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Training/Staff Development Technology professional development is the process of providing on-going opportunities for staff to improve their technology skills and acquire new knowledge. Professional development provides staff the time to reflect on their technology use, share what they've learned with their peers, and experiment with various technology tools so they can easily incorporate them into their daily working life. Technology training, on the other hand, is providing formal instruction about using a specific technology tool or software application. Technology training is but one approach for implementing professional development objectives to support your strategic technology plan. If your technology plan will have long-term sustainability, you must include many strategies for technology professional development. Good staff development in technology begins with an assessment of technology learning styles, technology skill levels, and preferred format of instructional delivery. For example, there are beginners who are willing and there are beginners who are impatient or fearful. There are staff members who may be very fluent with spread sheet programs, but do not even know where to begin with finding information on the Internet. You may have a staff member who can use the basic functions of your database software program with ease, but needs more advanced training so they can design and implement a relational database. People learn how to use technology in different ways. Some people prefer the "shoulder to shoulder method," of having someone show them. Other people can learn by reading the manual, while others may prefer a skills-based workshop or class. Before you can implement a professional development program, it is wise to lead staff through a process of self-assessing their digital literacy skills and developing their own specific professional development goals. Simply sending every out to CompUSA for a half-day software training classes probably won't work for everybody. For any staff development program to work, your organization must allocate time for staff to participate in training sessions or other activities. Training activities should be incorporated as part of the working day. This might mean scheduling training activities during slower times of the year or adjusting workloads and deadlines so that training can be accommodated. Ideally, training activities shouldn't be scheduled on weekends or after work hours. Also, providing some sort of incentive can be useful such as incorporating technology professional development goals into job performance evaluations. It is also important to understand the concept of "challenge of transfer" or follow-up, especially in providing training opportunities. For example, if a staff member is sent to a training workshop on how to use a spread sheet, don't expect them to come back the very next day as a fluent user of spreadsheets. They need time to apply the skills. This is where true technology learning takes place. One of the best approaches, is to have staff who attend training workshops make a presentation to others on staff. Everyone on staff should be a turn key trainer. It is also a good idea to encourage them to seek out technical support from vendors or actually reading the manuals, identify a user support group, or provide some opportunities for ongoing assistance. Training on specific software applications should not be done in a vacuum, but linked to practical work situations and real-life problems. Resources Adult Technology Learning by Jamie McKenzie
Relfections What's your technology learning style? Is it different from other people in your organization? What type of training might work best for you and why? What did you learn from browsing the tech skills assessment tools above? How might you apply this tool as part of your planning efforts?
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