W1 Reading

Recently my Action Research changed from focusing on math while implementing Web 2.0 tools in the preschool classroom.  Now, my concentration will be redirected to the use of Web 2.0 tools as online instruments for teacher Professional Development.  As a result of this study, I hope to be able to determine whether there is a measured increase in learning levels among teaching professionals.   

I’ve been pleased with the amount of recent research I’ve been able to find.   The following article, “Learning With Blogs and Wikis” is right on target with my Action Research.  Bill Ferriter discusses how, “Technology has made it easier for educators to embrace continual professional development”.   In the past, most teacher-oriented professional development consisted of a room full of teachers listening to a lecture and observing a presentation.   After the presentation, the teachers were left to their own reflections to determine how to use what they had learned to improve their instruction technique(s).  As stated by Ferreter, “Changing Times, Changing Tools,” I agree that it is time to incorporate technology in the professional development of the individuals who will be doing the teaching.  How can educators prepare our children to interact in today’s technological environment if they are not equipped with the knowledge and familiar with the tools themselves?  Some of these tools include learning about:  Blogging, incorporating Reader and Wikis.  With these tools, educators now have the opportunity to have input, a voice, a word, “say so”, and a decisive platform to change the world in which we work and, most importantly, teach!

While reading “Technology as a Tool:  Applying an Instructional Model to Teach Middle School Students to Use Technology as a Mediator of Learning” I was able to identify with some of the struggles teachers were having with applying the technological instruction.  The teachers found it frustrating to teach the new technologies in addition to teaching understanding of a new concept.  I found that some of the main factors, which attribute to the frustration, are the lack of time spent on the introduction of the tools and also, the ineffective use of the tools.  Instead of using the tools and treating them as a “new experience”, they were simply being used as a shortcut to promote higher learning.   

Photograph by: Deborah Sanders

“Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency” This composition defines technology in its broadest form and calls for the utilization of all available technological trinkets for integration into the classroom.  Sandra Kay Plair discusses the responsibility of integrating technology from the view of the, “No Child Left Behind Act.” Today’s teachers are over stressed, work under tremendous pressure and move with difficulty into this new technology-based environment.  This is a direct result of the change in teacher duties:  what was once the “computer” teacher’s job is now the responsibility of all teachers.  Another problem is changing the limited thinking and knowledge of veteran teachers to a higher level of using technology beyond simple word processing.  The progress of the introduction of technology in professional development is going to proceed at a “snail’s pace” and will require constant on-going support.

Finally, “When Teachers Drive Their Learning” is a breath of fresh air for educators across the nation.  Now, teachers get to decide what they want to teach and their training is conducted, “during contract hours.”  This program is called Fusion and the plan is for all teachers to be offered courses designed to improve their specific skill and/or craft.  The ultimate motivators are the strategies and procedures available for teachers to become experts and also, giving teachers a choice in their desired course of learning.  Time was a critical factor in the developmental phase of this training program and several initial avenues used to integrate time, ultimately failed.  That’s when, after further study and experimental stages, “The Need for Differentiated PD” was finally launched and put into operation.

I am extremely excited about this new AR project I’m beginning to work on.  Keep viewing my submissions and I hope to keep your interest as well as excite you too.

                                               References

Carter, G., Griffin,A. Reid., (2004). Technology as a tool:  Applying an instructional model to teach middles students to use technology as a mediator of learning. Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 13, No. 4, Retrieved October 2, 2010

Ferriter, B. 2009. Learning with Blogs and Wikis. Educational Leadership, Retrieved October 2, 2010

Plair, K. S.,  (2008). Revamping professional development for technology integration and fluency. Clearing House. Retrieved October 2, 2010

Semadeni, J. 2010. When Teachers Drive Their Learning, 4. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may10/vol67/num08/When-Teachers-Drive-Their-Learning.aspx. Retrieved October 2, 2010,