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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Professional Development Project-Technology

Deb Waters
Lancaster Catholic High School



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Professional Development Project
This Professional Development Plan for Lancaster Catholic High School has several
steps which will happen simultaneously and over the course of several months to meet
staff and teachers where they are in their comfort level with new technologies, (including
previous , desired and expected use of) challenge them to master and incorporate new
technologies and prepare them to be held accountable for their implementation of such
technologies in a timely fashion. As visionary leader of the institution the role of principal
is to look to the future and develop the plan for curriculum and delivery, while holding the
mission of the school centrally. In a Catholic school, we do this with a sense of excellence
and an eye toward the development of the whole person. Reading the signs of the times, as
the Church has traditionally done, we do this with an understanding that we live in a digital
world, and that our students know no other. In order to develop them to be intellectually
astute, passionately faithful and socially responsible as our mission states, we must include
in their development a knowledge for, a passion for and a responsibility toward the
technologies that they currently have, and prepare them to responsibly respond to that
which has yet to develop but which they will surely encounter. The role of principal is to
ensure that the school possesses the technology needed for the staff to use and instruct the
students and to develop technology skills the students need to be competitive in the
marketplace (Shipman, 2007).

Over the past year and a half our technology use in the building has greatly
increased with the forethought of generous donors and creative teachers. An iPad initiative
was launched, beginning with teachers who were willing and excited to use them in their
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classrooms and teaching. Several iPads were donated and staff members readily
volunteered to adapt their teaching styles to the use of classroom sets of iPads-some
available as travel sets, available by cart for classrooms, and some set up in tech
classrooms with AppleTVs. Innovative and creative teachers soon adopted this teaching
style and their students flourished in their use of apps for everything from math, YouTube,
and even Sacramental preparation for Confession! The next step of the process was to put
iPads into the hands of all of the teachers who saw the success of this new technology and
wanted to adopt it themselves. These teachers learned mostly through trial and error, and
through informal conversations with teachers who mostly self-taught adaptation of the
iPads in their classrooms. While exciting, it was rather an inefficient way to adopt this
technology. Over the spring and summer this initiative gained momentum and donors
generously helped us launch a One-to-One iPad initiative. This program, originally slated to
begin with the freshmen class, garnered much excitement from parents and benefactors,
and by mid-summer, money was procured to launch the initiative for all students. With
many teachers barely able to use their iPads, a series of professional development days
need to be developed.

At the same time, the need for use of a consistent Learning Management System
became apparent, as teachers were using several different platforms, such as BlackBoard,
Google, and Edmodo, various blog sites, the schools own website pages, and personal
pages for communication with students and parents, and for posting assignments, articles,
videos, study guides and for blogging. Frustrated students had several logins, various
levels of access to devices and internet service. Frustrated parents had paper report cards,
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various teacher sites, teachers who consistently communicated and posted syllabi,
assignments and content, and those that didnt. In an effort to streamline communication,
and accountability a Learning Management System is being implemented across the board.

Both of these initiatives are culminating in our school being used as the diocesan
pilot program for e-learning days-off campus learning days for students that can still be
counted toward the required 180 school days per year used in conjunction with teacher in-
service days or on days of inclement weather or emergency.

iPad Development:
This professional development session targets those teachers whose level of
knowledge of the iPads is beginner. These teachers may or may have used a smart device
or an Apple interface previously, but who need a basic introduction to navigation and use
of the devices. These teachers would be first time users, or users with only basic
knowledge, and little to no experience using the devices in the classroom. For many of
these teachers the use of touchscreens is a new concept, and the interface, speed of
connection and communication and ease of access to tremendous information can be
daunting. As an attempt to ease into the use of this new technology, this session would
begin with a fun but relevant video clip displaying a medieval help desk-a humorous look at
the changeover from scrolls to the use of books- a playful way to demonstrate the
changeover from traditional books to pads and tablets and the fears we have of change.
(See appendix)

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The rationale for this development is to acquaint teachers with the device and to
overcome the fear or apprehension of the use of them for personal organization,
communication, and of course classroom management and content.

