Develop...Professionally!

The state also requires a certain amount of professional development; initial teaching certificate - 30 hours over 4 years, reactivated certificate - 24 hours annually, career certificate - 15 hours annually, exempt from requirements after 10 years experience AND master's degree OR national certification.  Many districts have criteria that goes beyond these.

What are the benefits and drawbacks to these requirements?

 

There are many benefits to the professional development requirements.  It forces teachers who would normally resist to get the much needed refresher courses.  We all know those teachers who have done things one way their entire careers and hate any type of change.  This is a way to try to eliminate that type of attitude.  There are also drawbacks.  It is hard enough trying to get everything done as a teacher without having to complete all of these refresher courses.  I know finding time to finish everything would be difficult. Perhaps have the sessions during the summers?? Regardless of the cons,  professional development is a great tool and should be used as much as possible.

Get in the Game!

As we have looked at some of these emerging technologies, what are your thoughts on the adoption process. Would you prefer your district be an early adopter, or wait for the data to prove its worth? If you are given leeway to use new technologies, will you be an early adopter or wait for the proof to come in?



This is a tricky one. In my opinion, you don't want to adopt these new technologies too soon but you also don't want to wait longer than necessary.  I believe that schools should wait until the first round of data is collected.  This usually gives a hint as to whether or not the benefits of the technology justify the time and money that will be spent to adopt it.  It will show you how it has effected students performance and allow you to decide if it is a risk you want to take.


I would want to be part of a school district that is an early adopter over a district that would wait until ALL of the data has been collected.  I like to experiment with new things and I think using these technologies will help add life to the somewhat boring classroom setting.  We are long past the pencil and paper classroom.  To be successful teachers we HAVE to step outside of our comfort zone and try new things...even if it's scary! Our students WILL benefit from this.  They will learn more and enjoy school much better than without these new technologies!

What are the benefits of using multimedia in the classroom?  Are there any drawbacks/problems with using multimedia?  What are some specific ways you might use multimedia in your classroom?

There are many benefits of using multimedia in the room! It gets students interested in the topic being discussed far more than reading through a text book. They can watch a movie over a book you just read to find differences between the two. The could also make a music video on a topic they researched and show it to the class. There are drawbacks. Students might become uniterestwd if the material used is out of date. As a teacher I will include multimedia into my lessons as much as possible and will be sure to keep only recent materials in use.