Technology Professional Development
The WCPS TIC Team strives to build a culture that is confident in using technology, is willing to take risks with new technology and that embraces technology as an essential tool for student learning. We work towards effective use of technology across the district by providing a multifaceted approach to Technology PD (Professional Development). Teachers are encouraged to meet with their TIC at the beginning of each school year to create a Professional Learning Plan. Your personalized plan allows you more flexibility in:
What PD goals you choose
When and where you do the PD
How you choose to implement this PD into the classroom
TIC's, peer leaders and administrators will provide continuing support as you implement technology effectively in your classrooms. Professional development hours (credit) will vary depending on the amount of time developing, applying, and sharing your practice. Credit will be documented in Unified Talent at the end of the school year.
Face to Face PD
One on One Coaching: You can contact your TIC about one on one sessions. Most sessions will occur during your planning periods or times that work best for you. These sessions often include:
Discussion of goals
A lesson or series of lessons with the TIC
Lesson planning, developing teaching strategies and preparation of technology resources
Implementation of the pedagogical practices using tech tools. These may be recorded and/or the TIC may be present
Reflective discussions
Professional Learning Plan: Teachers are encouraged to meet with their TIC at the beginning of each school year to create a Professional Learning Plan. This is a time to set your yearly learning goal, discuss PD options, and set up future meeting dates.
Professional Learning Communities (PLC): Professional Learning Communities are small, intimate groups of teachers with shared goals, a commitment to mutual growth, and a focus on deliberate practice. PLCs will learn in a blended fashion, through a combination of online resources and in person meetings. Meetings will be a minimum of 4 times a year to discuss goals, work through problems, discuss articles, observe each others practice, and hold each other accountable.
Lab Classrooms: The lab classroom is an opportunity to observe colleagues and see ideas in practice. In addition to the observation, there is a pre observation component and a debriefing session to discuss how you could/will use it in the classroom and to ask follow-up questions. You must also write a reflection on the process to receive credit.
Lab Classroom Host: As a host teacher you are not expected to be perfect in your practice, but you should be willing to open your classroom to colleagues and be willing to discuss your practice. This is the perfect opportunity for your colleagues to see what you’re doing, learn how you handle the bumps and imperfections of using technology with students, and take away new classroom management skills for their own integration. It will include a 1 minute video “commercial” to ignite your colleagues interest, a pre-visit meeting with the observer(s)to go over what you will be teaching, the classroom visit itself, and a “post-visit” meeting to reflect and answer follow-up questions. Each step must include the observer(s) but it may also be attended by an TIC and administration. You must also write a reflection on the process to receive credit.
Tech Days: Tech Days are a variety of short, fun, face-to-face sessions. These sessions offer you an opportunity to play with technology, learn from your colleagues and reflect on what they are doing with technology in their classrooms. Tech Days are all about celebrating each other, learning from our neighbors, and collaborating with one another! Participating as a Leader in a session will give you a chance to share what you are doing and what you have learned with your colleagues!
Examples of Tech Days Events:
Tech Playgrounds: The focus of these sessions is exposure. We all need time to play and explore with technology. The Tech Playground is a time to get ideas. Each playground session will feature a few TIC selected technologies, apps or extensions. You will be provided the opportunity to play with these, ask questions of your colleagues and discuss how to implement them into your instruction.
Appy Hours: These events are a time to build on your skills. The TIC will offer a menu of apps or tools to dive deeper into a tool of your choice. It is a time to discuss ideas with others working with the same tool, learn about it in more detail, build resources, plan a lesson or do all of the above.
Speed Data-ing: 5 teachers will set up “Booths” where they will have 5 minutes to show you something they have been working on and engage in a quick but meaningful conversation with you about how this could be used in your classroom. When the buzzer goes off, move to the next booth. After 25 minutes, we will have a chance to report out, share our thoughts, or even circle back to a booth for a second round and further discussion!
Speed Data-ing Leaders: You will be one of 5 teachers that set up a booth where you will have 4 minutes to show your colleagues something you have been working on and engage in a quick but meaningful conversation about how this could be used in other classrooms. Do you have something to share? Be a leader of a speed data-ing booth! When the buzzer goes off, the teachers will rotate to a new booth and you will start all over again. After 20 minutes, teachers will have a chance to report out, share their thoughts, or even circle back to a booth for a second date and further discussion!
Technology Slams!: This is a time for you to show off your favorite app, device or instructional technique. Each teacher gets 2 minutes to show and tell. The audience votes for their favorite. The winner walks away with the title of Slam champion, a prize and the pride of knowing they taught their peers something new!
FLIPPED PD
This is an opportunity to choose a technology that you want to learn more about. A variety of modules are available on the TIC webpage for you to study. Each module is broken down into the multiple sections with the following format.
Topic Sections:
What is this?
Ways to Use This for Teaching and Learning
Video Tutorials
PDF Instruction Sheets
Classroom Examples
Other Resources
Hours Earned
You control how much time is spent learning about each topic (based on your individual level), implementing the technology into your lessons, and documenting its use in the classroom. You will be required to provide proof of use in some format and a short reflection as a Google Doc to earn PD hours. The number of hours that may be earned will depend on the technology and is stated in the learning module.
Project Centered PD
This offers a more long-term, constructivist learning approach with a potentially large impact. Working closely with your TIC, you can learn about a variety of instructional technologies through a number of well-planned PD sessions, design a project to implement them, then implement the project. This can take place over the course of a semester or an entire school year. You will create an e-portfolio that includes all the lesson materials you constructed, case stories, recorded lessons and reflections. The project culminates in you presenting about your project during a summer G Suite training session. You may earn up to 90 PD hours.
Post-PD Reflections
All PD must involve reflection on what we wish to accomplish, how it worked and how we would change things that didn’t work. Some form of reflection is required as part of the professional learning process. This can simply be a focused discussion with your TIC but it could also be a blog, an educational journal, or video reflections that are shared with your TIC. Your TIC will provide you with more details when you meet at the start of the school year.
Receiving Credit
In order to receive credit, you must sign up in Unified Talent, meet the requirements of the PD and share your reflections with your TIC.