Blog Post #12: Learning Specialist Proposal Reflection #1

 



Learning Specialist Proposal Reflection 


image source: pgnitem.com

Technology Proposal

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been assessing my school district's needs in the area of technology. After brainstorming and speaking to administration, I decided to implement professional development on how to use the technology that we already have. Our school is a fast-paced environment and collaboration among teachers can rare during busy days and weeks. My idea was to present short, engaging lessons once a month at our Monday teacher meetings, as well as one presentation during our Wednesday staff meeting. 

The Process

The process so far has been pretty smooth. My administration encourages teachers and staff to give professional development whenever possible. My idea was welcome and administration made time for me to discuss the idea with them. So far, I have discovered that there is support for my idea and that I would like to present professional development to the staff. The only challenge I have faced so far is deciding on the content of the professional development sessions. I still need to decide what topics to cover, but I plan on crating a survey this week to distribute to staff in order to determine that information. Some of the topics I have considered for teacher meetings is assistive technology, how to build professional learning networks on social media, and reviewing technology standards and how to implement the into lessons. For our overall staff meeting, I was thinking about focusing on technology standards and assistive technology (how to use the technology we already have to meet student needs and IEP accommodations).

I am still excited to work on this project for my school district. I think it is much needed, so the project is authentic and will hopefully help staff and other teachers. The most positive aspect of the journey has been to collaborate with administration and staff members. As stated before, we have limited time to meet together and discuss our needs and tips. This professional development will provide some more space and time for us to learn something new. 

I am excited to become a technology leader. It is important for schools to not only have access to technology, but the knowledge on how to use it. With what we have learned so far, I am excited to present this learning in a way that will encourage active learning and research from staff members. I want to make sure that the information I present can be discusses and used at our school. I also want to make sure to include the ideas of others and to truly promote conversation among teachers and staff. Learning more about the technology we have and how to use it will increase accessibility of the curriculum for students, as well as make it more engaging and creative.

Next Steps

My next steps are to create a survey to distribute to staff to determine needs and topics that should be addressed. I am hoping to send this survey out later this week and get some results back after the Thanksgiving break. After that, I will break down the comments of staff and determine what should be covered in the one longer session (Wednesday staff meeting) and the monthly Monday mini-sessions (teacher meetings). I will show these results to my administration in order to discuss any other needs or next steps. I'm excited to keep working on this project and see where it leads me and my school district. It is a unique opportunity to step into a leadership role, and I'm appreciating the experience it is providing me.


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