As Chapter 9 stresses, accountability is a must for districts implemeting 1:1 computing. With this said, what are your thoughts about building in expectations for implementation, student achievement, and integration into the technology portion of the Teacher Evaluation Instrument? Would it be appropriate for 1:1 teachers to have a different evaluation regarding technology?
I really think this is something we need to start looking at. If the kids have the computers they should be using them. It is not right to use them for all classes and all the time and this should be noted during an evaluation. I do think that principals should be looking for computer and tech use in the classroom when they do walk throughs during the year.
I know this is a big issue in other technology driven districts. But I think if I am using technology in my classroom on a regular basis and I am expected to do so then I want that to be reflected on my evaluation. Reasonable yes but as teachers we should be showing students how technology is integrated into our lives and that should also include our evaluations.
I agree with you fully, Mary. The laptops is the one to one initiative set up by our superintendent and the school board. We should be teaching with them to their full extent, allowing students the world in learning. And for accountability and critique, principals should include it as part of our evaluations.
I agree that the use of technology should be part of the teacher evaluation. Technology is part of the State Standards; therefore if we are teaching our students how to use technology to learn, then teachers should be held accountable as well as the students.
I agree with you, Anthony. Certainly we should expect some minimal level of usage (twice a week?). However, students will get very tired of computers, too, if in every class we teach the same way. Students have to have variety in their learning experiences. I think it's too much to require teachers to have the laptops out whenever an administrator does a walk-through.
I think that we should be evaluated on how we use the laptops. I also believe that we need more resources and training on how to fully integrate the laptops in our everyday lessons. As Project RED pointed out, we cannot expect to seamlessly integrate the laptops into the curriculum in months, the study said it could take up to 5 years so this should also be taken into consideration if we are being evaluated differently than other teachers.
Not only is this a great opportunity for assessing teachers knowledge of technology, i think it is a necessity to add this to the evaluation of teachers across the grade levels. One-to-One classrooms are not the only ones that can benefit from using the technology in the classroom, the district has provided all of us with projectors and as a district, school, grade level, and teacher we need to be assessed on how we are incorporating the tools provided to each classroom in our daily instruction, is it benefiting our students and if not why? what can we do to continue on our path to a tech savvy district rather then just in specific grade levels?
We do need to evaluate the use of technology. This helps a principal determine needs of individuals, grade levels, or subject areas with the necessary professional development to support improvement. Using data alone does not support teacher improvement. This can also provide the continued and more focused need for collaboration and looking at student results. Teachers also need feedback on what is working well, how they can support other teachers, or what needs more development. If this is a continual process throughout the year, change will occur and dialogue regarding instruction takes on a new meaning.
Why not leave it to the data? A percentage of student performance will be part teacher evaluation. And technology usage shows improvement on students performance. Why not let the data talk for itself?
I agree that we should use data coupled with informal evaluations, but rather than focus on the negative, punitive, aspect, we should recognize teachers that have successfully integrated technology. Those teachers that are successful could train other staff members on their use and resources.
Absolutely there are technology standards for students and therefore the teacher evaluation must hold teachers accountable for their use of and implementation of technology.