Staff Development Plan

 

Introduction

 

This program is designed with Tri Unity Christian High School in mind.  Tri Unity has nine high school teachers.  One of them is the computer teacher who is already very skilled with word processing, spreadsheet, database, Internet research and telecommunications.  The other teachers have not received any formal training with technology, but have acquired some skills on their own.  There is one computer lab at Tri Unity with 20 PCs.  There are other computers (approx. 5) in various offices in the building that are available at different times for the teachers to use.  There are no computers in the classrooms.  Unfortunately, the computer lab is in use throughout the day for computer classes and therefore is not available to the teachers to use with their students.  Obviously, this presents a serious barrier to teachers to become proficient with the technology.  It is also a barrier for them to integrate technology into the curriculum.  The school has Internet access and e-mail.

 

Many Christian schools believe that after the computer lab is established, the next step is to put a computer on every teacher’s desk.  Rather, my recommendation would be to establish a smaller second computer lab with 6 computers.  This lab would always be available for teachers and their students to work in.  Since class sizes are traditionally less than 20 students, this would mean the lab would have approximately a 3 to 1 ratio of students to computers.  In addition, I would recommend that 3-4 mobile technology carts be assembled.  The carts would have a computer, monitor, large-screen television, and a television scanner converter that allows projection of the computer screen on the TV.  These would be available for teachers to sign out and use in their classrooms for instructional purposes.  Obviously, this type of system would require that all of the classrooms be wired to allow for Internet access.  It also requires a lot of cooperation between staff members to provide an equitable use of the technology.  But teachers would have the opportunity to use the technology regularly.  This would allow them to become more proficient.

 

Funding is another strong barrier to technology development in the Christian schools.  Most often these schools rely on monetary or equipment donations, special offerings, or fundraisers to make large acquisitions such as this.  Since there are often no more than 2 buildings in the system, the schools are very reluctant to hire a technical support staff person.  Technical support is usually provided by a volunteer from the extended school community.  If the volunteer is not a computer technology professional, system configurations may not be as efficient as they could be.  Also, the schools may be spending more money than they would have to because of mistakes in judgment regarding equipment or software purchases.  I believe a more efficient way for Christian schools to ensure good technical support would be for 2 or 3 school systems to collaborate with one another and contract with a technical support person to provide service.  This person could also serve as a trainer for staff development sessions and follow-up support for staff members.  In addition, staff development sessions could be conducted jointly, allowing for extended collaboration between the groups and sharing of the expense.

 

Motivation

 

A strong characteristic among Christian teachers is their desire to provide the very best education to their students that they can.  Because of this, they will go to great lengths to improve their skills without enticement being offered.  They have already committed themselves to a job that pays significantly less than their public school counterparts.  Awareness of the educational opportunities available through technology use would certainly generate interest and excitement for learning in Christian teachers.  This could be accomplished through demonstrations presented at staff meetings.  Many Christian schools have an affiliation with the Association of Christian Schools International, which offers accreditation for the school and certification for teaching.  Another incentive to participate in the technology program could be credit offered through ACSI toward a certificate award for technology.

 

Train-the-trainer:  For the first year of staff development, I recommend that two staff members be chosen to attend workshops to become skilled in technology use, curriculum integration, inquiry-based learning, and performance-based assessment.  They must be able to commit to at least a two-year involvement as a trainer.  The trainers will become responsible to facilitate workshops and become mentors for other teachers.  Trainers will be compensated for the workshops they teach.  In addition, once during each year, a cross-curricular project will be planned in which a team of 3-4 teachers will develop a student technology project with a trainer serving as a member of the team. The project will be inquiry-based and the development team will create a performance-based assessment rubric for evaluating the project.  During the second year, trainers will each select another staff person to work closely with and train as a trainer.  Since the computer teacher is already skilled in the word processing, spreadsheet, and database software, I recommend him as a candidate for a first year trainer.

 

Technology staff development committee:  A committee will be formed for technology staff development including the technical support person, the trainers, and the administrator.  The committee will be responsible to design, organize, and establish a schedule for all staff development sessions.  They will create a website resource list teachers will be given at orientation in the fall.  They will update the list at the beginning of the second semester.  They will also be responsible for the technology development budget and funding plan proposals to be given to the school board.  In addition, they will responsible to review software and make purchasing recommendations to the school board.

