Professional+Development

We are flooded with professional development opportunities and requirements. Share your thoughts on PD you have participated in or would like to participate in, especially those that deal with technology.

The Power2Learn Grant meetings were interesting, but only 2 of the sessions dealt with exactly how to use the equipment we got. That seemed like putting the cart before the horse to me. If we had been gathered together to actually use the equipment for a day before school started, I think it would have been more exciting and all the teachers involved would have been more interested in seeing the grant through. Gail

The one professional development I took this year that I really liked was the [|Library2Play] class offered from our district Library Resources page. It goes through lots of tools to use both personally and in the classroom, such as blogs, nings, readers, social bookmarking, podcasting and many others. It let me work through the 23 things included at my own pace and on my own time. I received 18 hours of PD credit and learned a lot. Most of the activities were fun and I found a lot of fun sites I could use in my class. If you haven't tried it, I'd recommend it for this summer. There is another group about to begin. If I can find the time, I think I'll check out the [|Library2Play2] and see what the second level has to offer. - Gail

Is there a way that each person from each of the various departments can create a lesson which HAS to be completed by every teacher in their department using the technology? Not that I want to force the issue, but if the kids can see that each area has a reason to use it, they might be more likely to go look for those types of things on their own? (saw)