Professional Development Boosts Interactive Flat Panel Success in K–12 Districts

When done well, training and coaching help teachers advance their skills, enabling them — and their students — to leverage interactive panels for higher engagement and improved learning outcomes.

Leander ISD Took a Yearlong Approach to Professional Development

In summer 2024, LISD installed just over 3,500 Newline Q Pro panels across most of its classrooms and learning spaces. A bond paid for the devices, as well as the yearlong PD coordinated by Baker.

Teachers had a say in the selection process, which included trial installations of different models at six schools, allowing instructors to try them out firsthand. Teachers’ participation increased their buy-in for the upgrade, but CTO Jason Miller says the district knew training would also be crucial.

CDW brought in Global Asset to install the panels and connected the district with Education Collaborators, which provided multiple trainers and digital instructional coaches for the 2024–25 school year. First, they offered two onboarding sessions at every LISD school to demonstrate the features of the panels. Baker then worked with Lee Howell, LISD digital learning coordinator, to offer follow-up sessions on every campus throughout the year, including classroom visits, pop-ups, one-on-one support and team coaching.

DISCOVER: Professional development can increase ROI of new classroom technologies.

One priority was preparing teachers to use the panels in ways that increased student engagement. “We wanted to think about how this could redefine how we teach, how students learn and how they collaborate,” says Digital Learning Specialist Madi Houston. “Trying to get to the deep end sooner, rather than letting people find their way there accidentally, was important to us.”

Another effective tactic was tailoring PD to each audience to demonstrate how the panels could support various subjects and teaching objectives.

“If we can tie it to a campus focus or to certain teams, that’s where we can make those connections and get buy-in for how it can be more purposeful for them,” says Technology Integration Specialist John Sandobal.

LISD’s bond also funded a yearlong stipend for digital learning ambassadors, teachers who served as go-to experts on campus, helping peers troubleshoot and integrate the panels more deeply into their curricula. The district also put FAQs and other resources on its website.

“There were supports, because we know that people learn in lots of different ways. People learn and then forget, and they need practice,” Howell says. “Finding lots of ways for them to get that learning was important.”

Miller says the panels have noticeably enhanced classroom engagement. “Before, students would be sitting there watching a projector, and it wasn’t interactive. Now, they’re using the panel and competing with their classmates on math games, and they’re excited about the topic,” he says.

Newton County Supports Teachers With Professional Development

For years, Newton County Schools in Georgia has identified an “innovative leader of tomorrow” at each school, a peer resource who pilots new tools and provides input on technology needs. However, with the growing demand for instructional technology support, the district created six digital learning coach positions focused on PD, including increasing teachers’ proficiency with the district’s Promethean ActivPanel tools.

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Both Natasha Blades, a DLC, and Jennifer Williams, the district’s director of instructional technology and media services, previously served in this peer role. However, Williams says, working with each of the district’s 24 schools just once a month made it hard to gain traction. “By the time I came back the next month, it was like starting all over again. So, in a year, there wasn’t much movement from where we started,” she says.

When teachers had models of how to use technology, they thrived. That led to the creation of a four-person support team. But after the district launched a one-to-one device initiative in 2019, the need for support grew.

Initially, the training was technical, teaching educators how to operate the panels. Today, the focus has shifted to instructional integration. The panels, students’ Chromebooks and software tools work together seamlessly, making it easy for teachers to cast content to students’ devices and receive real-time feedback.

DLCs encourage teachers to start small, Blades says. “We want to support and scaffold teachers using the panel to enhance their lessons, making the curriculum more engaging, the lessons ­student-focused and the teachers more like facilitators.”

As new and veteran teachers alike build their skills, DLCs tailor coaching to each individual. Coaches meet with principals and leadership teams annually, provide monthly PD sessions and gather teacher feedback. “It’s very flexible to what each individual school and teacher needs,” Blades notes.

“Teachers love knowing they’re going to have Dr. Blades come to their classroom and work with them and their students,” Williams says. Having former teachers in coaching roles builds trust: “The buy-in that she gets by being one of our own is unparalleled.”

Tucson Unified School District Offers Custom Coaching

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Tucson Unified School District installed 2,400 Promethean panels, primarily ActivPanel 9 models, across its classrooms. According to Tracey Rowley, senior director of educational technology and field support, the panels have had a transformative impact.

“Teachers report that it’s completely enhanced and improved what they were doing,” she says. “But none of this would work if we didn’t teach people how to use them. Otherwise, it would just be a glorified TV. But because we put a lot of time and resources into training our teachers, you see them using all of the tools that are built into the panels.”

Rowley and her team led the effort with a train-the-trainer model, working closely with Promethean and participating in every available training opportunity.

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“You’ve got to have good trainers — people who know what they’re doing, are excited about it and can offer professional development that is meaningful,” she says.

Differentiated coaching is also key, encouraging teachers to continue developing their skills beyond the basics, Rowley says.

“We ask our teachers to do it for our students, and we should do the same for our teachers,” she says. “A person brand-new to the classroom will have different needs than someone who’s been using the panel for two years.”

In addition to leading PD, Rowley also supervises the district’s field technicians, who provide onsite support when teachers encounter technical issues. These service calls sometimes uncover a deeper need for instructional support, making collaboration between field techs and educational technology specialists critical.

“It’s important to have our field technicians on board and collaborating with our ed techs because they raise the flag to say, ‘This teacher needs help,’” Rowley says.

Her team also attends professional learning community meetings at school sites and provides structured training on PD days already built into the school calendar. Teachers have access to informal campus experts, follow-up videos and other resources.

“We try really hard to make sure that people know where to go if they want resources afterward, because maybe after the training they realize, ‘I don’t remember how to do that,’” Rowley says.