STaR Chart Technology Plan

It is my opinion that the area that should be targeted the most by my campus would be the key area of educator preparation and development. When reviewing the trend in this area, you would think that another area should be choosen. Educator preparation and development declined in the 07-08 school year but improved in the 07-08 school year. Most preparation or development for educators would come from our regional education center which is around 100 miles from our district. Most of the professional development is hindered do to the cost of substitutes, limited travel arrangements, and travel expenses.
The great news is that during our current school year our district has developed a distance learning lab where teachers can receive professional development via live feeds over the internet that will enable our district to utilize distance learning at a minimal cost to the district. This will require the district to have facilitators on site to interact with the participants to ensure support for each professional development.
The trend for this area would be minimal training during in-service or training at the regional service center. Most training from the region center is by teacher request and at a great cost to the district. Some of our training at the region center is mandated by the district. The distance learning lab would enable teachers to receive training at the school and reduce travel expenses.
My recommendation is simple. We should utilize the resources we already have to maximize the opportunity for great professional development. It would be a shame to think that we should only use this for classroom instruction and for student use only. With technology rapidly changing in the classroom, teachers need more today than ever to stay current with the changes and receive enough training that the teacher feels comfortable using technology and allow students to use it as well in the classroom.