Hold My Chalk

Where do you go when you need information?  Where do you seek out professional development resources?  Do you rely on what your district provides?  Or do you have other sources?  As many of you know, Twitter is a great resource for PD.  Having just completed the weekly #oklaed chat, it is fresh on my mind.   Why do we feel like it isn't professional development unless we pay thousands of dollars to have someone fly in and deliver a half day workshop, then skip town with no follow up? The best professional development is ongoing, so the very concept of the once and done method should be tossed out.  If it doesn't come with periodic review and refreshing of the concepts, how much benefit are we getting from it.   Many people, myself included, seek out growth through social media, YouTube, books, and conferences.  But these can have the same limitations as the once and done presenter.   In order to benefit from any profession...

This morning I wanted to share a quit tip for those struggling integrate technology into the classroom.  It is very basic and should be the mantra of tech in your classroom. Don't let the technology drive the lesson. What I mean is the technology should not be what drives your lesson.  The content should always shine above the tech.  The content should always be your primary focus during instruction.  What do you want the students to learn?  How will you know they have learned it? The tech tool should be as ubiquitous as textbooks, pencil and paper and should be thought of in that manner.  After you decide what you are going to teach, next you decide which tool would be will help you to best accomplish that. PIXNIO So what if you are told you need to integrate technology into the classroom and you haven't really done much of that in the past?  Maybe you have a class set of devices you have been told you are going to use in your room and you are feeling...