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Professional Learning Facilitator Plan
Aubrey A. Zugibe
Towson University
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Executive Summary
As the world’s technology advances our education systems need to become more
dynamic to adjust accordingly. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the lack of technology
available in schools and the lack of technology skills of both students and staff. Since acquiring
one-to-one devices for both students and teachers, we’ve reached a stalemate in technology
usage, and some teachers have started to revert back to their old ways. In fact, many students
claim they don’t even bring their computers to school because they don’t use them in classes. As
educators, we must learn from our experiences to ensure that we and our students are equipped
with the skills we need for advancement in digital society. This professional learning
development plan is intended for the staff of North County High School (NCHS) located in
Ferndale, Maryland in Anne Arundel County (AACPS). The plan integrates ISTE standards for
Educators and Coaches to address the technology education and integration needs of the school.
Introduction/Background
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the need for better technology integration in our
schools and further development of technology literacy by students and staff. Before the
pandemic, students did not have school-issued devices. While most students have smartphones
with browsing data, due to monetary hardship, many students had limited internet access at their
homes and had no access to computers. When schools shut down in 2020, many students were
left in the dark. As the pandemic worsened and we learned we’d be out of school for an extended
period, AACPS acted swiftly and scrambled to give out devices to students in need. Luckily,
most teachers had internet access in their homes and had recently been issued school laptops to
take home each day for work. Additionally, many teachers were already integrating technology
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into their daily lesson plans to some degree. Unfortunately, it seems many teachers have reverted
to their old ways or never fully embraced technology integration in the classroom.
This professional learning development plan is intended for the staff of North County
High School located in Ferndale, Maryland in Anne Arundel County. North County High School
was founded in 1993 when the building built in 1971 changed from Lindale Middle to NCHS.
Since then, an addition was built onto the front of the school which houses the science
classrooms. Since the school's inception, a second gymnasium has also been added to the back of
the building. The school’s growing population resulted in the addition of three portable
classrooms being added to the building in 2019 to house the social studies department. Due to
the upcoming redistricting next year, they have removed one of these portable classrooms at the
start of the 2023 school year in anticipation of a decreased school population.
The school currently educates 2,289 students in grades nine through twelve and has 139
teachers. These numbers change daily as vacancies are filled and students change schools. North
County High School is managed by principal Eric Jefferson, and student caseloads are delegated
to six assistant principals. North County is also a STEM school and has an International Trade,
Tourism, and Transportation (IT3) magnet program. Office staff such as the secretaries and
attendance clerk are responsible for inputting attendance and behavioral data into district
tracking systems where they can be further analyzed by staff.
Table 1
2022 NCHS Demographics
African American White Multi-Racial Hispanic Asian
Ethnicity
26.1% 46.5% 6.9% 15.2% 4.8%
Gender Male: 52.8% Female: 47.1%
FARMS: 44.4% Special Ed: 10.8% English Learners: 4.3%
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Table 1 shows the demographic breakdown of NCHS according to the district website.
However, according to one source the percentage of economically disadvantaged students is
59%. Academic achievement at NCHS has many measures. While the graduation rate is 90%
according to the district website, the school is only a 29.8/100 on the College Readiness Index.
According to 2019 & 2021 assessment data students at North County fall below the district
average in mathematics, reading, and science. They also fall below the state level in math and
reading.
Since the pandemic, NCHS now has a one-to-one device ratio for all students. Each
student is assigned a Chromebook that they are responsible for throughout their years of
schooling. They take their devices home with them each day so they can complete assignments
both at school and at home. Unfortunately, despite every student and every teacher being
equipped with a school-issued device, students don’t see the need to bring their devices to school
each day because many teachers do not integrate technology into their instruction. This poses a
problem for teachers who are trying to teach students technology skills because the inconsistency
creates a discontinuity in their education. If all teachers were to provide students with regular
opportunities to practice their technology skills they would facilitate digital literacy across
disciplines.
Learning Needs & Literature Support
The project plan shown in Table 2 outlines opportunities for educators to grow in six of
the ISTE standards: Leader, Learner, Collaborator, Designer, Facilitator, and Analyst.
Unfortunately, many staff members are resistant to technology integration. There are many
causes of this friction such as having bad experiences with convoluted, poorly designed
interfaces like Brightspace or not understanding the ways that technology can be used to
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transform a learning experience beyond the level of substitution. This creates a need to educate
educators on how to effectively use technology. However, for educators to succeed, and be
propelled forward, district leaders need to provide teachers with the necessary tools- starting with
the adoption of a new LMS. The current LMS, Brightspace is universally hated by educators of
all grade levels across the county because the interface is not user-friendly. Something that
should take two clicks takes 13, leaving teachers confused and impatient. As an e-coach and
Brightspace Champion (expert), even I find myself taking shortcuts when posting my lessons to
Brightspace to save time and frustration. By adopting a more user-friendly LMS we can
empower teachers to do more with technology like they did during the pandemic in the Google
Classroom Era.
To encourage teachers’ integration of technology following the adoption of the new LMS
they will need tech support and professional development. Semesterly professional development
sessions will help educators learn the basics of the new LMS and roll out features periodically.
