Customizing Educational Technology Professional Development

professional development can be designed in many different ways. ETPD varies by general purposes and goals, specific learning objectives, curriculum content, student grade levels for which the strategies and tools presented are appropriate, professional development models used, how it is matched to participating teachers’ characteristics, and the ways in which it is evaluated. Providers can ensure the effectiveness of technology-related professional development by designing ETPD sessions and programs with these seven aspects in mind. Last month’s article in this series discussed how to combine ETPD goals and models, matching these combinations to fit particular teachers’ characteristics and needs. This month, we will address how to determine the efficacy of ETPD designs for the educators for whom they were created.