Comparison+of+Great+Britain+and+NJ+School+District



= = toc = = =Comparison of Great Britain and a NJ School District=



So how do our efforts at Fictitious School District located in Northern New Jersey compare to Great Britain with regards to ICT professional development?

=A tid bit of background regarding Fictitious School District= Fictitious School District is located in Northern New Jersey. It is a public school system that educates students in grades K-8. Presently the district serves approximately 1,059 students throughout three schools. Our mission is dedicated to providing educational excellence and achievement for students through high quality teaching and learning and community involvement (Fictitious School District-FP, 2012). Students meet these goals through learning experiences developed by content curricula, which are correlated to the New Jersey Core Content Standards and the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

=What kind of technology is available at Fictitious School District?= One of our initiatives at Fictitious School District includes the integration and use of technology in the classroom and beyond by teachers and students. Current available technologies in the District include the following: a District issued Macbook for each teacher, support staff, and administrators; twelve laptop carts that contain between ten and twenty Macbooks each; digital cameras; camcorders; iPads; digital microscopes; Promethean boards and LCD interactive projectors for classrooms; three computer labs; one research lab; kiosks outfitted with desktops in the Media Center; and access to the Internet. On average the student/computer/laptop ratio is about 2.5 for the District. However, even with the technology tools and access to the Internet, the District still needs to maintain a high level of education and training for its teachers, administrators, and support staff to ensure that technology tools are being utilized to their fullest potential so that technology is integrated in a meaningful way that includes developing student proficiencies in the following areas in addition to meeting curriculum standards: ISTE's NETS*S (2007) and Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2009).

=How does Fictitious School District approach ICT professional development?= How are we currently trying to improve ICT professional development within Fictitious School District?

Currently Fictitious School District offers ICT professional development training in the following ways:
 * Summer session training sessions (Most are self-directed through the use of an online learning program, but face-to-face courses are offered in specific areas)
 * Training during the first two opening days of the school year for teachers and support staff
 * An In-service Day that occurs in October of each school year
 * At various faculty meetings throughout the school year
 * Use and application of the LoTi Framework (2011) within teacher lessons that integrate technology
 * A technology plan created for the district

With all of this training in place and available technologies for use, why are teachers and support staff finding it difficult to master technology integration at deeper levels that promote critical thinking skills within the classroom? ICT professional development supports and instructs teachers as to how to utilize available technologies within the District but also as a way to move to deeper levels of integration using the LoTi Framework (2011).

=How does our approach compare with Great Britain's approach to ICT professional development?=

Currently Great Britain offers ICT professional development trainings in the following ways:
 * Computer-Based training offered by the department of education or by schools within the country
 * Face-to-Face trainings offered within schools
 * National initiatives such as HOS and NOF (Due to budget cuts these programs have been shut down, but prior to termination, teachers felt that both government initiatives were helpful in understanding how to integrate technology in a meaningful way).
 * Guskey's five critical levels for the evaluation of professional development (2007 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009)
 * More autonomy placed upon schools to develop ICT plans to address specific needs within each district


 * So...now what? Where do we go from here?**