 

Needs identified by the needs assessment

 

         Greatest needs -         Internet & telecommunications

                                    Multimedia presentations

                                    Digital cameras

                                    Legal & ethical issues

                                    Technology integration

                                    Publishing

                                    Web page construction

                                    Spreadsheet

                                    Databases

                                    Graphics

                                   

         Lesser needs -           Word processing

                                    Internet research

                                    Problem-solving

 

         Other needs -            Windows applications

                                    Basic troubleshooting

 

Available software:  Tri Unity uses Microsoft Office 2000:  including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher.  They have email and Internet access.

 

 

First Year Plan

 

When teachers return in the fall for orientation, 2 days will be dedicated to staff development for educational technology.  Seven ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  Every one will attend Session I on the Internet & telecommunications.  Teachers will have the option of choosing 3 other workshops to attend during Sessions II, III, and IV.  

 

A winter in-service day will be dedicated to technology development, also.  Four ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  Teachers will have the opportunity to select which two workshops they will attend.

 

 

Workshops	Facilitator(s)	Schedule	Outcomes
Internet & tele-communications	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session I	◦Instructional uses for Internet and tele-communications ◦Connect to the Internet ◦Establish an email account in AOL@SCHOOL with password protection ◦Create an address book with TU teachers’ email addresses ◦Compose, send, retrieve, read, respond, forward, save, print, and delete an email message ◦Create and use group addresses ◦Upload a text file and send it as an attachment to an email message ◦Download an attached file  ◦Carry on a conversation in the AOL@SCHOOL chat room with other TU teachers ◦Post a message on the bulletin board in AOL@SCHOOL ◦Download a file from the Internet and save it to a 3 ½ “ floppy disk ◦Visit and explore the ACSI website ◦Visit other websites with resources, lesson plans, and bulletin boards for teachers ◦District rules for email use   ◦Teachers will copy a lesson plan idea from one of the websites and paste it in an email message and send it to the administrator
Digital camera	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session III	◦Instructional uses for digital cameras ◦Camera basics      ▫Features      ▫Power supplies      ▫Handling      ▫Turning on & off      ▫Proper shutter release ◦Taking photos ◦Deleting photos ◦Displaying photos      ▫LCD monitor      ▫Television monitor      ▫Slide-show mode ◦Downloading photos to the computer ◦Editing photos with PhotoDeluxe      ▫Resizing      ▫File types ◦Storing photos      ▫Creating folders      ▫Renaming photos ◦Publishing photos      ▫Inserting in documents      ▫Printing      ▫Inserting in email   ◦Teachers will take photos, store 3 images in their own folder, and email a photo to the administrator and the technical support person
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Introduction to PowerPoint	Computer teacher	Fall orientation Session II	◦Instructional uses of PowerPoint ◦PowerPoint toolbars ◦Constructing a title slide ◦Constructing additional slides ◦Texts and graphics ◦Editing ◦Setting up the slideshow ◦Additional features ◦Producing your own slideshow presentation   ◦Teachers will produce a six-slide PowerPoint presentation
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Introduction to spreadsheet	Computer teacher	Fall orientation Session III	◦Instructional uses of spreadsheets ◦View the Excel window ◦Rows, columns, and cells ◦Types of data ◦Entering data ◦Entering numbers ◦Entering and editing formulas ◦Entering text:  fonts, styles, alignment ◦Text cell formats ◦Numeric cell formats ◦Adding borders ◦Creating simple charts   ◦Teachers will create a simple grade book spreadsheet including student names, student numbers, four grade columns, grade average, high grade, and low grade.
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Electronic and Internet research	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session II	◦Electronic encyclopedias and library software ◦Logical search strategies ◦Instructional uses for Internet ◦Search engines ◦Boolean searches ◦Online tutorials and learning resources ◦Educational websites ◦Copyright ◦legal and illegal uses ◦Components of Acceptable use policy ◦Internet scavenger hunt   Teachers will develop their own Internet scavenger hunt using Filamentality
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Windows applications	Computer teacher	Fall orientation Session IV	◦Start up and shut down computer and peripherals ◦Use icons, windows, and menus ◦Create a document ◦Name, save, retrieve, edit, and print the document ◦Initialize, name, and rename a floppy disk ◦Copy a document from the hard drive to a floppy disk and vice versa ◦Create, name, and rename a subdirectory and a folder ◦Open and work with more than one application at a time
Basic troubleshooting	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session IV	◦Setup computer system and connect to peripheral devices ◦Install and update system software and printer drivers ◦Care for floppy disks ◦Clean computer components and printer ◦Change the ink cartridge in the printer ◦Make backup copies of key applications and documents

 

*Each workshop will provide a handout the teacher can take with them when they leave and refer back to when needed.

