Professional Growth Plan

General Direction Statement

I am an educator with a passion for learning. As a substitute teacher, I work to keep up with the technological trends in today’s schools. This is for multiple reasons: 1) I never know what degree of technological knowledge I will need for the different roles I am stepping into every day, and don’t want to be lost or unable to implement a lesson/plan, and 2) I feel like I am bettering myself as an educator, and learning how to best serve students by being aware of the different technologies available that can improve student learning and classroom experiences. In regards to the ISTE standards, I would currently categorize myself simply as a learner… I am setting professional goals, staying current, and learning about new technologies. I am familiar with multiple classroom management platforms like Google Classroom, Showbie, and Edmodo. I am fluent in programs like word processing, slideshows, and spreadsheets. I have moderate skills in programs that assist with classroom differentiation in literacy, like Google Read&Write, NewsEla, and ReadWorks. I have recently dabbled with creating video lessons using screencasting, and using Google Chrome extensions to help create engagement in the classroom, but I am still a new learner in regards to these technologies. In the next 2-4 years, I would like to progress beyond the ‘learner’ role of the ISTE standards. I would like to still be a learner, but also a citizen who inspires students to positively contribute to and participate in the digital world; a collaborator, who works with colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources, and solve problems; a designer, who creates authentic, learner-rich environments and activities that recognize and accommodate a variety of learners; and a facilitator, who encourages and supports students to achieve student ISTE standards. I need to keep abreast of any changes to the technology I am already familiar with, and work to stay on top of new technologies that can help improve student learning experiences. The specific areas I would like to focus on are: classroom engagement technology, assistive technology, assessment technology, and becoming a technology advocate.

Classroom Engagement Technology

Relationship to professional work: As an (at heart, though not in actuality yet) ELA teacher at the junior high/high school level, I have come to realize that engaging students is essential to ensuring they actually learn, and I have also come to realize that engagement these days often involves some sort of technology. Learning about new technologies that can be used to increase classroom engagement is essential to being able to accomplish this goal.

I have delved into the topic of using technology to increase classroom engagement. I have completed a number of tutorials, and watched videos about their best features. What I haven't yet done is really used and experimented with these different technologies, so I am not familiar enough with them yet to be comfortable using them with students. I would like to change that.

Technologies that impact this goal: There are a variety of different technologies that can be used to accomplish this goal. I will divide them into two categories: those with the main goal of engagement alone, and those that increase engagement by offering differentiation and therefore allowing struggling students to keep up.

• Technologies that offer the opportunity to differentiate (and through differentiation, increase engagement). This includes programs to reach learners at different levels like Google Read&Write, NewsEla, and ReadWorks; and using screencast videos or podcasts (and other video or audio programs) that appeal to different learning styles, and to post material students can refer to at a later date.

• Technologies that offer engagement for students. This includes programs like Pear Deck, which adds interactive components to slideshows; Flipgrid, which allows students to host video discussions; Kahoot, which adds an element of competition while allowing students to review (or introduce) material; Book Creator or storyboardthat.com to create visually stunning and/or interactive comics, books, etc.

Materials to support my learning:

• Tutorial videos. These are the go-to places to learn about how to use technologies in the classroom for engagement. It is fairly easy to find videos created by teachers, specific to your grade level, that offer tips and tricks for using them best in the classroom, and with the type of students you have.

• Commonsense.org. This is a fantastic website that offers reviews for educators about a wide variety of programs/apps/platforms etc. that can be used in the classroom. Its unbiased reviews offer pros, cons, and bottom line statements, and include sections on what the technology is, how you can teach with it, and if it is good for learning.

• Online teacher forums. I am a member of a number of online teacher forums, where I can ask questions of educators familiar with my grade and subject levels. They are a wealth of knowledge, having often worked through the same things themselves, and can share resources they themselves used, and insights into different technologies.

People who I will liaison with to support my learning:

• Other teachers. As a substitute, I get to know a lot of other teachers of whom I can ask questions. One of the reasons I have learned as much as I have, is because in visiting other classrooms, I see things teachers are doing with their students, and I make an effort to either learn about that technology myself, or ask the teacher about it. As mentioned above, I also make use of other teachers’ knowledge through online forums.

• The technology coordinators at my RCE. I have worked with these people before, and they are a wealth of knowledge. They have been able to point me in the direction of emerging technologies, and they are also able to help when those technologies present the occasional difficulties.

Self-assessment plan: When I do self-assessments, I like them to be quite structured - I want to know that I have done something, not just think that I have probably done it. I am ready to start this goal right away, as it is a continuation of what I have been doing already. I have a checklist for myself of the different technologies I would like to learn about, using all of the suggestions and criteria above. This checklist is flexible, because I might find that, as I learn more about technology that can increase student engagement, I need to add more to my list, or modify what I already have. This list is two-stage… the first stage is introductory, where I learn what a program is, and the basics of it. Stage two is actually using the technology enough (through trial and error) to become familiar enough with it to use in a classroom. Once I have finished adding/changing things on my list, and checked off all of the items on my checklist, I will consider my goal complete.

