Add to Your Staff Development Toolbox
AS I SEE “IT”
By Fred Scott
Fred Scott is the instructional technology
integration manager
for Chesterfield County
Public Schools in
Virginia. Scott has been
a teacher, technology
trainer, and staff developer for more than 25
years and has presented
at local, state, and
national conferences.
When you are a technology facilitator, you are also a staff developer, coach, mentor, master teacher, and change
agent. You are pivotal in moving a school toward
excellent instructional practices using technology. Here are some indispensable tools my team
uses that will help you achieve your objectives.
When you begin a training session, consider
showing You Tube clips, such as “A Vision of
K– 12 Students Today” ( www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_A-ZVCjf Wf8), to get your audience
thinking about innovative, real-world learning
environments that engage students.
These websites provide additional icebreakers
and motivators for your training sessions:
• Training Games: www.training-games.com/
free-icebreakers.html
• Mind Tools: www.mindtools.com/pages/
article/ newLDR_76.htm
• Skills Converged: www.skillsconverged.com/
FreeTrainingMaterials/tabid/258/articleType/
CategoryView/CategoryID/105/CurrentPage/
2/ Default.aspx
These books offer games and activities to
help your teachers learn and practice skills and
concepts:
• Workshops That Really Work by Hal Portner
• TrainSmart by Rich Allen
• “Sit & Get” Won’t Grow Dendrites by Marcia Tate
• Creativity Games for Trainers by Robert
Epstein
• 30 Reflective Staff Development Exercises for
Educators by Stephen Kaagan
Don’t forget to provide door prizes and choco-
late for winners of your training games. Choose
winners using a random name picker, such as
the one found at http://classtools.net.
