Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency

Despite federal legislation and national technology plans, making technology significant in K-12 classrooms has yet to happen. The difficulty lies in veteran teachers who struggle to gain technological fluency. Many identified barriers continue to prevail, not for lack of teachers' trying but because of the overwhelming nature of technology. Professional development programs should restructure how teachers acquire educational technology knowledge so that it complements and augments curriculum standards. The author introduces the notion of the knowledge broker, who becomes an intermediary between the veteran teacher (often the least knowledgeable about technology) and constantly changing technological innovations. The author discusses why knowledge brokers are needed to provide a different level of professional development to support traditional forms.