 

 

Second Year Plan

 

When teachers return in the fall for orientation, 1½ days will be dedicated to staff development for educational technology.  Nine ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  In addition to 7 new workshops, teachers will have the opportunity to decide which 2 workshops from a list of optional workshops** will be offered.

 

A winter in-service day will be dedicated to technology development, also.  Six ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  Teachers will have the opportunity to select which two workshops they will attend.

 

**Fall options: Introduction to PowerPoint

                           Introduction to spreadsheet

                           Digital cameras

                           Basic troubleshooting

Internet research

 

Workshop	Facilitator(s)	Schedule	Outcomes
Publishing I	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session I	◦View the Publisher window ◦Publisher toolbars ◦Templates ◦Replace frame text ◦Formatting text ◦Resizing and moving frames ◦Image file formats ◦Inserting graphics ◦Previewing a publication ◦Printing a publication   ◦Teachers will create a classroom newsletter for parents describing what students will be doing in their class
	Technical support person	Winter in-service Session I
Web page construction	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session II	◦Preview examples of classroom web pages ◦Create a folder for web files ◦Open Netscape Communicator and open a blank page ◦Name and save it as “index.html” ◦Choosing a background ◦Adding text ◦Inserting images from clip art, files, Internet ◦Inserting tables ◦Hiding tables ◦Previewing your page ◦FTP ◦Publishing your page   ◦Teachers will construct a simple website for their classroom
	Technical support person	Winter in-service Session II
Databases I	Trainer	Fall orientation Session I	◦Demonstrate a class database and how to use it to produce personalized letters home, mailing labels, grade reports ◦Open an existing database ◦View the database window ◦Find and sort records ◦Create a database document ◦Define fields with type:  serial number, text, number ◦Set options:  serial number, text, number ◦Enter data ◦Edit records ◦Preview and print the database   ◦Teachers will create a class database:  including student name, parent or guardian name, address, phone number, student number
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session I
Graphics I	Trainer	Fall orientation Session II	◦Preview samples of flyers, newsletters, instructional materials ◦Open a graphic document ◦Sources of Clip Art Graphics ◦Image file formats ◦Insert graphics into a document ◦Selecting graphics in the draw program ◦Resize objects ◦Move objects around ◦Shapes ◦Transparent, solid colors, adding patterns, and filling with gradients ◦Working with lines:  width, color, patterns, arrows ◦Working with text frames ◦Basic formatting:  fonts, color, alignment ◦Zooming in for detail work ◦Rotating, flipping, and scaling objects   ◦Teachers will create an instructional handout for one of their classes
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Problem-solving With WebQuest	Trainer	Fall orientation Session I	◦Introduction to WebQuest ◦Preview of sample WebQuests ◦Introduction ◦Task ◦Process ◦Resources ◦Evaluation ◦Conclusion   ◦Teachers will develop a problem-solving exercise using WebQuest
PowerPoint II	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session III	◦Planning a nonlinear presentation ◦Aligning, grouping, and stacking objects ◦Customize color ◦Formatting text ◦Sound ◦Video clips ◦Bulleted lists ◦Hyperlinks ◦Tables ◦Transitions ◦Notes   ◦Teachers will create a 10-slide, nonlinear slideshow with transitions, and special effects
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session I
Spreadsheet II	Trainer	Fall orientation Session III	◦Preview ◦Row height ◦Column width ◦Split screens ◦Relative and absolute cell references ◦Insert and delete rows and columns ◦Apply colors and patterns ◦Printing techniques ◦Lock Titles ◦Print range ◦Creating charts ◦Editing charts ◦Exporting   ◦Teachers will create a spreadsheet to manage a classroom project
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II
Optional *	Trainer	Fall orientation Session II
Optional *	Trainer	Fall orientation Session III

 

*Each workshop will provide a handout the teacher can take with them when they leave and refer back to when needed.

 

 

 

Third Year Plan

 

When teachers return in the fall for orientation, 1 day will be dedicated to staff development for educational technology.  Six ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  Teachers will choose four workshops to attend.  In addition to 3 new workshops, teachers will have the opportunity to decide which 3 workshops from a list of optional workshops** will be offered.

