Professional Development
Name of School: Monte Vista Christian School
Location of School: Watsonville, CA
Program Objective: to promote staff development by offering on-site technology training for teachers and staff
Summary of Program:
The Educational Technology Program at Monte Vista Christian School trains and supports teachers in employing advanced technology efficiently and sensibly. The objective of the program is to equip teachers to use a wide range of technological tools to increase efficiency, improve communications, and integrate technology into the school’s instructional program. The program delivers on-site support to faculty and staff for troubleshooting, problem solving, and crisis management. The program also offers weekly technology training sessions that deal with a broad range of software applications.
In order to facilitate technological integration, the school’s educational technology administrator has developed a number of on-site training programs. For example, the school requires all its teachers to complete 12 hours of on-site technology training each year. They can receive this training both at the start of each academic year as well as during the summer. Teachers may also participate twice a week in training sessions that address subjects ranging from basic file management to work with emerging technologies. Furthermore, the Educational Technology Program provides monthly mandatory in-service technology training for all teachers. Recent software training has included courses on Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Acrobat, various CD and DVD development tools, and Avid Xpress DV.
Through the Educational Technology Program, teachers also have numerous opportunities to earn continuing education units. Training is an essential part of integrating technology into a school community. However, opportunities for success significantly decrease without support and crisis management that take place on-site. The Educational Technology Program offers teachers daily on-site support as they deal with technology issues. Working with a team of professionals, the educational technology administrator manages support needs for faculty and staff. A web-based support system allows teachers to submit needs, while the educational technology administrator and information technology professionals manage and address the requests, ranking them according to priority, complexity, and volume. Teachers may also monitor the progress of their request and communicate directly with the person who is working on their question. The program administrator uses web-based tools to monitor and manage requests for service.
Our nation is facing the great challenge of bringing technology into education in a sensible, practical, and economically viable manner. The Educational Technology Program at Monte Visa Christian School serves as a model for schools that hope to integrate technology into the educational experience they offer. The program’s focus on training, support, and crisis management fosters an environment that allows teachers to become confident and competent regarding a wide range of emerging technologies for education.
Educational Technology 6.5