Feeding The Need

It was interesting to the survey the teachers concerning their professional development with technology and getting to know their ICT needs. Results revealed that out of the 25 teachers we surveyed with my colleagues the following where their needs for a successful Professional development.

They cited luck of;

1. Funds to go for training in Professional development with technology.

2. Technology integration in the curriculum.

3.Adequate computers and access to internet.

4. Core technology competencies and computer skills and not aware of the existing technologies and their use in the professional development.

5.  Sufficient Time to prepare technology based instructional materials.

I will address my recommendations to three parties that I feel are a hinge  of professional

development plan with technology in a school setting to help solve the above needs.

·         Administrators

·         The Technology Planning committee

·          The Teacher.

To The Administrators

·         Ensure that the technology plan includes professional development as a major       component.

·     Pursue strategies for obtaining and sustaining funding to provide the necessary technology, professional development, technical support, equipment upgrades, and equipment maintenance to achieve educational goals.

·         Use a variety of incentives and requirements to motivate teachers to participate in professional development activities designed to help them integrate technology into their classrooms. Offer technology for classroom or personal use as an incentive to participation.

·         Demonstrate support for and leadership of ongoing inquiry-driven professional development for technology use.

·         Address any problems that arise with new uses of technology in the classroom quickly and efficiently.

·         Recognize teacher successes with technology. Share these stories with the school and the community. Encourage teachers to share their successes with colleagues at conferences.

To The Technology planning committee.

·         Focus on building a knowledge base about teaching and learning with technology to ensure that technology planning, decision making, and professional development are based on research.

·          Ensure that the educational goals for technology are aligned with school or government goals for student learning and that professional development supports those goals.

·         Recommend the purchase of specific technologies to achieve the identified learning goals.

·         Continue identifying professional development resources and opportunities relating to technology use for school staff.

·         Clearly specify the intended outcomes of the technology professional development. Develop a plan for evaluating the success of professional development activities using various assessment tools and strategies.

To The Teacher.

·         Seek to know from colleagues that have gained some knowledge about ICT like those that have been trained by  CCTI Online .org.

·         Develop an individual professional development plan that provides for acquisition of technology skills and integration of technology into classroom projects.

·         Visit other schools and classrooms to see how technology has been integrated effectively into the curriculum. Or virtually visit classrooms by viewing CD-ROMs, videotapes of technology use in schools, or Internet sites relating to technology integration in content areas.

·         Join social Media’s networks like Twitter, Facebook and develop a PLN, to become part of a community of teachers. Form peer groups across schools, and join subject-matter networks and collaborative to communicate about technology.

·         Sacrifice time and money for technology.

MY JOUNERY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY

My Journey has been filled with a lot of achievements towards my professional development and I am confident to say that I am not the same teacher I used to be before I started undergoing professional development with ICT driven by CCTI Online.  

I have been able to know the benefits of technology integration in the curriculum, its challenges and through what I have gained I have learnt how best I can use technology to enhance learning and also how to help my colleagues to move in the same path. The positive impact of collaboration with colleagues has helped me learnt a lot of new things. Imagine in the short time of being trained I now have a personal YouTube channel and I am aware of how useful YouTube is to my professional development. I have also been able to connect with useful people that can help me professionally and my PLN is growing through twitter, Google+ which is bright ray that shows the direction of where I am going.

The curator site /blog is another achievement that I am proud of. Now I can curate important useful resources for others to consume.

With this I feel I have got some strategies that can help deal with the challenges facing professional development with technology. And the victory over these challenges is make a step towards professional development with ICT, you may never step back , you will gain the courage to move on because  Professional development with technology is not an event but a process.

TRAWLING THE NET

Hello my readers, I am happy to share with again my reflections, this time it is on TRWLING THE NET.

Looking at what  I have achieved as result of researching , going through what different educators  say  on social learning networks, blogs , wikis and websites, I feel I have got my compass clearly  pointing towards my professional development.

My Personal  learning network is steadily growing  because I have been able to actively make ties.

