Hensley’s Ed Tech Talk

This week's material on professional development was salient. Teacher professional development is very peculiar on its own, and becomes increasingly more complex when it involves educational technology. Unfortunately, it is sometimes communicated to teachers ineffectively because presenters show what the technology can do, but often not really getting to the core of "how" to effectively and efficiently facilitate its use in diverse school contexts. Teachers that attend professional development beyond their school districts may learn innovative strategies for using technology, but may be on their own when it comes to execution in their classrooms. Professional development should take into account diverse school contexts and skill levels. Technology integration can be overwhelming and unfamiliar territory and the goal is not to turn individuals off from using/learning to use technology, but  rather to inspire and encourage its use and learning. I have learned that leadershi...

The assignment and discussion for this module were very relevant and insightful. I find it very interesting that we have found ourselves in a situation where we have become completely dependent on technology. While I am not happy with the way that it has come about, I almost feel that a situation similar to what we are facing) was necessary to exhibit the value and importance of technology, especially in education. I remember when I was in the classroom, I received a lot of push back from my colleagues because I always wanted to take the technology route to solving problems. For example, I thought that we should seize the opportunity to integrate mobile phones in our pedagogy (rather than constantly fighting their presence). If they are going to be there, find a creative way to integrate them. Another example is testing. I thought it was important to prepare students for the transition to online state testing by putting all my course assessments online. This way students would have the...

I think that distance learning and virtual learning are innovative  options to offer students. Not only can the experience offer a unique shift in the learning process, but it offers opportunity for more classes that students  can take that other face-to-face schools do not offer. To this end,  I feel that it is important to keep the individual student in mind every step of the way when deliberating the idea of transitioning to virtual learning. Some students are going to be able to readily take on the responsibility and other may need more supports in order to adjust and become successful, and in some cases virtual learning is just not the answer for some students.  Something new that I learned this week is that Tennessee offers a couple of options for virtual schooling and learning. However, when checking their website to learn more, they seemed very standardized and formulaic. The biggest turn off for me was that the websites advertise that students demonstrate...

As an educational technology leader, being able to identify both the benefits and barriers of technology integration in various school contexts is salient. This practice fosters a conscious recognition that will aid in deliberating mobile technology integration and management.   Successful integration and management of mobile technology involves identifying the benefits and barriers early on to become knowledgeable and know what will and will not work in a specific school’s context. The substantial benefits of mobile device integration as a contrivance for student engagement and learning and can be universally manipulated and adapted to fit the confines of most classroom atmospheres. However, the teacher is responsible for knowing the barriers that may have potential to impede the benefits.  In the end, i t is up to the individual teacher to determine if the benefits outweigh the barriers for a specific area and how they plan to overcome barriers and become comfortable wi...