Professional Development Priorities of 1:1 Initiatives

Galeas, A. (July 2015).  "Professional development priorities of 1:1 initiatives."  Edutopia.            http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/professional-development-priorities-11-initiatives 

In his article, “Professional Development: Priorities of 1:1 Initiatives,” Albert Galeas shares his experiences and findings from taking part in the roll out of a 1:1 initiative in a Mississippi school district.  Supporting a 1:1 initiative is very demanding and requires many steps.   In carrying out the process, Galeas found one of the most critical steps for implementation is providing teachers with consistent professional development.  Galeas learned in his experience when approaching professional development, it is most effective to first teach the tool and then teach instructional strategies for implementing the tool.  Knowing, understanding, and feeling comfortable with the technology first, Galeas found teachers were more likely buy in and put the tool to use. 

I agree with this article-  I feel teachers definitely need to feel comfortable and well versed with a tool before they are able to implement it effectively into their teaching and the students’ learning.  This article then got me thinking about my tech PD experiences and the approach that was taken to train teachers.  I have gone to a lot of PD trainings and have left feeling different ways about the sessions.  I have felt:  “Wow!  This is amazing and I am inspired to start this tomorrow.”  “I am so confused and overwhelmed.” “Ehhh- I didn't get much out of that session.”  I think that professional development can sometimes be tricky to plan because you are trying to meet the needs of a diverse group of adults whose skills can range.  Within the group you will have some members who are very tech savvy and keep up with current trends while others are still learning the basic operations and functions of a device.  I feel it’s important for participants to leave a PD training feeling it was relevant and beneficial to them.  In my opinion it would be best to offer optional tool related sessions for those in need.  Once all participants are comfortable with the devices and tools, all can come together to learn instructional strategies for implementation.  This way we aren’t skipping over steps.  We are able to meet the needs of all without leaving teachers feeling uncomfortable with using the device or leaving others’ feeling bored or like their time has been wasted.