Educators would also benefit from expanding the e-coach role at the school. Currently, the
e-coach (me) is a teacher with a full load of classes which limits their time to help support
teachers with instructional technology and tech integration. By making the e-coach a
school-based position with expanded responsibilities and tech support knowledge, teachers will
have reliable support when trying to infuse technology into their instruction and use the new
LMS. Finally, teaching educators how to post their daily lessons on the LMS puts the
responsibility back on the students to keep track of their assignments and learning. Although
teachers are often skeptical when adopting new technology, studies show that when they receive
proper training and support and when the interface is intuitive and user-friendly, teachers are
more likely to embrace technology use in their classrooms (Rienties et. al, 2018).
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As teachers become more comfortable with the new LMS, it’s essential to continue to
teach them how to use technology for different purposes. The learning plan incorporates
opportunities for educators to collaborate and exchange ideas with educators across the district
on how to use technology authentically within their content areas. Effective technology
integration has been shown to have numerous educational benefits such as increasing student
motivation, engagement, collaboration, hands-on learning, confidence, and technology skills
(Costley, 2014). By providing time for teachers to collaborate they can share different
content-specific technology that helps to promote authentic learning experiences. For example,
the use of digital simulations in science classes allows students to test their hypotheses and take
ownership of their learning (Smetana & Bell, 2012). Using simulations also increases student
engagement, confidence, and the relevance of content for students (Velaora et al., 2022).
Promoting the exchange of ideas and technologies allows educators to test different learning
tools and discover new learning resources.
Finally, the learning plan includes the use of digital assessment tools to track student
progress and achievement. By administering student assessments digitally it allows teachers to
easily analyze data tied to specific learning standards. This technology helps educators to
collaborate more easily and make decisions about their students’ learning as individual teachers,
as content teams, and as a school (Wayman & Stringfield, 2006). The overall goal of this
learning plan is to make teachers’ jobs easier while promoting a better education for our students.
ISTE-C Leadership Reflection
Since being thrust into the role of e-coach and LMS champion at my school the same
year the pandemic hit, I’ve learned a lot about the need for technology leadership. Before
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becoming both of these roles I did not know they existed in schools. I’ve expanded my role and
taken on more responsibilities to coach teachers who are emerging technology users.
My professional learning plan allows me to showcase my technology coaching skills as a
change agent, professional learning facilitator, and digital citizen advocate. To create equitable
access to learning, I will help teach educators the skills needed to master the new LMS. By
requiring teachers to post learning materials on the LMS, we can give access to all students and
enable them to use assistive technology such as read-aloud tools and highlight features. With our
current LMS, teachers struggle to post things online, and I often have to coach the same teachers
through the same process again and again because they cannot remember the steps or cannot
follow the step-by-step instructions.
By first selecting a new, user-friendly LMS and then delivering professional development
sessions to learn how to use it I believe teachers will be able to advance their technology use. As
a professional learning facilitator, I will lead professional development sessions that build on the
basics of LMS usage gradually. By chunking sessions into targetted skill sets, new information
will be delivered in a way as to not overwhelm educators with all the information at once. When
teachers feel comfortable with the basics of posting their learning materials on the LMS, I will
deliver a schoolwide session on the SAMR model of technology integration. By teaching
teachers some of the options of technology integration, they will be empowered to try to up their
game and transform tasks rather than simply using a word processor online.
Finally, by expanding my role as an e-coach, I will have more capacity to create
resources for both students and teachers about being a digital citizen. Without a full teaching
load, I could create lessons on digital citizenship to be taught in student seminar lessons, along
with fliers and newsletters with tips and tricks. For example, I could make infographics about
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suspicious emails, online etiquette, privacy policies, etc. As the need for learning digital
citizenship increases for both students and staff, so does the need for an expanded e-coach role in
each school.
Project Plan
Table 2 outlines the flexible 3-5-year professional learning plan to enhance technology
integration at North County High School.
Table 2
Standard 2: Leader
Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success
and to improve teaching and learning.
2.c Model Digital Tool Use: Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation,
curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning.
Action Steps & Person Technologies Assessment
Benefit(s)
Timeline Responsible Employed Method(s)
Replace Brightspace -Superintendent -A -Increasing -Track teacher
with a new, user-friendly technology use and student use
user-friendly LMS -District LMS such as of students and of new LMS
and allow users to Leaders Canvas teachers throughout
pilot it for a year rollout
before -Increasing
implementation. buy-in
(Summer 2024)
Standard 1: Learner
Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice,
discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.
1.a Set Professional Goals: Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical
approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.
