In education money is a finite resource. Choices in procuring technology, training and / or professional development subtract from a school districts budget. Then technology purchased, training and or professional development paid for, is wasted money if not implemented in ways that impact students in the classroom.
Training in technology then is exponentially important in managing a district’s limited resources. If the district has purchased a substantial amount of technology and is providing training and/or professional development to its teachers then students in class must be impacted proportionally to the amount of resources used. If no implementation of equipment or training occurs it is wasteful. Equipment has already been purchased, training is paid for; money that could have been spent on children’s learning in proven traditional manners is spent on unutilized equipment and training.
Professional development in technology is more high stakes than professional development without technology. Combining technology and professional development elevates the cost. The cost of purchasing, maintaining equipment, updating software and training, elevate the visibility and importance of efficiently training teachers in technology.
And you thought getting someone to buy you technology was tough. The first things cut are teacher professional days or the purchasing of new equipment. Try getting technology and training/professional development together!
Leave a Reply