 

A winter in-service day will be dedicated to technology development, also.  Six ½ day (3-hour) workshops will be offered.  Teachers will have the opportunity to select which two workshops they will attend.

 

**Fall and winter options:      Publishing I

         Web page construction I

         Databases I

         Graphics I

         Problem-solving

         PowerPoint II

         Spreadsheet II

         Digital Camera

         PowerPoint I

         Spreadsheet I

         Basic troubleshooting

                                            

Workshop	Facilitator(s)	Schedule	Outcomes
Web page construction II	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session I	◦Basic HTML commands ◦View the file manager of a multiple page website ◦View the html coding of an existing web page ◦Plan content for web pages ◦Plan a style and color ◦Create a page and name it “index.html” ◦Font sizes ◦creating internal and external hyperlinks ◦Keep it simple     ◦Teachers will create a 2-page website that links from the homepage to other page and other sites
	Technical support person	Winter in-service Session I
Publishing II	Technical support person	Fall orientation Session II	◦Creating publications from a blank page ◦Columns ◦Clip art ◦Tables ◦Word Art ◦Captions ◦Quick tips     ◦Teachers will create a classroom calendar with assignments and special events
	Technical support person	Winter in-service Session II
Graphics II	Trainer	Fall orientation Session I	◦Create graphics using Painting and Draw tools ◦Layering objects ◦Creating custom gradients and fills ◦Using the eyedropper ◦Using text rulers in the draw application ◦Aligning objects ◦Reshaping objects ◦Importing objects ◦Scanners   Teachers will create a sign for their classroom
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session I
Optional	Trainer	Fall orientation Session II
	Trainer	Winter  in-service Session II
Optional	Trainer	Fall orientation Session I
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session I
Optional	Trainer	Fall orientation Session II
	Trainer	Winter in-service Session II

 

*Each workshop will provide a handout the teacher can take with them when they leave and refer back to when needed.

 

 

Follow-up and support

 

Administrative commitment:  The administrator will demonstrate his support and commitment to staff development in educational technology by attending workshops with staff members, encouraging teachers to collaborate with one another, and allowing teachers time for collaboration.  One way this can be accomplished is by scheduling a staff meeting in the larger computer lab and allowing staff members time to show-and-tell what they have been doing with technology in their curriculum.  He will also serve as a resource person to staff.

 

Substitute teachers:  Twice a month, for eight months, a substitute teacher will be employed to relieve one of the trainers from their classroom.  The trainer will then work one-on-one with staff members for one class period, helping the staff member with whatever technology concern they have.

 

Technology previews:  At least once a month, a technology application will be highlighted at a staff meeting.  Initially, trainers will be responsible for the preview.  The preview should demonstrate integration of the technology into the curriculum and not be a preview of the technology for technology’s sake.  Other staff members will be encouraged to take the leadership role in presenting a preview during the course of the school year, as well.

 

Model technology classrooms:  Initially, trainers’ classrooms will be known as model technology classrooms.  Other teachers will be invited to observe trainers, and become active participants, as trainers model technology integration in the curriculum, inquiry-based learning, and performance-based assessment with their students.  Teachers will be expected to schedule a visit to model classrooms at least once a month during their planning period.  As other teachers develop expertise with different applications of technology, their classrooms will become model classrooms for that application.

 

Student aids:  Students are trained during computer classes in Microsoft Office 2000, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access.  They are also trained to use the Internet for researching.  Students are given credit and act as teacher aids to assist teachers with grading, or whatever.  I recommend students who are proficient in their computer skills be given credit for being computer aids.  Their job would be to assist teachers when they are using the computer lab with their students, or when they need technical help in designing a curricular product. 

 

Online teacher support:  Teachers should have access to their email accounts from home.  They will be encouraged to communicate with each other using email.  They can share ideas and offer help to one another from the school building or from home.  ACSI told me they plan to establish a bulletin board on their website to allow teachers from affiliate schools to collaborate with one another.  Teachers will be encouraged to use the bulletin board.  Hopefully other tools will be available on the ACSI website, as well, such as chat rooms or best practices. 

 

Other online resources:  Teachers will be given a list of websites dedicated to classroom support activities, technology integration tips, and online professional development.  They will be encouraged to share helpful websites they have found with each other at staff meetings.

 

 

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