In spite of tough economic times and government budget cuts, my school has seen an explosion in technology over the past year. I quickly went from feeling like a cavewoman communicating with my students through cryptic “cavedrawings” on a CHALKboard, to feeling like I was suddenly catapulted into the world of the future with the addition of a Smartboard. At first, I didn’t know whether to consider this piece of equipment a blessing or a curse. I felt lucky to have this technology, yet overwhelmed in knowing that it possessed numerous capabilities and that I lacked the knowledge to fully utilize them.

Luckily, our school media specialist and technology specialist recognized the fact that these items of technology were of no benefit unless the operator was well-trained in their use. These ladies also recognized the fact that they were just as uninformed as teachers about Smartboards. So, instead of developing training themselves, they chose to arrange training through our local RESA and UGA. The trainers that were sent were specialized in the teaching of technology use and provided our school with a highly qualified level of instruction. In creating a list of DO’s and DON’Ts for technology staff development, I would use this experience to begin my list.

DON’T feel that you have to develop the training yourself.
DO utilize or modify training resources that are already available.
In addition to your local RESA, many training resources are also provided with the purchase of technology products. For instance, our school recently purchased an electronic tutorial program called “Education City.” Our media specialist and technology specialist wisely took advantage of the training this program offered with purchase and scheduled a training session for all teachers. This training was of the “conference call” type with the Education City representative not physically present, but instead communicating through an internet phone call. On the Smartboard, participants could watch the rep manipulate the program and could ask questions if needed.


DON’T disrespect teachers’ time.
DO keep training as brief as possible.
DO create an agenda to keep the training going in a productive direction.
Our media and technology specialists have a busy schedule themselves and recognize teachers’ lack of planning time. The Education City training and two other trainings we’ve had at my school this year took only about 30 to 45 minutes. As a teacher, I appreciated the information that was delivered and the concise nature in which it was delivered. An outline/agenda was created to keep each meeting on pace and also served as a handy and brief reference sheet for future use.

DO email all handouts to teachers in digital format.
While many teachers do appreciate having a physical agenda, outline, or notes to refer to during training, they are often swamped with papers. Many now prefer to save a digital copy as opposed to paper. Be sure to offer both formats to participants.

DON’T forget about digital, self-paced modes of training.
While, I feel that my school does an adequate job with technology training, I do wish they would consider using more technology in their delivering methods. In going through the MEDT program, I have come to appreciate podcasts and digital documents as effective and convenient forms of instruction and information delivery. I believe that training presented in these manners could provide teachers with more flexibility in their schedules and constant access to training information. In presenting training for technology, I hope my school considers using some newer technologies.