The timeframe for these sessions would be late spring, so that by the start of the school
year, teachers would be comfortable with the use of the iPads. These sessions would be
informal introductory sessions lead by peer instructors-our own resident experts. These
sessions would be open to any staff member-teacher, administrator, or support staff who
are interested or who have been designated by their department head as needing to attend.
These sessions would be get acquainted sessions, consisting of basic navigation and use of
the iPads. These informal sessions would invite teachers to play, teach them tricks, and
introduce functions and capabilities of the devices. Through hands-on use of the devices,
users will learn to navigate their device, (swipe, adjust volume, access wi-fi, take pictures,
screenshots) access and download and or use basic apps (like calculators, reminders,
internet, email etc.). Designed to get teachers comfortable with the use of the iPad and
become proficient in basic skills, these should be fun sessions that teachers can play, ask
questions, and be introduced to some best practices, tips and tricks.

A second series of summer sessions would be available to intermediate users. These
are teachers who may already be proficient in the use of the iPad (through use of their own
iPad or iPhone) but who are now ready to move on to a next level use. Skills learned in this
session would be specific to school use of the iPads (how to sync personal and school
calendars, how to access and use AppleTV, best use of iMessaging for staff communication)
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and introduce learning or classroom management apps. These sessions would be lead by
experienced teachers who have previously experienced Apple training or who through
personal use in the classroom have learned and can pass on dos and donts. These sessions
would include several instructors who could present best practices, and then be available
to answer specific usage questions and troubleshoot individual problems. The timeframe
for these sessions would be late summer teacher in-service days and would take place in
afternoon sessions over days, affording users the opportunity to learn a skill, practice it,
and then continue to ask questions in order have support in their efforts.

The goals for these iPad development opportunities over the spring and summer
would be to familiarize teachers with the iPads so as to understand their use, be able to
implement it in a classroom setting, and be comfortable with instructing students to do the
same. Both of these series would utilize skills in differentiated learning, using
demonstration, hands on experimentation, concept presentation, and peer instruction. The
instructors for these sessions would be our own staff members who would be stipend to
provide peer mentoring and instruction.

Learning Management Development

The adoption of Canvas as a Learning Management System constitutes the
simultaneous professional development sessions. As beginner, and intermediate teachers
are familiarizing themselves with the use of iPads, over the spring and summer, the same
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resident experts who have already mastered these skills will be learning the next set of
skills.

Some basic assumptions:
At this point of the Professional Development plan, it is assumed that Administration
guided by the IT department, the Director of Technology and the Director of Staff
Development and in consultation with the Director of Facilities, have already vetted the
program, and made the decision to implement this particular LMS. This vetting would
include a study of the infrastructure of the building (access to wi-fi, broadband width,
server capabilities, software requirements and features etc. It is also assumed, that over
the previous 2-3 years, teachers have been gradually introduced to classroom management
software or platforms and have been required to implement them on a very basic level-i.e.
creating a teacher webpage with a biography, contact information, and posting basic
documents such as syllabi or exam study guides. It is also assumed that teachers are
already submitting electronic grades for their students and courses, and managing some
form of centralized electronic daily (not class) attendance using the current management
software. It is also assumed that teachers have been using these at varying degrees of
competency.

The following Professional Development Sessions would again take place in the
spring and summer so as to have faculty members adequately prepared to begin the school
year piloting the new software. This particular Learning Management System includes
access to professional training sessions via webinars. These sessions would be taking place
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after being introduced to the entire faculty. Informing the faculty that change will be taking
place over a period of the year will prepare them in advance with the knowledge that their
traditional way of doing things will soon be greatly improved by a new system. Again, a
humorous introduction to this change by way of a video trailer of sorts for the coming
attraction is provided by the Canvas designers, Instructure, by way of a mock celebration of
the status quo and remaining safe from innovation and would be used to introduce the
concept to teachers. (See appendix.)

The first professional development session would target those staff members who
will make-up the staff support team in the building. This would include academic
leadership- the principal, vice-principals for Studies, Student Affairs, and the Director of
Staff Development as well as those charged with assisting the technical capabilities- the IT
Department and Director of Technology. This session via webinar would assist the local
support staff in accessing support materials available from the software developer. This
support team would be instructed in the use of User Guides, and the ability to navigate and
subscribe to the various learning forums available from the developer in its Help Center.
They will be instructed in their own ability to troubleshoot, the development and use of
support tickets and the methods for escalating appropriate problems to the software
developers.

