Today I had the privilege of attending a presentation by Angus King, former Governor of Maine, where he shared his journey in creating a 1 to 1 environment for year 7 and 8 students attending public schools across the whole state of Maine in the United States. One useful piece of insight they gained from this innovation was that while government investment in the technology infrastructure was a key part of the process, Governor King also emphasized the importance of professional development and support for both teachers and educational leaders in integrating the technology effectively across the curriculum.
Principals and other educators from Victoria attended the session, which was held a Coburg Senior High School. If only I had my sandwich board in the car: “Sign up for free professional learning development sessions here“.
Written by Callie Whelan.Melbourne Beyond Chalk Facilitator
11:12 am
I also attended the Angus King Forum this morning and found him to be both amusing and informative. Having worked in a school which implemented a laptop program, I fully agree that ongoing PD and support is vital for both teachers and leaders and that strong leadership with a vision is important. During the implementation of this program I worked as a teacher eLearning Coach fulltime and found it both a rewarding but exhausting role to keep driving the teachers forward. I also had teachers who would have nothing to do with technology just as Angus described and I always felt sorry for their students.
As he said “organisms adaptable to change survive.”