Responses: Prepping teachers new to laptop schools
Yesterday I posted questions to my PLN via this blog, Twitter, Facebook, and the ISENet Listserv. Here are the questions I asked and the responses. There are many models that work for many schools. Thanks to all who shared their ideas and experiences. If you have more to share, please comment on this post.
When do new faculty receive computers, email accounts, website accounts, etc.
- As soon as they are hired.
- At the end of the summer and before we have our professional development days (1 week before school starts). email is activated once they have signed their contract.
- As soon as they sign contracts and give us passwords.
- Any more, it is when they arrive on campus sometime in the spring or summer. We get them up and going with email accounts, Moodle accounts (when necessary), and our curriculum mapping accounts.
- As soon as they sign contracts and give us passwords.
- By default at the new employee orientation at the end of August, or earlier by request in a one-on-one training.
- My school: Administrators complete a form with HR stating needs for each new hire. HR sends it to the tech team. In the past, new hires received hardware/info 1-2 days before back to school workshops started, when we had new faculty orientation. This year, we’re trying to do it earlier, but the hardware may not be available in time. We’re hoping to have a smoother plan for next fall.
Are any of you sending new faculty to technology conferences, such as the Lausanne Laptop Institute in Memphis to prep for 1:1?
- Our teachers usually choose to attend the national subject area conferences. Funds are always an issue. We host a Summer Tech Conference each year and many of our teachers share best practices and teach sessions during this 2-day event.
- No.
- Not yet, but we are looking at it.
- No. Even tech staff need to attend conferences such as this on their own dime. (Paraphrased)
- No, mainly for cost reasons.
- No, we prefer to encourage teachers to design their own professional development plans holistically, rather than zeroing in on 1:1 for specific attention.
- My school: Not yet, but trainings like those at Lausanne and Lakeview sound promising. We have some funds available, but time/availability is another question.
How much time is spent training teachers on how to access school resources (network and cloud) via computer?
- Most of this has been moved to our “Orientation Wiki” which includes instructional videos. We previously spent a few days doing “New Faculty Orientation”. We have found that it is much more effective to focus on showing teachers where to go to find the answers as the need occurs. Most don’t remember how to add a test to the test calendar until they need to do so. Standard expectations for teachers now include proficiency with Moodle, DyKnow, Google Apps, etc and it is a challenge to get new teachers up to speed. We try to offer a multi-faceted experience depending on the learning style/preference of the teacher. Teachers help each other, we schedule individual training, etc. It doesn’t happen overnight.
- The technology coordinators meet with the new teachers during their orientation for a couple hours and follow up with 1-1 training.
- A couple of hours before school starts and then repeated as needed.
- This fall, we have been given one full day to meet with new faculty in advance of the the whole school faculty meetings. They will be reinforcement during the opening meetings, when we have 3 hours with each division.
- We take a full day for new teacher training. Half that time is spent on technology. I follow up almost weekly throughout the first few months.
- My school: tech coordinators meet w/new teachers during orientation. Any training after is up to the teacher and may not happen unless the administrator requires it as part of evaluation process for new hires.
How much prep time is given to new faculty to work on integration – work with integrationist, teaching team, etc.?
- Yes. This is covered again in a variety of ways. We hold mandatory student/parent meetings before laptops are issued to make sure we are on the same page with the expectations piece. We have put together tips for classroom management and teachers often share during monthly tech meetings or dept meetings.
- They can set up meetings with the technology coordinators on an individual basis to work on integration.
- Several hours with teaching team and many of them come in during the summer to work.
- We make it manditory for Middle and Upper School teachers to meet at least once a trimester. Most it is more. In the Lower School, we have it scheduled once every six school days. Our Lower School program is much more integrated.
- Depending on grade level, teachers meet throughout the summer.
- All new employees attend a one-hour training on the basics. After that, we rely on just-in-time help from colleagues and the IT department.
- As above, we do not designate prep time for this specific purpose, but many teachers choose to work on integration in the context of lesson planning for the year.
- My school: As above, tech coordinators meet w/new teachers during orientation. Any training after is up to the teacher and may not happen unless the administrator requires it as part of evaluation process for new hires.
Are things such as classroom management with laptops, student expectations, etc., part of the discussion?
