One of the common requests that I hear from our 1:1 implementation is “I need more time to learn about these tools before implementing”. What’s difficult is that an equal need and request from teachers is “I need more time to practice what I’ve learned so I can begin implementation”.

So how do you balance your professional development to meet both the need to learn the tools and effectively integrate, but also give adequate and effective time to practice using the tools for implementation? I like to think of it in simple terms, such as building a house. When you first start building you want to see walls. You want the structure to take shape so you can begin visualizing your individual rooms. But that isn’t the first step. The fist step in the process is to lay the foundation. Without a strong and solid foundation your walls wouldn’t stand very long. In the Instructional Technology world, this is the primary training portion of professional development. As teachers we have a drive to put things into practice. It’s hard for us to sit through a training without being actively involved. We are constantly linking the information to relevant applications in our own classrooms. But without this necessary training, specifically on how to use these tools in the most impacting and effective way for our students, it’s hard to put this into practice with the desired results. That is not to say that teachers could not see a list of Instructional Technology tools and websites and create meaningful instruction from it without instruction. However, there is a learning curve to many tools where instruction on how to implement, or to phrase this better, how to enhance and change your instructional methods, can be the difference in seeing a positive outcome for your students or just a waste of time.

Once the foundation is set, once the ideas are sparked and the instructional strategies have been explained, then it’s time for effective practice. But what does this look like? Is this time for individual practice in your classroom to begin putting these tools together on your own? Is it time with your department or grade level to collaborate and begin building a plan of how these strategies and tools can be implemented to enhance your instruction? Is it guided work with the Instructional Technology Specialist available to guide and answer questions? I believe it’s a combination of all of these. Collaboration as a department or grade level is important. Teachers work best when they can bounce ideas off of each other. As a department, the conversations will be focused and relevant to their implementation. But they also need guided instruction. Even with the foundation set it’s vital to have the blueprints and tools available to refer to when needed. As you begin working with these tools you will inevitably have additional questions. “I want to do this, but how?” “Is there a way to use this tool to fit my need?” These questions along with guided instruction are vital to making the technology meet your instructional needs, and that is the most important aspect of a successful program.

I think there are 4 key steps to successful professional development for new initiatives:
1. Lay a solid foundation of your key elements through initial training. Focus on effective use of the strategies and tools. Assess your audience often to control pace.
2. Allow time for collaboration and discussion of the new strategies and tools. For some this may include a work phase to begin planning and designing. For others this may be simply a discussion to work out the details and plan for the next design phase.
3. Provide guided work sessions with experts available to answer questions and guide ideas towards effective and impacting implementation.
4. Provide ongoing support for staff after implementation. This support is more narrowly focused on individual and small group needs.

We all want to jump right in and get to work. Often though it takes a strong knowledge of the tools to make the effects lasting. Finding the balance point between the two for your staff can make all the difference in feeling supported and ready rather than frightened and hesitant!