Standard 5.2 - Professional Learning
Candidates develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning, and promotes best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment. (PSC 5.2/ISTE 4b)
Artifact - Get Started With Edmodo technology workshop March 25, 2014
Reflection
Professional learning needs to be just-in-time, relevant to teachers’ needs, and job-embedded in order to be most effective and have a lasting effect (Learning Forward, 2011). After talking with several colleagues and conducting an informal needs assessment, I developed and implemented a technology-based professional learning workshop, “Get Started with Edmodo” for a small group. Our workshop was held on March 25, 2014. Participating teachers suggested the best time for the workshop would be immediately following day one of our half-day spring intersession. Edmodo is a creative learning community that many teachers use to engage students and facilitate student technology use.
“Get Started with Edmodo” integrated technology with face-to-face and online components as teachers created personal accounts and practiced using different features of the program. This workshop was aligned to state and national professional learning standards, ISTE NETS-S 5-a: Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning, and PSC 3.2: Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences.
The workshop promoted best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment and modeled principles of adult learning. A needs assessment was used to determine the topics to be covered in the workshop, which infused hands-on practice technology use in a supportive face-to-face setting. I modeled use of Edmodo features and facilitated participants’ practice as they experimented with components most useful. Observation provided formative assessments allowing me to respond to teachers’ questions and change the direction of the workshop as needed. Since the workshop was held at the beginning of intersession, teachers would immediately have the opportunity to practice new skills in their classrooms with additional technology coaching support.
Although I have delivered professional development to colleagues, this workshop represented the best example of standards-based professional development from conception through evaluation. While developing this workshop I internalized the importance of “starting with the end in mind” in which I set learning goals and developed an assessment that would tell me whether the workshop was effective. I practiced several new technology skills myself, embedding introductory video and links to allow easy movement between instruction and the Edmodo. This model was intended for presentation to faculty members, but instruction in the basics of using Edmodo could also be delivered through screencast or podcast.
The work that went into developing this professional learning immediately benefited student learning, faculty development and school improvement by providing teachers with a needed technology tool. During the workshop, one teacher set up a class for all 65 of her mathematics students and identified resources for them to use in support of classroom instruction. Another teacher found informational articles for her students and set up a discussion group, and a third started a book discussion group. All participants joined professional learning networks through Edmodo. When I reviewed data from the evaluation, four of the seven indicated that the most useful part of the workshop was learning how to join and create groups, and all indicated that the one-hour workshop was just the right length. All of them found the information and handouts useful as they followed along trying out different features of Edmodo. All participants also appreciated the hands-on nature of the workshop, having practice time with a tool they can use right now. They felt they learned exactly what they hoped – a better understanding of basic Edmodo features. Since creating our school group, two more teachers have joined, and I have started sharing additional professional resources. One 5th-grade teacher who attended the workshop has set up a group for our entire 5th grade and discovered free mathematics apps that she has been assigning to individual students. The principal and two other teachers have asked me to reprise the workshop, which indicates a “buzz” about using Edmodo and potential to expand its use, especially in upper grades
This workshop offered a solution that they could immediately implement in class that would offer access to electronic resources while providing students with a medium for communicating and interacting. The impact will truly be seen when we come back to school, when those most interested teachers start the school year with Edmodo.
References:
Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for professional learning. Oxford, OH
Professional learning needs to be just-in-time, relevant to teachers’ needs, and job-embedded in order to be most effective and have a lasting effect (Learning Forward, 2011). After talking with several colleagues and conducting an informal needs assessment, I developed and implemented a technology-based professional learning workshop, “Get Started with Edmodo” for a small group. Our workshop was held on March 25, 2014. Participating teachers suggested the best time for the workshop would be immediately following day one of our half-day spring intersession. Edmodo is a creative learning community that many teachers use to engage students and facilitate student technology use.
“Get Started with Edmodo” integrated technology with face-to-face and online components as teachers created personal accounts and practiced using different features of the program. This workshop was aligned to state and national professional learning standards, ISTE NETS-S 5-a: Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning, and PSC 3.2: Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences.
The workshop promoted best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment and modeled principles of adult learning. A needs assessment was used to determine the topics to be covered in the workshop, which infused hands-on practice technology use in a supportive face-to-face setting. I modeled use of Edmodo features and facilitated participants’ practice as they experimented with components most useful. Observation provided formative assessments allowing me to respond to teachers’ questions and change the direction of the workshop as needed. Since the workshop was held at the beginning of intersession, teachers would immediately have the opportunity to practice new skills in their classrooms with additional technology coaching support.
Although I have delivered professional development to colleagues, this workshop represented the best example of standards-based professional development from conception through evaluation. While developing this workshop I internalized the importance of “starting with the end in mind” in which I set learning goals and developed an assessment that would tell me whether the workshop was effective. I practiced several new technology skills myself, embedding introductory video and links to allow easy movement between instruction and the Edmodo. This model was intended for presentation to faculty members, but instruction in the basics of using Edmodo could also be delivered through screencast or podcast.
The work that went into developing this professional learning immediately benefited student learning, faculty development and school improvement by providing teachers with a needed technology tool. During the workshop, one teacher set up a class for all 65 of her mathematics students and identified resources for them to use in support of classroom instruction. Another teacher found informational articles for her students and set up a discussion group, and a third started a book discussion group. All participants joined professional learning networks through Edmodo. When I reviewed data from the evaluation, four of the seven indicated that the most useful part of the workshop was learning how to join and create groups, and all indicated that the one-hour workshop was just the right length. All of them found the information and handouts useful as they followed along trying out different features of Edmodo. All participants also appreciated the hands-on nature of the workshop, having practice time with a tool they can use right now. They felt they learned exactly what they hoped – a better understanding of basic Edmodo features. Since creating our school group, two more teachers have joined, and I have started sharing additional professional resources. One 5th-grade teacher who attended the workshop has set up a group for our entire 5th grade and discovered free mathematics apps that she has been assigning to individual students. The principal and two other teachers have asked me to reprise the workshop, which indicates a “buzz” about using Edmodo and potential to expand its use, especially in upper grades
This workshop offered a solution that they could immediately implement in class that would offer access to electronic resources while providing students with a medium for communicating and interacting. The impact will truly be seen when we come back to school, when those most interested teachers start the school year with Edmodo.
References:
Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for professional learning. Oxford, OH