Professional Development

The growth I have experienced in my professional development when it comes to technology has been exceptional. Using technology in today's time is a great resource for everyone including teachers. Social media is one of those tools that may get overlooked. I know I did not realize the advantages twitter gives to educators when it comes to professional development. When I started using twitter to help with growing me as a teacher I was able to learn of apps that can be used within the classroom for assessments. By using these apps students were able to engage in learning with technology and I as the teacher could instantly see what areas may need to be recovered. The use of twitter also made me aware of the advantages and limitations of current technologies. The advantages were that students need to be presented ways to engage in lessons, technology, and social media provides that for them. Having a class discussion or assignment can be done through twitter or many other uses in technology to better engage students in their learning environment. The limitations were that not all schools or students may have the assess provided in order to use emerging technologies. To combat this limitation finding ways to use computer labs or laptops within the classroom is a resource. As I have stated twitter has provided many ways in helping to identify and evaluate the technology. It provided a resource to help see the advantages of emerging technologies. Most importantly for me, it provides a great professional resource to grow and learn in my teaching field from so many on twitter. These resources provide activities for better engagement, integrating technology, and also backing things with the latest research available. With this tool, I will be able to get professional development whenever I want to assess it. Having that for quick and easy access is so important in the growth of great education.       
 

Standards

1. Ability to identify and evaluate technology resources and technical assistance (i.e., those available on-line and on-site within a school and district setting).
2. Ability to assess the advantages and limitations of current and emerging technologies, on-line resources and software to facilitate teaching and student learning.
3. Ability to engage in professional growth and leadership activities, including modeling lifelong learning by participating in face to face and online learning communities to continuously improve professional practice using existing and emerging digital tools, resources, and current research that focuses on improved student learning, as well as promotes professional development of other educators.