A subsequent Instructor Training webinar with this same team joined by early
adopters-those classroom instructors who have volunteered or been tapped to be the
initial users of the software, will take place. Essentially these attendees will eventually be
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the ones facilitating and enabling the general faculty population in implementing this
software. In this group of early adopters would also be the staff of Instructional Support-
those instructors of students with particular learning needs, so that they are readily
capable of assisting them early on. This group ideally would consist of one teacher from
each academic department who would be able to pilot the program in their own area, and
then be available to assist others in their department with information specific to their
field. The rationale here would be that eventually math teachers will interface differently
with the software in creation of formulas and graphs vs. laboratory work in the sciences for
example. This session would take place in the late winter/early spring so that early
adopters might be able to begin investigating the tasks needed. In this web session, this
team will be provided an overview of the fundamental functions, tasks, and navigation of
the LMS. They will be introduced to basic file sharing with in the program, grading, groups,
evaluations, and course design within the software.

The third level of professional development for this group would be a Course Design
Workshop provided by the developer via webinar. This session would take place early in
the summer. Attendees would be required to come prepared with a course syllabus for
something they are teaching (or have taught if they are no longer actively in the
classroom). These instructors would be taught how to build a course based on the needs of
their particular syllabus, creating individual and group assignments and posting content.
This would be a highly interactive session where attendees would practice assessing
student work creating rubrics based on standards and outcomes, test students, create or
import evaluations, quizzes and tests, assign weights and grades to assignments, do
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student peer reviews etc. This session would take place early in the summer. Attendees
would then be tasked with creating additional courses to continue learning the system and
best practices, tips and tricks. Working together this group would become proficient in the
use of the software. Ideally this group would be provided some incentive for being early
adopters of the program and for the added tasks they will have of aiding their colleagues in
the peer mentoring which will be necessary in the coming months. Extra incentives would
also be provided to these teachers for completing additional webinars provided by the
software developers, including instruction on how to transfer courses from any previously
used LMS.

Throughout the year, these teachers will be asked to use the LMS in their classes.
They will also be tasked with later training new teachers in the implementation of Canvas.
Their early adoption will become the testing ground for successes and failures to be
presented later to the faculty as means of best practices and errors not to be repeated.

A fourth level of professional development for this software implementation would
again be provided to the staff support team- the academic leadership, technology
department and directors etc. in consultation with those teachers acting as early adopters,
sometime in the middle of the school year to develop the strategies for training the
remaining teachers so that by the beginning of the following school year all teachers would
be using the same LMS for all of their courses. This support team would offer not web
based training, but rather in-house workshops, labs and assistance. They will be tasked
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with drafting a training plan and timeline that would best suit new learners whether in
their own departments or at large.

e-Learning Development

The third concentration for staff development in a late August session would be the
development of e-Learning Days. It is assumed that teachers were informed in the spring
that the following years calendar would consist of e-Learning days. E-Learning days were
developed for several reasons: to counteract the trend of severe weather and emergencies
affecting the days of the academic calendar, often extending the academic year, to provide
instruction days simultaneously with teacher in-service days, and to encourage student
initiative in independent learning projects. The visionary leadership of our school was the
first in the diocese to introduced these into the academic calendar and is now being
evaluated as a pilot program for the six other high schools.

It is imperative then, that two Professional Development opportunities be used to
instruct teachers on how to facilitate these days. The first session would be an introduction
to the concept, to include practical ideas for projects and assignments. Enlisting the
expertise again of teachers already using a learning platform to post assignments and
content or blogging or posting reflections and responses among students, a series of
practical ideas, complete with demonstration would be provided to the general faculty.
The facultys homework assignment after this development opportunity would then be to
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look ahead to the first e-Learning day in October, and consult their syllabus to determine
an appropriate assignment.

A second professional development opportunity would take place then either later
that week, or into September that would be a hands on/lab experience where help would
be offered to teachers for their specific questions in preparing their e-Learning project.
Teachers would come to the training prepared with content, rubrics, and assessment tools.
They would be given time to have their project assessed by their peers, and assistance in
posting necessary items on their teacher page etc. Troubleshooting, peer review and
critique would be offered so that every teacher might present a successful and appropriate
project. Ideally this would be done in small department groups. At the end of the session,
exemplary projects could be presented to the entire faculty as a way of demonstrating the
possibilities! Hopefully teachers would be using their most advanced level of technology to
present their e-Learning.




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References:

Shipman, N., & Queen, J. (2007). Transforming school leadership with ISLLC and ELCC.
Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.

What types of live training does Instructure offer to clients? (n.d.). Retrieved October 4,
2014.







Appendix:

Medieval helpdesk with English subtitles. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2014.

Where is the flamethrower commercial? (Video). (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2014.