Assistive Technology

Relationship to professional work: I have hopes of becoming a resource teacher (hence why I am working towards my Inclusive Education M.Ed.), and I want to be able to help all of my students with a thorough knowledge of the technology that is out there and available to them.

Technologies that impact this goal: Becoming familiar with assistive technology requires me to learn about a number of different technological systems. Below are the staples of assistive technology that I should become familiar with.

• Text-to-speech assisitive technologies. There are a variety of these programs, though the one most often used in my RCE is Google Read&Write. I need to become familiar with this, to help students who have difficulties with literacy needs like writing.

• Kurzweil 3000. This technology is the gold standard for students who struggle with all things literacy.

• Assistive listening systems, which can help students who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as those with other auditory and learning problems.

• Sip-and-puff systems, which are used by students who have mobility challenges, such as paralysis and fine motor skill disabilities. These systems allow for control of a computer, mobile device or some other technological application by the child moving the device with his or her mouth.

Materials to support my learning: (where you will go for instruction and help)

• Assistive technology graduate course. One of the courses I am hoping to take as part of the M.Ed. in Inclusive education is Acadia’s course offering on Assistive Technology. This course will provide me with the basics that I can use to get myself started with assistive technology in the classroom.

• Online tutorials. Many of the technology programs out there offer tutorials on their websites; in addition, there are often user tutorials available on YouTube or other video sites, that walk you through how to use them.

• My RCE Inclusive Education Support Team. The new Inclusive Education program that the government of NS has rolled out includes supports for inclusive education. These supports include assistance with the different technologies that are available to support inclusive education, including assistive technology.

People who I will liaison with to support my learning:

• Resource teachers and Learning Center teachers - they are there at the ground level, using assistive technology to work with the students on their case loads, and are a wealth of first-hand knowledge. I have a good working relationship with several resource teachers in my RCE. I have already approached one about mentoring me as I progress through my M.Ed., and will collaborate/ask questions of others as I come across them.

• The assistive technology expert at my RCE. I have already completed one training course with this person, so have a bit of an established relationship already. She is very knowledgeable, and can help instruct me, and point me in the direction of resources.

• Other colleagues. It is not only resource teachers and RCE coaches who are familiar with assistive technology. It is an area of interest and professional development for a number of classroom teachers as well, many of whom I have met as a substitute teacher. These people can help answer my questions, and as users of this technology at a teaching level, have valuable knowledge about what is the best technology to learn and use with students.

Self-assessment plan: When I do self-assessments, I like them to be quite structured - I want to know that I have done something, not just think that I have probably done it. I will be ready to start working on this goal once I have registered in Acadia’s Assistive Technology course, and once I have done that, I will create a checklist for myself, using all of the suggestions and criteria above. This checklist will be flexible, because I might find that, as I learn more about assistive technology, I need to add more to my list, or modify what I already have. Once I have finished adding/changing things on my list, and checked off all of the items on my checklist, I will consider my goal complete.

Assessment Technology

Relationship to professional work: There are so many new technologies out there that can help streamline student assessment, provide timely feedback for students, and save teachers time. As an ELA teacher, I spend SO much time trying to provide written feedback to students, that often doesn't even get read I am sure... it is discouraging to feel so much of my time is wasted. I would love to know more about these tools that can save me time AND make my feedback more useful and relevant to students.

Technologies that impact this goal: There are a variety of technologies available now that can help teachers (especially ELA teachers like myself) streamline assessment, so that it is more relevant and timely for students, and cuts down on marking time for teachers. Current technologies I have heard of that can help streamline assessment in literacy-based subjects are Doctopus (Google Sheets add-on), Goobric (Chrome extension to be used with Doctopus), and Mote (Google Chrome extension). All of these programs offer teachers the ability to cut and paste comments onto digital documents, store common comments to use repeatedly, and takes notes on rubrics. Mote even allows teachers the ability to leave voice comments (and transcribe them as a paid feature) on student documents, increasing the speed with which teachers can offer feedback, and increasing the likelihood students will either read or listen to them.

Materials to support my learning:

• Tutorial videos. These are the go-to places to learn about how to use technologies for classroom assessment. It is fairly easy to find videos created by teachers, specific to your grade level, that offer tips and tricks for using them best to assess students.

• Online teacher forums. I am a member of a number of online teacher forums, where I can ask questions of educators familiar with my grade and subject levels. They are a wealth of knowledge, having often worked through the same things themselves, and can share resources they themselves used, and insights into different technologies.

