ED 587

Group Project – Professional Development Plan

Ashley Miller

Jenn Mowry

Charissa Piccotti-Fanny

Matthew Willey
INTRODUCTION

Our group has chosen two professional development plans that we feel would benefit teachers

and staff by providing details regarding the uses and features within Google Drive, and how to

use the concept of a Flipped Classroom. In both presentations, our goals and rationale in the

development of each are the same: to develop 21st century workplace skills (critical thinking,

communication, collaboration), streamlining daily teaching processes, and increasing

opportunities for students to develop such skills. The concept of the Flipped Classroom and the

Google tools provided give teachers the opportunity to personalize resources for the students,

offer digital feedback, and allow students to take ownership of their learning.

FIRST TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFERING

Digging Into Google Drive

Professional Development Goal:

To increase knowledge of the use of the Google Suite of products in a professional and/or

educational fashion.

Alignment to Standards NETS-T or NETS-A:

NETS-T Standards:

2a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to

promote student learning and creativity

3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new

technologies and situations

3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and

resource

3c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using

a variety of digital age media and formats

3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze,

evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology,

including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of

sources

5a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of

technology to improve student learning

Target Audience:

All administrative, professional, and support staff who have access to a Google account

Professional Development Activities:

Virtual Preparation

Participants will view the Google Slides Presentation entitled “Digging Into Google Drive.”

This presentation will lead you through detailed information about G Suite for Education,

focusing on Google Drive.

Face-to-Face Session(s):

Participants will be actively engaged in a facilitated work session. The goal of the session is to

create a learning activity that complements an existing lesson plan, using one or more of the

Google Apps explored in the presentation, specifically Doc, Sheets, Slides or Forms. Participants

will be encouraged to collaborate via demonstrations of the collaborative features of Google

Drive. They may also seek assistance with tasks such as organizing and/or transferring files

within Google Drive. Instructors for the professional development will be available for

assistance or to answer questions, however the goal is collaborative learning. Participants are

encouraged to work together on-site as well as share between each other via Google Apps in

order to facilitate online collaboration.

Social Learning:

After the face-to-face meeting, participants will be encouraged to continue their personal

development by utilizing the learned technologies. Every attendee will be asked to save a

finished product from the professional development into a shared Google Drive folder. These

products should be aligned with district objectives/goals in order to facilitate the sharing of

useful/meaningful resources. A Google Forms survey will be shared as a concluding activity to

evaluate the effectiveness of the training and to share ideas of ways to improve the training for

future reference. All in attendance will also be added to a Google Hangout group to allow for

ongoing questions, discussions and sharing of resources.

SECOND TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFERING:

Flipping the Music Class

Professional Development Goal:

To increase use of technology and enhance blended learning in the music classroom and

rehearsal.

Alignment to Standards NETS-T or NETS-A:

NETS-T Standards:

2a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to

promote student learning and creativity

3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new

technologies and situations

3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and

resource

3c. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using

a variety of digital age media and formats

3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze,

evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology,

including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of

sources

5a. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of

technology to improve student learning

Target Audience:

District wide K-12 music teachers and ensemble (band and chorus) directors.

Professional Development Activities:

Virtual Preparation:

The PowerPoint Presentation will be shared with all teachers in the music department prior to the

face to face meeting. Teachers will view the slides leading them through the concepts of a

flipped classroom approach and how it can be adapted the music class or rehearsal.

Face-to-Face Session(s):

Teachers will work in grade-level, subject specific groups, in a guided work session. Teachers

will develop a plan for a flipped lesson using one of the resources provided in the PowerPoint

presentation. The presenter/instructor will be available for guidance and direction during this

session, to assist as needed.

Social Learning:

In continued discussion, teachers will share technology resources they are using and have

discovered, as it applies to the music curriculum. This will take place over the course of the

school year, through group text and emails which have already been established.
CONCLUSION

This project presented an opportunity for our team to learn more about what it takes to plan a

professional development opportunity. As teachers, it is easy to take for granted all of the time

and dedication that it takes to make professional development activities come together. This

activity really brought to light how much work really goes into planning and developing an

activity. It is difficult to find a topic that is relevant, but manageable, to introduce/teach in a

short amount of time. However, the flipped format really helps alleviate some of this stress. By

front loading the learning portion prior to the actual meeting, the professional development

meeting time provides an opportunity to help people where they are and as such is more

meaningful. Many times, we only “need” about half of what any given presenter is sharing. By

using this flipped concept, learners are better able to focus on the parts of the training that they

find most pertinent, and dive deeper into those areas during the face-to-face component.

As in any project, one of the most difficult aspects is time. Since we are all separated

geographically, we weren’t able to simply “get together” to work on this as a group. By utilizing

the Google Drive applications, we were able to collaborate and offer our individual insights into

the project. It worked well since all members were able to do their part on their own schedule.

Some of us had more time at night, and others seemed to do more work in the morning. We all

contributed, both in ideas and production, to the final product equally. While not the most ideal

way to work on a project, we imagine that we will begin seeing more of this in the future as

online education becomes more and more prevalent.