Action Steps & Person Technologies Assessment
Benefit(s)
Timeline Responsible Employed Method(s)
Create -Office of -Google meet -Teachers can -Track usage of
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district-wide LMS Instructional for virtual learn basic LMS features
training each Technology trainings features and be
semester for the (OIT) shown firsthand -Collect
first three years of members -Google apps for how to use them feedback after
the roll-out. and/or presentations trainings from
e-coaches -Refreshers teachers to guide
-Computers remind staff how future training
-Include new
features with -Teachers and to use features and guage
-Projectors if
increasing administrators they may not efficacy
presenting in
complexity have initially
person
used
-Include refresher -New LMS to be
training sessions trained on
mandatory for new
staff but optional
for returning staff
(Back to school
training August
2025 & Semesterly
after)
Expand E-Coach -District -All AACPS -Teachers will -E-coach logs
role to paid, Leaders Instructional have more can provide
school-based Technology technology insight into what
position and tools support for both types of services
include software and they are being
administrative hardware issues utilized for the
access for basic most and what
things such as -Teachers will be the needs of
password resets more likely to each school are
and course expand
management technology use
(August 2025) and are less
likely to give up
if they feel
supported
Provide -E-coaches -Google Meet -Teachers will -Walkthroughs
district-wide and/or OIT for virtual understand how will be
professional members training technology can conducted by
development on be used to administrators to
the SAMR model -Teachers and -Google apps for transform gather data on
to teachers administrators presentations education rather SAMR levels of
including examples than substitute technology use
-Computers
of each level of basic tasks in classrooms
integration in a
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lesson. -Projectors if -Teachers will
(Back to school presenting in use technology
training August person more effectively
2026) and at higher
levels of
integration
Standard 4: Collaborator
Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice,
discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.
4.a Collaborate with Colleagues: Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to
create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology.
Standard 5: Designer
Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and
accommodate learner variability.
5.b Design Authentic Learning Activities: Design authentic learning activities that align with
content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
Action Steps & Person Technologies Assessment
Benefit(s)
Timeline Responsible Employed Method(s)
Create -AACPS -Google Meet -Expands -Surveys can be
collaboration-based content for virtual teacher arsenals utilized after
professional specialists collaboration of instructional district-wide
development sessions tools content PD days
during -Teachers -Various to determine
back-to-school county-approve -Creates utility
content district-wide d instructional professional
PD days for teachers technologies networking
to share strategies of (i.e. PhET, opportunities for
integrating Gizmos, educators to
instructional Nearpod, etc.) create a
technologies specific community
-Computers
to their discipline
(Back to school
training August 2024
and yearly after)
Share instructional -Department -Various -Expands -Walkthroughs
technology tools chairs, county-approve teacher arsenals will be
during department content team d instructional of instructional conducted by
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and or collaborative leads technologies tools department
planning meetings chairs to observe
(Each monthly -Teachers -Computers how teachers
department meeting incorporate new
-Projectors to
or once a month in technology into
present
collaborative their classrooms
meetings beginning
August 2024)
Standard 6: Facilitator
Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE
Standards for Students.
6.a Foster Student Ownership of Learning: Foster a culture where students take ownership of
their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings.
6.b Foster Classroom Management of Tech: Manage the use of technology and student
learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces and in
the field.
Action Steps Person Technologies Assessment
Benefit(s)
& Timeline Responsible Employed Method(s)
Require -Teachers -New LMS -Makeup work is readily -Track LMS
teachers to accessible usage and
post -Administrators -G Suite for student work
assignments to or department Education or -Students can participate completion
the new LMS chairs One Drive from a distance in the
platform to be event of missing school
accessed by or extreme weather
students
-All materials are in one
digitally
place for substitutes
(August 2025)
-Teachers can monitor
student work completion
in real-time if they are
completing it digitally
-Digital assignments are
easy to score
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Standard 7 Analyst:
Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving
their learning goals.
7.b Use Tech to Create Assessments: Use technology to design and implement a variety of
formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely
feedback to students and inform instruction.
Action Steps & Person Technologies Assessment
Benefit(s)
Timeline Responsible Employed Method(s)
Require teachers to -Teachers -Performance -Allows -Teachers will
use technology to Matters, teachers to assess data as a
track formative -Administrators Google analyze team and
and/or summative or department Forms, or assessment data compare trends
achievement data chairs to ensure other individually, as to previous data
through the use of follow-through assessment a content team,
digital assessments tools etc. *Assessment
(August 2026) may not be
-Data-driven applicable
decision-making because
teachers may
not have
previously
analyzed data as
a baseline
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References
Costley, K. C. (2014). The positive effects of technology on teaching and student learning. Online
submission.
North County High School (2023-24 ranking) - Glen Burnie, MD. Public School Review. (2023).
[Link]
North County High School. U.S. News. (2023).
[Link]
unty-public-schools/north-county-high-school-9006
Rienties, B., Herodotou, C., Olney, T., Schencks, M., & Boroowa, A. (2018). Making sense of
learning analytics dashboards: A technology acceptance perspective of 95 teachers.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(5).
Smetana, L. K., & Bell, R. L. (2012). Computer simulations to support science instruction and
learning: A critical review of the literature. International Journal of Science Education,
34(9), 1337–1370.
[Link]
Velaora, C., Dimos, I., Tsagiopoulou, S., & Kakarountas, A. (2022). A Game-Based Learning
Approach in Digital Design Course to Enhance Students’ Competency †. Information
(2078-2489), 13(4), 177.
[Link]
Wayman, J. C., & Stringfield, S. (2006). Technology-supported involvement of entire faculties in
examination of student data for instructional improvement. American Journal of Education,
112(4), 549-571.
