Kris+L

__ Professional Development __

I decided to focus on professional development. I have started with a focus for professional development opportunities for our paraprofessional staff with the goal of expanding the focus to liaisons, subject area teachers and administrators. So ultimately this project is a springboard for what I hope to post on my school webpage as a tool for guiding workshop development.

At this time I am structuring the focus to tools we currently have access to in the school system. My reasoning for this is to increase the use of technology we currently have. Once that goal is accomplished we can then expand to other areas.

I am using a Glogster poster to provide an “eye appealing” user friendly format to obtain and provide information. In order to obtain information there is a link to SurveyMonkey. This survey will be collecting information on a) how often are paraprofessional staff utilizing assistive technologies with the students they work with; b) how comfortable are they with the technologies they are being asked to use; c) in what format do they prefer to learn about assistive technology. This information will be used to prioritize what areas need to be addressed and also to develop a professional development opportunity that will meet the various learning styles attending a workshop. The design of the workshops will also look to link how students can be engaged by using a variety of resources to complete a goal. The Glogster poster also has a link to sites that explain UDL and Assistive Technology and a resource link where staff can access information on the tools we currently have. In this way staff will have a variety of ways to access information on their own and in a group setting.

As this process evolves follow-up surveys will be posted and workshop videos will be archived.

Link to Under Construction Glogster Page: []