Providing Professional Development to learn Technology

In order to meet teachers’ educational goals, it is important to provide professional development to help them select the most appropriate instructional and technical strategies. One of the main reasons why teachers that we meet refuse to use technology in their classrooms is because of their lack of experience in technology. They don't understand the technology and feel that the students would spend more time heckling them then learning.

Continuous professional development would help the teachers learn not only how to use the new technology but also how to apply it to their instruction and activities in the classroom. In order for teachers to become successful in using technology in their classrooms, they need to be provided with ongoing professional development to learn how to use these applications plus the needed time to become familiar with the software, products, and the many online resources.

Teachers find themselves as being facilitators and coaches and less as lecturers when using technology. The students take ownership of their own learning skills and become more as explorers and increase their thinking skills. Technology in the classroom tends to allow students to collaborate, therefore provides a positive effect on student achievement.

Matrix is a company that sells a great deal of classroom technology and we enjoy watching the students become more engaged while using it. Our goal is to help teachers become comfortable with classroom technology and have provided a great deal of resources designing professional development. Our goal is to help our teachers become more tech savvy then the students!

Because as you see with the future CEO of Matrix sitting with his Dad at work, technology is not intimidating!