeling sessions with the teachers throughout the school year. This is quite a large undertaking and organizing resources...

It's time to switch from old-school, sit-and-get professional development to the ongoing, interactive professional learning.  Gulamhussein (2013) states that  Professional Learning has 5 key principals: Extended throughout the year. Ongoing support through all stages of implementation.   Active learning and hands-on application Modeling and coaching included Specific and authentic to the learner. I agree and intend to use these as I facilitate professional learning. Behind the Scenes My inspiration for this video was my personal experience with PD in the past and how horrible some of the sessions were and from TED Talks that I have viewed. I feel that people will want to know that they have some control over their professional learning and that they are not stuck with whatever their district chooses to provide for them. Personally, I continue to learn more from Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and blog posts that cover educational topic...