FEEDING THE NEED.

 The rapid and constant change in technology is creating both opportunities and challenges for schools. It’s imperative that teachers learn how to use technology in today’s digital world. The caption below gives us a challenge which must be overcome if teachers are not to be left behind.

               Technology   won’t replace teachers...........

              .......but teachers who use technology will probably replace those who do not.

The professional development needs of my colleagues at Kitante Hill School include the following:

Ø  They need to learn how to use the basic technology applications such as Data base software, Spreadsheets, Interactive Whiteboard software, Content specific applications etc

Ø  Many of them lack personal technology devises such as laptops, iPads, smart phones, Desktops etc. This makes it difficult to start using technology if they have to go to the school computer laboratory which has only desktop computers.

Ø  They also do not know how to access relevant information and data from the web and also where it can be accessed.

Ø  Finally, they also have a need to easily access the computer lab at school especially for those colleagues who do not teach computer as a subject.

I would like to recommend the following to try and address these needs. Concerning basic technology applications, they should go for short term computer courses as well as utilising the computer teachers at school to help them practise what they learn. They should also have a positive attitude concerning technology integration as well as a commitment in terms of time. It takes time to learn how to search the web, where to look for information and how to retrieve or download it. I would also recommend buying of some basics such as personal laptops, smart phones, flash disks among others on a hire-purchase system if it’s not possible at one go. The school should also officially allocate time in the computer lab to teachers who handle other subjects other than Computer to enable them prepare, plan, organize, look for and download resources for their students.

SINCE I STARTED my journey of staff development, I can now say with confidence I no longer feel lost.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  By Lao Tzu.

                   

In the few miles that I have taken, I have developed a platform for accumulating and sharing professional development resources and ideas. Most important of all, I have learnt HOW and WHERE to access the resources that I need.

I have learnt how to collaborate in group discussions and wikis, joined social media networks like Twitter and Google Plus, how to download videos from YouTube and also to create my own videos, how to create Playlists, how to sort, organize and curate resources, how to create and populate Blogs and Wikis, make survey questionnaires etc

I have also learnt where to access useful resources eg YouTube Videos, Educational Blogs such as The Innovative Educator.com, Educational Wikis such as EduTechWiki . Education Organisation Sites such Edutopia, people resources like Ben Johnson at johnsoneducationgroupinc,com.

All in all I feel I have taken off in my journey of professional development and I am keenly awaiting the next stage.

REFLECTIONS - TRAWLING THE NET.
                              Tell me, and I forget
                              Teach me and I remember
                              Involve me, and I learn.
                                        by Benjamin Franklin.

I feel confident as a result of all that I have been involved in as an individual seeking professional development. This has resulted from all the numerous Blogs, Wikis and Organisational websites that I have discovered and accessed and curated. They provide a rich resource that is regularly updated and I am sure will enable me to grow professionally.

As my participation in the course through group discussions progresses, my personal learning network (PLN) is also growing. This is especially where my professional development goal of integrating technology in the learning environment is concerned. I can now review and access other peoples resources on the web to keep up to date in that area of professional development.

The skills of searching, sorting organizing and curating resources to increase my PLN has enabled me to complete the tasks of this lesson easily and confidently since I know where and how to access the information that I need.

I have come to realize that collaboration within a research group through discussions and creating and populating wiki's greatly increases our ideas, knowledge, and gathering of resources in specific areas and makes the work /course move faster.However, there are also disadvantages of collaboration involved when group members do not move at the same pace or do not all contribute.It slows down the whole group and disorganizes the sharing.Nevertheless, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

REFLECTIONS - CONTENT CURATOR

• To be a Content Curator is better as opposed to being a Content consumer because it enables one to organize the vast information gathered from the web into different categories so that it can easily be retrieved when needed. Little time is wasted and spent on retrieving relevant or connected information in the same area. It also keeps you up to date in your professional development because you constantly gather,sort and categorize information related to your particular field.
• Although I may be ready to play this role,  I am still not very confident about it. Initially, I will probably be more of a content consumer and gradually become a content curator as my library keeps on growing.
• I will benefit from organising and sharing resources in that it will help my Personal Learning Network (PLN) to grow rapidly.This will also be partly because , I will be able to access resources others have already organised. I will also increase in depth of knowledge in specific areas by utilizing tags of related key words.
•  I would like to recommend it to new users of technology so that all the useful information on the web that they find can be immediately sorted, organised and tagged in specific themes so that it is easily retrieved when needed. 

Playlist Two

Playlist one

SMART WORKER

REFLECTIONS : SMART WORKER

             I feel am becoming a Smarter Worker as time goes by because:

        -           I am beginning to share and learn with and from others on the Social media through group discussions, tweets and blogs. I now have a wider network of friends.

        -          Social media will also help me to keep in touch or up to date with what is happening in my profession, keep on learning to increase my competence, skills and expand my Professional Learning Network.

          

                      The next steps I need to take to achieve my professional learning goal is to spend more        time on the social media in order to become more proficient in navigating my way around the net.                 It will help to look for more relevant sites and join discussions and tweets etc that are more in line with my professional goals

Zakayo is contemplating  on how to keep up to date on  social media!!!!

Reflections on Technlogy and Professional development

I have learnt that in order to improve my professional status I must be and do the following:

• Be committed to the course by creating prime time to work on my asssignments.Jane Harts recommendation of Hands on  is very true.Its a practical skill which can only be learned through practice and application.

• Share more and collaborate with the other group members for they have made the course more intresting. Since we seem to be at different levels of competencies we have been able to help each other.Our group leader Margaret has been of great help for the Kitante subgroup.

The result of this is that I have gained more incentive to explore using ICT. My intrest has been more awakened and Iam eager to learn more and more. However am still sure we shall continue to experience some contraints we discussed in the factors influencing progress with technology. However, where there is a will there is always a way!.

My proffessional Goal is to become more skilled in the use of ICT for better Intergration and effectiveness in my teaching. As a Geography teacher it will make my lessons richer in that I will have a wider range of resources and tools to make learning more interesting and informative.  It will also be possible to enrich the learners groups to gain more information when I know how to guide them and whereto access it from the internet.

Finally,since technology seems to be advancing at very fast speed, as teachers we need to blaze the trail ahead of our inquisitive learners lest they by pass us and we be rendered dyfunctional and outdated. Imagine a scenario where the learners seem to be better than their instructors !!!!  Cheerio.