HS Teacher iPad Rollout & Professional Development

As part of our high school School Improvement Grant (SIG), our high school teachers recently received an iPad.  As a very basic beginning training before jumping in to different ways the iPad can be used in the classroom, we wanted to provided the teachers with some tips and resources for ways they can learn about the functionality of their iPad and start thinking about available apps and how they could utilize them effectively.  Together, Sarah Wood, Kelly McGee and Keith Tramper designed a half-hour training session that was conducted during a staff meeting to help teachers become acquainted with their iPads.  To view the lesson plan for the training, please click here.

At the beginning of the training, each teacher was provided with a checklist of the items that would be covered (to view the checklist, either click the image below or here).  This information was used to help teachers identify areas they were already comfortable with and areas they would like to learn more about in regards to using their iPads.  We then had teachers participate in a Mentimeter poll to share their comfort level in utilizing the iPad in the classroom (results listed below or here).  

Either a member from the Tech Team or a high school teacher then lead a session to share different ways teachers can optimize the use of their iPads.

At the conclusion of the training, we asked the teachers to participate in a TodaysMeet to share what they are most excited about with having access to an iPad in their classroom (transcript found here) in addition to having them complete a Google Form to answer some questions to help us direct future professional development opportunities.

The teachers seemed to find the training helpful and they were able to ask questions and have them answered by members of the Tech Team or their peers.  Many found it helpful to have a printed checklist in front of them to be able to mark off areas they were confident in, as well as areas they wanted to receive more information.  In reflecting on our presentation, our Tech Team agreed that if we were to provide another similar training, we would like more time to work with teachers as well as pre-assess teachers to make sure we are targeting appropriate areas.