Professional Development Plan
The importance of professional development is well understood among the teachers of Michigan. Michigan requires school districts to offer so many hours of professional development each year. Although some of the workshops/lectures I have attended have not fit well with what I needed, most of them have offered something I could use in the classroom. Since I have not been teaching for the past two years, I have found that I find it difficult to find professional development opportunities. This class has emphasized for me the need to seek out not just any professional development opportunities, but especially ones that deal with technology use in the classroom.
I have been very excited about the things I have been learning in this course, but find when I mention things I have learned to teachers who are in the classroom, there are well aware of these things. It has shown me how far behind I am, especially as I get ready to search for jobs. Technology is being incorporated into every aspect of our lives and we need to, as teachers, have the savvy to help our students navigate through the plethora of information and gadgets available to them. The internet is a treasure trove of professional development programs – some free, some for a fee – but they are easily available.
One of the best free online sites I found was http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/ - this site has some wonderful programs available to help teachers. There is a catalog available broken into categories for easy navigation. One link is to implementing technology in the 3-5th grades – perfect for what I am looking for (although for a bit younger grades than I plan to teach, but I have found almost any lesson/unit plan can be adapted to any age level). The link to this section is http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/catalog/browse/?sa=4.
There are other sources out there that offer courses (most for some fee or subscription). But all offer a significant number of professional development opportunities. The links are found below:
I am hoping to investigate these sites more in-depth throughout this summer; I especially want to look into the PBS site some more. Professional development is important in all professions, but especially in the education field. Educators must stay current on what is happening in the world if we are to teach the future.
Hey Meredith
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly about how important it is for everyone, but especially teachers, to keep abreast of what is new in our field and areas of specialty. Some teachers seem to think they cannot learn anything new, which I feel is a shame. I have always kept and open mind about learning and hope to learn something new on the last day I live. More importantly, your links are pertinent and I, too, will explore them further! Thanks for the great information.
Hi Meredith!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these great links! I agree that as an educator it is important to keep up on professional development and stay up-to-date with the latest tools that are being used in the classroom; however, please do not feel discouraged or like you are far behind. Because technology is ever-changing and new tools are constantly being developed, there will always be room to grow and learn, even for those educators who always seem to be ahead of the game!
These are great links - thank you! I agree with you about the challenges of prof. devel. regarding teaching & technology. Tech. changes so fast, and our resources in schools are often behind the curve so useful pd can be hard to find. Do you subscribe to any of the update/e-newsletters from Ed Week? I like that I can scan quickly through the article topics to see if anything relevant catches my eye.
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