This brief article explains that effective professional development: (1) Involves teachers in the planning and selection, but balances the needs of individual educators with the needs of the campus and district; (2) Provides a practical, utilitarian component to all efforts; (3) Links educators to each other to create a larger learning community;…

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), formerly the Center for Instructional Design at Brigham Young University (BYU), partners with faculty to help improve teaching and learning. The CTL currently supports a broad range of faculty projects to maintain and improve on-campus instruction. It has more than 35 full-time employees and…

Discusses the introduction of technological innovations into schools, suggesting that rather than relying on authority-driven initiatives, leaders should initiate change by developing teachers' learning capacities, thus creating environments with widespread commitment. This ensures that the commitment to the initiative is sustained rather than…

A teacher has to keep going to school just to keep his or her job, so it pays to know the most interesting and convenient programs available. This article presents 11 professional development options that "work" for teachers' real-life schedules: (1) Best for Children's Literature: Penn State University; (2) Best for Science & Technology: PBS…

This workbook offers tips for staff development planners who train teachers about technology. The first six sections are "Getting Started with Competencies and Context,""Looking at Learner Needs,""Taking School Technology Inventory,""Outlining Parameters for Program Design,""Selecting Resources and…

Describes the series of training workshops and activities for the faculty of Austin Community College in computer based instruction. Reviews the topics addressed in the various programs and specifies the services that are available for the participants. Outlines future plans. (ML)

Discusses the role of educational technology in teachers' continuing education, examining models for continuing technology education (technology workshops, school-based technology teacher programs, and district technology support and resource centers). Also discusses issues confronting continuing technology education (hardware and software,…

Examines the experiences of three school districts that provide effective, district-wide staff development on teaching with technology, embracing three major concepts: delivering staff development in a variety of ways, having teachers teach teachers, and using technology-based lesson plans, instructional units, and other teaching tools (often…

The technology triage is a workable paradigm for straightforward school-site/school-district implementation of technology resources. Development of a triage system of participant involvement and in-service staff development can help address the tendency to ineffectively allocate funds within the total picture of the school commitment to…

Describes workshops given at Ferris State University for faculty and staff who want to acquire computer skills. Considered are a computer literacy and a software toolkit distributed to participants made from public domain/shareware resources. Stresses the benefits of shareware as an educational resource. (CW)

To use technology properly, education leaders must understand technology's application in data-driven decision making, how technology intersects with pedagogy, what technology can and cannot do, and how to assess the latest tools and their uses. Sidebars highlight standards for administrators, assessment tools for staff knowledge and school…

Offers suggestions and a model for implementing an inservice program for teachers on the instructional applications of microcomputers. Reviews the guiding principles of the model and identifies the conceptual understandings, technical skills, and application skills needed by educators for educational computing. (ML)

Examines equipment and training necessary to integrate computer databases into the elementary social studies classroom. Develops a basic plan for teaching about geographic regions that uses seven class sessions for computer database introduction. Finds teacher preparation is critical for student success. Concludes that students gained experience…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the professional development model of Teacher Institute for Curriculum Knowledge about Integration of Technology (TICKIT). This paper will situate the TICKIT model with past findings from professional development research, and provide researchers and practitioners facilitating future programs advice based…

Describes the HyperTeaching workshop series, developed to get teachers in one school district to use technology by showing them how to use it with their own curriculum. Teachers selected topics they felt could be enhanced using the Internet, developed activities that would require students to use the Internet, and learned how to use Microsoft's…