New Jersey

Just another annoying acronym to try & remember? Well, maybe, but it’s one that you definately should!!  Did you know that every county in NJ has an Educational Technology Training Center (ETTC)?  Funded by the NJ State DOE, each ETTC is dedicated to providing opportunities for teachers to continuously increase their technological competence in a caring environment.

"Since this program has established a set of standards for
instruction in educational technology for teachers, the ETTC’s have
also developed an ETTC "Can-do Techlist" that can be used by districts to complete the STAFF DEVELOPMENT section (see p. 2) of the
       “Three Year Local District Technology Plan Checklist.”
      

Unlike most professional development in the disciplines
where the teachers know the content and can usually concentrate on a
new approach to teaching it, technology training requires a
three-phased learning process: learning a new “hands-on” skill;
determining if and how and where it meets instructional needs; and
developing the confidence, strategies, and “equipment-management”
skills to teach the skill to their own students. This requires a lot of
“spiraling” in the design of educational technology curricula as
teachers master a discrete skill, application, or piece of equipment;
reflect on its use; determine how to teach it (and often where -
classroom, lab, library?); and then try it out with their students. In
the face of all of this and the usual time constraints, the ETTC’s are
endeavoring to both teach skills and integration strategies as well as
to model a more transformational classroom approach."

Click here to find your county’s ETTC

P.S. My county’s ETTC is always looking for teachers to run workshops- yours probably is too

If you are not already a member, please consider joining the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology. NJAET  is a group of over 700 educators (teachers, computer coordinators, administrators, consultants, etc.) who are working to promote the use of technology in education. Purposes of the organization include:
       

• establish communication among educational technologists
           
• provide a forum for the discussion and resolution of common problems
           
• promote effective programs
           
• enhance training and educational opportunities throughout the state
           
• expand the view of the role of technology in education held by educators and the public
           
• encourage the application of information technology and current research for improving instruction.

NJAET works cooperatively with the Educational Technology Office of the State Department of Education and with ETTCs around the state.  So now you’re asking yourself, "What’s an ETTC?"  Check out my other post for today with that title!