- Yes. This is covered again in a variety of ways. We hold mandatory student/parent meetings before laptops are issued to make sure we are on the same page with the expectations piece. We have put together tips for classroom management and teachers often share during monthly tech meetings or dept meetings.
- Somewhat.
- No.
- Yes, classroom management on both sides (teaching styles and student expectations) are discussed.
- No because I cover that as part of my student intro to tech each year.
- We cover this briefly during orientation, but informal conversations take place among colleagues all the time.
- My school: I share a document with new hires before school and we discuss it briefly each year during one or more faculty meetings. It’s also part of student and parent training.
Is technology proficiency a job requirement? If so, how is it assessed during the interview process?
- No. We need to work on this. An assessment may help but we can usually get strong teachers up to speed technologically if they have a lifelong learning perspective. Our directors communicate that fairly well. We have had a 1:1 program for over 10 years so I think we attract teachers who are excited about using technology as a tool to enhance instruction.
- No, but it should be. if anyone has questions that they ask during the interview process, then i would be happy to see them. we would like to start integrating these types of questions into the interview process.
- No.
- It has not been at this point in time. We do assess where are faculty are on a regular basis, however.
- I was involved in the interview process and had specific questions I asked to determine tech level of teachers, especially Web 2.0.
- Yes, but definitely secondary to other teaching skills. It is only assessed through Q&A and examples of teacher-provided work.
- My School: No, but administrators notice quality of resume, electronic communication skills, etc.
Is ability to effectively integrate technology a job requirement? If so, how is it assessed during the interview process?
- Yes. It has taken years but we finally have integration and incorporation of 21st Century Skills as part of the yearly teacher evaluation instrument. It makes a huge difference because it then becomes part of each teachers PDP (Professional Development Plan) if there is a deficiency.
- No, but it definitely should be! again if anyone has information to offer, we would gladly look it over and attempt to integrate into our job description(s)/interview(s).
- No.
- At this point in time, it is not a formal part of the process, but it is becoming increasingly more important.
- Somewhat again, mainly through Dir of Tech questions.
- Yes, but definitely secondary to other teaching skills. It is only assessed through Q&A and examples of teacher-provided work.
- My School: It’s on the radar, but it’s not a requirement. I google new hires and give feedback if I’m not part of the committee. Depending on the position, I may be asked to meet with potential hires before an offer is made.
Via Twitter:
- During new teacher training, include pieces abt lesson planning & classroom mgmt issues, support them through yr w/addtl training
- 2 full days on tech at beginning and then ongoing on integration throughout the year – modeling, tchr examples, student work
Other suggestions:
- Consider the TPACK Model for professional development.
- A couple of points to tack on:
- Our “new” teachers often come with years of experience, including tech integration. If they don’t, there’s often a good reason why.
- We make every attempt to avoid pushing technology outside of the context of teaching and learning.
It’s clear that teachers in laptop schools need a little more support; can you imagine what it’s like as a teacher starting at a new school where every kid brings a laptop to class and he/she (and parents/administrators/etc) expect it to be use effectively as a tool for teaching and learning? If you haven’t been part of a school with a laptop program, this may be new to you, but for many of us, it’s part of daily life.
If money were no object and time was not an issue, I would:
- Provide hardware and associated accounts shortly after hiring was official.
- Do a short orientation with expectations and basic info about hardware/network/account use early in the summer.
- Send each new teacher to Lausanne or Lakeview (or have our own laptop institute for new and returning faculty).
- Have new faculty work with continuing faculty on curriculum over the summer.
- Have a mini-bootcamp for new folks with a tech mentorship program during workshop.
- Start the year with at least one faculty meeting to discuss/review expectations and classroom management, with a focus on technology.
- Have integration workshops throughout the year based on curriculum and teaching skills on a need-to-know basis. Each teacher would be required to have at least one tech strand in a personal professional development plan. Use of technology would be part of the evaluation process with two strands – integration and communication/personal productivity. Teachers with significant deficiencies would be expected to participate in extra training or seek out instruction as a condition of continued employment.
- All institutional professional development would be expected to integrate technology at a level we expect from seasoned, effective teachers. It would just be part of how we do business. We would use the best tools available and when they make sense. We wouldn’t teach skills in isolation – integrated professional development.
What would your plan look like?
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