Section 3

1. The "after thought of evaluation" comment that begins doctor McElhany reminds me of a problem that often plagues the news industry from time to time. The problem is in the rapid pace of  trying " scoop the competition" a piece of news get incorrectly published because someone puts the fact checking to the last minute. A similar thing can happen in any instructional system design. Good models like CIPP, Kirkpatrick, or ADDIE can help reduce the last minute evaluation tendencies.

2. About 5 years ago I bought a Palm Pilot to use in for self betterment plan. This device was very light weight, portable, and easy to use. The plan was to load books and other educational material on it and use it during breaks at work to better my computer skills. The incompatibility issues came up when trying to load the books and other material on the device. This did not work as advertised. This left me with a device that was not very useful. Now I  look at the syncing ability of portable devices before utilizing them for this purpose. About 2 years ago I acquired an idevice for the same purposes. I find that it has a better syncing, uses common files like PDF and other functions that allow it to be utilized for an self improvement tool.

3. Project: Develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology for teachers.

Item one asses the learners current level of skill with technology. Determine what equipment and area the learners will have at their disposal. How will the learners apply this on the job. After this analysis has been done i usually like to find the simplest and least complicated way of providing instruction. Something like a web video or a DVD on the basics of the Technology involved. For example if the technology is a new software application having the first "chapter" of the video that shows how to accesses it and what the user interface looks. Then move into basic functions and so on. Then provide some exercises to get everyone acquainted with the technology. After the initial sessions have some follow up with coworkers and other around to see if the training is allowing for use of the technology.