It’s not enough to just follow and read, you need to connect. Leave comments, reply to questions, and start your own conversations, so I have always commented on my colleagues’ views on twitter, blogs, Google+  etc to cement the ties.

I have also been able to look for useful resources on different websites, blogs and curated them on my curator site (http://www.pearltrees.com/juliusmukama) and shared them on my  learning network.

 I have discovered new people on twitter , Google+ and blogs that have helped me to develop more professionally.

My PLN has been of great help to me in fulfilling  my tasks, for through my network I have been able to get different views on certain topics I  research on and this has made it easy for me to curate useful content for professional development from different educators on the websites , blogs and wikis.

In the research group and wiki ,   collaboration, has been like fishermen   throwing  in the same basket  skills, resources , links , from different websites , blogs and wikis , this has a result increases collaborator’s knowledge on a certain topic and also widens the  network  making work easy.

However   there are also some  pitfalls  of  collaboration like moving slowly  because there is need to reach a consensus on a certain issue and members in collaboration sometimes don’t move at the same pace. Some times with collaboration one may be forced to agree and look at an issue according to others.

But it is better to collaborate in professional development to make the weight lighter  than carry the burden alone of looking for knowledge.

     Just for a thought : The most popular tools for building a PLN

       From http:// teacherchallenge.edublogs.org

                                             
                                                It Is True Sharing Is Caring



My Professional Development with ICT  is becoming more interesting as I continue to learn new things at every step of the course.
According to BethKanter's blog (http://www.bethkanter.org) , content curation has three S's that is Seek , Sense and Share. So with content curation it is do with you and the community.

 And after going through Social bookmarking and social curating, and looking at their pros and cons here  I express the value of being a content curator rather than a content consumer. 

1. Content curation  provides context and convenience.

Much online content may not be well explained and in some cases, is used incorrectly. And there is a lot of content. Content curators take the time and effort to filter, reword or explain the information to their audiences. In that sense, the aim of content curation is to make information more useful to audiences for specific reasons, but a content consumer does not organize and filter the content for any audience.

2. Content curation does not overwhelm.

The Internet has a great deal of informative content on various subjects, especially now. In fact, there is so much information and content that it often leads to information overload. Content curation creates value by making the content better suited for the goals and target audiences whiles a content consumer just swims in the sea of unsorted information.

3. Content curation can build authority.

Content curators can build a more authoritative voice by locating and reformatting content in a way that it remains relevant to the readers. The authority arises from the fact that curators help people gain a better understanding of issues that confuse them. So, it’s not the act of content curation as such alone, it’s also about how you use curated content to inform, educate, entertain and engage target audiences. To  the consumer little attention is put on relevance.

4. Content curation and search engine optimization.

Content curation, when well done, can positively impact search engine optimization. You can also embed curated content, within your own content, to make the experience of the audience more valuable.  Curation means being open and sharing content of others. It’s an open Web, yet the consumer doesn't mind about sharing.

Am I ready to be a content curator?

To curate content one has to visit many sites to curate his/ her curator site and it has to be done carefully to make sure the content curated benefits the community, and since  Sharing Is Caring  , I have been cared for,  NOW it is time to also care for others out there by becoming a content curator.

 Some of the values of organizing and sharing resources to me 

• When you organize, you become certain of the content you are to share so it will build more confidence both in me and in my  content consumers meanly the learners.
• As I organise the resources about  specific topics, this will increase the subject scope  and with quality information hence commanding authority. 
• It will increase my social network as I will be sharing what I have curated.
• Through organizing I will look at the best teaching strategies  that work today hence improving my  teaching methods making teaching easy and interesting, for the learners.

• When you share there is always a feedback , that is comments on what you have shared and this I feel will help me improve on the content quality.
• It will help me stay informed with the ongoing technology trends and hence becoming an effective teacher. 

Your greatest value is how you benefit those around you,  so to the new users of technology I recommend content curation, for it makes you look out to an audience, find out what they are interested in , look for it , organise it for them in the more understandable way, which Beth Kanter on her blog (http://www.bethkanter.org) calls  to Seek, Sense and Share.

