Dell Introduces Technology Training Program for Teachers
A new program designed to help educators with the
latest
classroom technologies will offer a professional learning certificate.
Dell
has introduced its new Dell Teaching
and Learning Academy to help school districts and their teachers
transition to
an environment in which technology fosters a collaborative and creative
learning environment. At the same time, it introduced a catalogue of
virtual
professional learning courses that will cover everything from a basic
introduction to Windows or Chrome and next-generation assessments to
game-based
learning and personalized and blended curriculum
development.
Dell will customize its Teaching and Learning Academy
depending on the particular needs of individual districts. Typically,
Dell
consultants will work with up to 20 educators to integrate best
practices into
their instruction, curriculum and assessments. Participants will be able
to
choose focus areas of either inquiry-based learning or facilitating
learning in
a student-centered classroom.
During seven day-long sessions over four to six
months,
interspersed with virtual support, participants will move through
whole-group
training, collaborative teaching and small-group reflection in absorbing
new
instructional practices into their classrooms. The programs, according
to Dell,
will be device- and platform-agnostic, meaning districts will not
necessarily
have to be current Dell customers or use Dell technology in the program.
Certificates will be granted to participants upon
completion
of the courses demonstrating their mastery of concrete skills that
support transformative
learning models.
Crowley
Independent School District in Crowley, TX, is among
the districts that have already signed on.
"It's not enough to simply give the students the
technology
that we know they will need," said Crowley School District Technology
Director
Jerry Allen. "Teachers have to know how to teach in an environment that
is
technology-rich in order to facilitate appropriate use."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.