Professional Learning Facilitator

ISTE standard for Coaches 4.5, The Professional Learning Facilitator, states: “Coaches plan, provide, and evaluate the impact of professional learning for educators and leaders to use technology to advance teaching and learning.” Performance indicators: 4.5.a. Design professional learning based on needs assessments and frameworks for working with adults to support their cultural, social-emotional and learning […]

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Data-Driven Decision-Maker

Photo by Oskar Kadaksoo on unsphash.com ISTE standard for Coaches 4.6, The Data-Driven Decision-Maker, states: “Coaches model and support the use of qualitative and quantitative data to inform their own instruction and professional learning.” Performance indicators: 4.6.a. Assist educators and leaders in securely collecting and analyzing student data. 4.6.b. Support educators to interpret qualitative and […]

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The Role of Needs Assessments in Professional Learning

Background There are many examples of professional development that have minimally worked for me, and they all share the following characteristics: They were short, took place only one time, the presentation was informational, it did not connect the information t my specific content area or needs, and the presenters did not inquiere how successful the […]

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Web Accessibility: A Team Approach

Check out this dyslexic font.  I’m not dyslexic, but I love using this font because I do have a bit of hyperopia. Fortunately, thanks to the accessibility features in the course LMS I use, both my dyslexic students and I can opt to have our … Continue readingWeb Accessibility: A Team Approach

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Digital Readiness

Synchronizing a Multi-Campus College: Meeting a Local Higher Education Challenge by Developing Institutional Digital Capacities   Trends in the community college context Community colleges such as the one at which I teach are known for their responsiveness to community needs. But although nearly half of America’s undergraduates … Continue readingDigital Readiness

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Certification Program Redesign: Needs Assessment

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One of the biggest takeaways from my time in the Digital Education Leadership program through Seattle Pacific University is that teachers are students, too. When diving into effective mentoring and professional development, some of the most successful strategies are those that are also used in the classroom. Many back-to-school workshops remind teachers to get to know their students and provide differentiation in every learning experience. In other words, providing learners (adults included) with a pre-assessment (formal or informal) to determine where they are in order to reach where they need to be.

Edutopia has a great article and video that touches on the importance of assessment before learning even begins:

In an earlier post, I wrote about my journey in reviewing and redesigning a university’s Library Media Endorsement (LME) certification program. Here, I continue that work by drafting a Needs Assessment survey for potential students. As I mentioned in my last post, the program is not yet finalized, so I am omitting the name of the institution and it will henceforth be identified as “University.”

Before writing the Needs Assessment survey, I did a bit of background research, attempting to see how other schools have assessed their incoming … Read More

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Certification Program Redesign: Program Evaluation

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When I talk to people about the Digital Education Leadership program through Seattle Pacific University, I often end up saying, “Well, there’s homework, but it’s not really homework. I do work, but it’s directly related to my responsibilities as a librarian and an educator. So, it’s homework but it’s not really homework. It’s bigger than that. It has more significance than ‘homework.’” While this has been proven throughout the duration of the program, it couldn’t have been more true than when I was offered the opportunity to redesign a Library Media Endorsement certification program… As part of my “homework.”

My classmates and I were recently tasked with conducting a program evaluation. Students learned “how to conduct needs assessments, develop technology-related professional learning programs,  evaluate the impact on instructional practice and student learning, and communicate findings to the institution” (Course syllabus). Dr. David Wicks, Chair of the Digital Education Leadership program, came to me with a wonderful opportunity to redesign a university’s Library Media Endorsement (LME) certification program. Because the program is not yet finalized, I am omitting the name of the institution and it will henceforth be identified as “University.”

Program Evaluation

The project was designed to evaluate … Read More

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