Practicing What I Preach

Originally published in my 21st Century Classroom Blog on 3/17/13

Teaching other educational professionals how to use technology tools is actually a bit daunting. With the rapid change of technology and how educators across the globe are integrating technology, the role of being the technology instructor, or integration specialist is about staying current, flexible, and participatory. In some regards I am a preacher, and in order to have a meaningful connection with my 'students', I need to know what I'm talking about.

Professional Development using Schoology

Last year I wrote an article about using Edmodo for professional development. It was well received and continues to be well read. As the times continue to change and the technology at my fingertips gets stronger, my choices in technology continue to evolve. This past Fall I piloted Schoology and then fully adopted it for my high school classes in January. Now I am doing the same for my professional development courses.

Two weeks ago I began teaching my second PD course via Schoology. As with my high school courses, I am thoroughly sold on the quality and value of using Schoology. Three important factors in delivering quality online professional development have led me to share my interest in Schoology: seamless communication between participants and the instructor; participants can easily find materials provided; the instructor can provide quality, timely feedback to help participants understand their progress.