Rigor, Relevance, & Relationships

Customize - and Energize - Your Teacher Education

Many teachers are aware of the importance of bringing the "new three R's" — rigor, relevance, and relationships - into their classrooms. It's easy to apply the same high standards to your own education! Take the time to find professional development opportunities that are a good match with your interests, skill level, and classroom needs. Here are just a few examples of online resources available for technology educators:

• The National Education Computer Conference in San Antonio this summer was a terrific professional development opportunity, but even if you missed it, it's not too late to view some of its sessions and handouts. Many of the seminars were videotaped and are available online, along with more than 300 handouts from the various sessions. And through the Apple Learning Interchange, 26 sessions from NECC are now available as podcasts that can be downloaded and shared with colleagues.
• The Computer Science Teachers Association Symposium offers another resource for professional development on its Web site: a series of 18 presentations relevant to educators involved in advancing computer science education. In addition, CSTA has created a depository of short podcasts that provide up-to-date information for computer science teachers.
• The International Society for Technology in Education has a series of fee-based Webinars that offer educators up-to-date information on using technology in the classroom and provide quality professional development.
• The Partnership for 21st Century Skills offers a site called Route 21, which includes a wide variety of professional development information. This free site includes many links to resources and offers Editor Picks to help guide you to particularly useful submissions. Teachers are invited to submit their own resources as well. One section of the site is devoted to Information, Media, and Technology Skills.
• The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence offers a list of Computer/Tech resources from different federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Energy.