People who I will liason with to support my learning:

• Other teachers. As a substitute, I get to know a lot of other teachers of whom I can ask questions. One of the reasons I have learned as much as I have, is because in visiting other classrooms, I see things teachers are doing with their students, and I make an effort to either learn about that technology myself, or ask the teacher about it. As mentioned above, I also make use of other teachers’ knowledge through online forums.

• Acadia University’s Introduction to Educational Technology course. Though I was unable to participate, there was a discussion held during my course that dealt with online assessment and assessment technology. I’m sure there will also be similar forums in the future. These discussions, and the ideas they generated, can be used to help guide me toward good technologies to use, and resources to help me use them.

• The technology coordinators at my RCE. I have worked with these people before, and they are a wealth of knowledge. They have been able to point me in the direction of emerging technologies, and they are also able to help when those technologies present the occasional difficulties.

Self-assessment plan: When I do self-assessments, I like them to be quite structured - I want to know that I have done something, not just think that I have probably done it. I will begin working towards this goal once I have completed my engaging technology goal (since assessment is not as pressing as a substitute teacher, as it is something I rarely need to do). I will create a checklist for myself of the different technologies I would like to learn about in regards to streamlining assessment, using all of the suggestions and criteria above. This checklist is flexible, because I might find that, as I learn more about technology that can streamline assessment, I need to add more to my list, or modify what I already have. As with engagement technology, this list will be two-stage… the first stage is introductory, where I learn what a program is, and the basics of it. Stage two is actually using the technology enough (through trial and error) to become familiar enough with it to use in a classroom. Once I have finished adding/changing things on my list, and checked off all of the items on my checklist, I will consider my goal complete.

Become a Technology Advocate

Relationship to professional work: I have limited experience working as part of a school’s regular staff, but on the one staff I have been a part of in any degree, I noticed that the comfort level of staff with technology, and the amount of tech they used, varied greatly. So while students were greatly engaged with technology, there were many teachers who were apprehensive about using it, and opportunities were missed. There was no training offered to help teachers, so the only impetus for improvement of tech skills came from the individual teachers. This made it difficult when students had issues with their devices and programs, as only a handful of teachers could help. Most of my goals thus far have involved the ‘learner’ aspect of the ISTE standards, because as a substitute teacher, I don’t have the opportunity to really take on any other role. This goal, to become a school advocate for technology, pertains to the future and my hope to get a more permanent teaching position.

Technologies that impact this goal: Becoming an advocate for technology instruction and use in a school doesn’t require that I focus on any specific technologies… but rather that I am familiar and comfortable with a variety of educational technologies, so that I can advocate for their use in my school, or assist teachers/students in using them. Ones that I know I could specifically focus on, that I feel are useful for all teachers, are G-Suite apps used for learning; Read&Write for Google for differentiation; Mote for assessment; and Pear Deck for engagement.

Materials to support my learning:

• The technology department at my RCE. Those who work in the technology department at my RCE have a valuable collection of resources that I could be introduced to, to help me on my path to becoming a technology advocate within schools.

• The internet. Just a quick search of the internet provided me with a number of websites that provided suggestions and advice for promoting technology use within schools.

• Online teacher forums. I am a member of a number of online teacher forums, where I can ask questions of educators familiar with implementing or advocating for technology use in their schools. They are a wealth of knowledge, having often worked through the same things themselves, and can share resources they themselves used, and insights into different technologies.

People who I will liaison with to support my learning:

• Other teachers. As a substitute, I get to know a lot of other teachers of whom I can ask questions. One of the reasons I have learned as much as I have, is because in visiting other classrooms, I see things teachers are doing with their students, and I make an effort to either learn about that technology myself, or ask the teacher about it. As mentioned above, I also make use of other teachers’ knowledge through online forums.

• Tech Committee. Most schools have tech committees, so I anticipate that wherever I am, I will join this committee, and use the other members as resources. The committee can help me with things like encouraging admin. to purchase programs/apps for students; obtaining devices for students; arranging PD for teachers on specific technologies; etc.

• The technology coordinators at my RCE. I have worked with these people before, and they are a wealth of knowledge. They have been able to point me in the direction of emerging technologies, and they are also able to help when those technologies present the occasional difficulties.

Self-assessment plan: When I do self-assessments, I like them to be quite structured - I want to know that I have done something, not just think that I have probably done it. This goal is one that I will only be able to work on once I get a position within a schools, and become familiar with some more technology, so it will likely be the last of my four professional growth goals to complete. I will create a checklist for myself of the different technologies that research (and experienced teachers) suggest would be most useful for teachers to learn about, and I will take inventories of the technology available to students in my school, and make a list of what we could still use. This checklist is flexible, because I might find that, as I learn more about advocating for technology in schools, I need to add more to my list, or modify what I already have. Once I have finished adding/changing things on my list, and checked off all of the items on my checklist, I will consider my goal complete.