Just for a thought .

What I have acquired so far with CCTI  Courses Is a great Treasure in my Teaching Career .
Plaese watch my video below . You can aslo get it on this link  http://youtu.be/IdaYJjYW87s.

Thank you.

My professional Development With ICT Under CCTI online.

                               YOU TUBE IS SO RESOURCEFUL!!!

Day by day as I continue with CCTI in professional development a lot is uncovering to me. In this course 1.3  under study section I have encountered the You Tube  and after learning about YouTube and how it works, I am right to say that I am on my way to achieving my learning  goal  I set . 

For

   1..     I have been able to open up my YouTube channel which is (www.youtube/JuliusMukamaICT.)  and this has pushed me far ahead from where I have been and my knowledge in I CT  has continued to deepen.

     I have learnt how to upload videos on You Tube and this answers part of my goal.

   2. .   With YouTube there is a sea of videos which supports professional development with technology and also for my subjects that is Physics and Mathematics. For there are many experienced educators that clearly explains how, why, technology is positively changing the way we learn.  I have watched videos like “Investing in professional development for technology  on  Edutopia’s  YouTube” on this link  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/stw-tech...,  I have also watched “Technology in Education”, Technology in the classroom , etc. and I have been able to learn some skills I can apply in our schools to enhance learning.

    

   Please see my playlist below 

I strongly believe that as I continue to navigate YouTube I am going to get many useful resources and I am happy I will be also able to share with others on my YouTube channel. 

Thank you CCTI online.

Investing In Professional Development for Technology and inquiry based l...

Why You Should Use Technology In Your Classroom.

Integrating Technology into classrooms .

How to use Technology in education.

Technology in the classroom

Technology in Education

BECOMING A SMARTWORKER

                                                                

                               REFLECTION ON SOCIAL LEARNING MEDIA NETWORKS:

Looking at what I have learnt through social learning networks I have this to say ''With Social media networks knowledge is inexhaustible'' 
 Certainly I believe I  have made a big step to becoming a smart worker and learner at the same time.        
   First,  that video  social media in plain English was inspiring to me and   when I joined twitter and Google+  as my  social learning  media networks, it came true , for I have seen the dark clouds of luck of knowledge on use of  social media  start to clear. This  is because through the social learning networks, I have encountered very many useful people, resources and through tweeting and sharing knowledge , I have already started gaining knowledge  on how to use YouTube, videos and games to enhance learning. I can now share problems I have always encountered as a teacher of Physics and Mathematics and different people on the social media can help me out by posting their views. My tutor and colleagues like Margret , Prossy , Geoffrey , Mustafa and many others have been of great help to me during this course for we have been able to share information.
  

My next steps now is to:
1. Continue navigating the social media networks and interact with many more useful people and continue working closely with my group mates.
2.  Look at how I can apply the skills to the classroom environment. 
3. Get more information on how to create videos for my Physics Class, how to upload videos, use say YouTube. 
4. Create time for the assignments given to me by my tutor. 
 

MY REFLECTIONS ON CCTI ONLINE COURSES

 
First of all  right from the start the course looked very interesting and created an inquisitive mind in me of what I was going to learn about and since I had developed much interest in using technology while teaching my science subjects Physics and Mathematics, I found this course answering my call.  During the first course 1.1 I have learned a lot one of which is critical thinking  for the topics have been challenging which is really good and according to UNESCO ICT -CFT I need to develop more technology literacy, to get  knowledge deepening and knowledge creation which will help me grow professionally and in turn will be able to help other colleagues and students acquire the same.   Through social learning it has become very  clear to me that students can learn more through social media and tools for through the group discussion I have acquired important ideas  . I  have also acquired more computer skills, for now I  can create a blog.

My goal in this course is to be fully equipped with the skills and knowledge of the CCTI approaches to the teaching in schools. I expect to learn more about the technology based approaches in teaching, this I believe will  mold me into a teacher so resourceful and I will be able to create technology based instructional materials.  Finally to have all my work published on my blog or website such that it can be accessed by  students and other colleagues.