Throughout your PD program, your participants will have questions as they learn new 21st century skills. It is important to plan to have resources in place to answer these questions in a timely manner.
Your participants are busy teachers. Letting them work at their own pace, on their own time is great because they are more likely to complete the skills training; however, this makes it more difficult when they have questions. While planning your PD program, you need to decide the following:
- How to answer specific technology questions
o You could point your participants' questions to a tech coordinator. But your tech coordinator is likely already busy and may not have the extra time to field a mass of questions. An online support system may be easiest.
- How to provide support - and whether it will be 24/7
o Access to 24/7 support would benefit your participants. Online is the only way to do this.
Aside from technical support, you will need to provide other forms of support to ensure your program is successful. Be sure to give demonstrations and make classroom visits from time to time.
With a solid support system in place, your 21st century skills PD program will be more successful. Next week, we will discuss the impact that your 21st century skills PD program will have on your students.
P.D. Tips courtesy of Atomic Learning
