Continuing with the recent 2011 Horizon Report findings, this edition of PD Tips will cover another of the critical challenges schools face. These conclusions are drawn from a careful analysis of current events, papers, articles, and similar sources, as well as from the personal experience of the advisory board members in their roles as leaders in education and technology.
This week’s challenge is focused on the demand for personalized learning not adequately supported by current technology or practices.
The increasing demand for education that is customized to each student’s unique needs is driving the development of new technologies that provide more learner choice and control and allow for differentiated instruction. It has become clear that one-size-fits-all teaching methods are neither effective nor acceptable for today’s diverse students -- and teachers! Technology can and should support individual choices about access to materials and expertise, amount and type of educational content, and methods of teaching.
How are you meeting this challenge in your district? Are you doing your part to meet your individual learners’ needs by pushing for new technology purchases?
Start with these strategies:
· Determine who will be participating in the decision process
· Explore with the team where training needs exist
· Decide what means of training you will use with your current technology
· Discuss options for training on new technology based on your budget
This is just the start to building a successful PD plan. Providing support along the way will guide you to success for your teachers and students.
Resource: Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.The NMC Horizon Project identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe. The research behind The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition is a collaboration between the New Media Consortium (www.nmc.org), theConsortium for School Networking (CoSN), and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
PD tips courtesy of Atomic Learning
