Earning Credits By The Sea Is Just Icing On The Technological Cake

When it comes to implementing today’s ever-evolving and diverse technologies into the K-12 curriculum, it's not enough to simply “build it,” says Paul Sanfrancesco, the office’s director of technology. More importantly, he says, administrators must ensure that teachers are armed with the tools and training that will enable them to effectively incorporate technology into their classrooms and, ultimately, enhance the students’ learning experience.

“It doesn’t matter how much money you pour into technology or how amazing the technology is,” Sanfrancesco explains. “If you don’t train the teachers, it’s never going to work.”

As a result, three years ago, the Office of Catholic Education (which oversees nearly 6,700 teachers and administrators at 260 Catholic schools spanning five counties) initiated the “Technology Inservice Weekend at the Shore.” The annual February conference, designed to both teach and inspire, is held at a New Jersey seaside hotel and brings together about 180 teachers for a weekend of technological exchange.

Nominated by principals at the archdiocese’s schools, which collectively educate more than 100,000 K-12 students each year, teachers are selected to attend a conference based on a variety of factors, including current lesson plans and evaluations. In some cases, teachers are chosen from schools that recently received technology grants or opened new technology centers.

“The kind of atmosphere at this conference lends itself to attracting people who really want to be there and will glean as much as possible from the presenters,” notes Lucille Hillerman, vice principal of Philadelphia’s Resurrection of Our Lord School and an attendee at the past two years’ events.

“They need to hear things from their own people,” adds Sanfrancesco. “Other teachers are able to say, ‘Look what we’re doing’ and ‘This is really easy to do.’ ”

Nancy Caramanico, who works in staff development at Saint Pius X School in Broomall, Pa., found this year’s conference to be an excellent opportunity for growth.

“It’s great to be with other teachers and see the types of things they are doing on a daily basis,” Caramanico says. “With technology constantly changing, we have to be able to adapt, listen to new ideas and learn from each other.”

Focused Events

The archdiocese structures each year’s weekend around a theme, such as Internet security. Participants are exposed to a variety of hands-on learning experiences, networking opportunities, professional speakers and examples of model schools that are successfully implementing technology.

During the Internet-focused event, for instance, teachers learned how to recognize potential classroom problems, such as cyber bullying among students. Also shared were definitions of popular instant messaging terms and how to complete effective online research.

An added benefit is the college credit the event provides staff. Teachers earn eight to 10 hours of credit during the professional education weekend, says Louis De Angelo, director of K-12 curriculum and instruction for the Office of Catholic Education.

But earning credits is just icing on the technological cake, says Caramanico. “It sharpened my focus on the need—and the methods available—to use technology in lesson plans,” she explains. “It’s not enough to use technology in your curriculum. You need to learn how to use it effectively so critical thinking and enhanced learning take place.”