RIVER HILL HIGH SCHOOL

12101 Clarksville Pike Clarksville, MD 21029 410-313-7120 (F) 410-313-7406 www.hcpss.org/rhhs

August 3, 2015
Dear Kathy McKinley:
This fall of 2015, in conjunction with the introduction of a second iPad cart,
John DiFato and Danielle Wojcik propose a professional development plan for the
teachers of River Hill High School. This professional development plan will
encompass means of helping teachers create effective materials for their
classrooms using different devices, programs, and technologies. Additionally, this
plan seeks to address the myriad of ways that students can use these devices,
programs, and technologies for instructional purposes. Before deciding which
technologies and programs to use during these professional development
sessions, John DiFato and Danielle Wojcik will poll the River Hill staff via a Google
Form in order to determine the needs of our staff members. Some of the possible
technologies and programs include Podcasting, iMovie, Screencasting (using
platforms such as Screencast-o-matic or Jing), Canvas, Blendspace. Other possible
items to discuss in the PIP sessions would be how to incorporate iPads into a
student-centered lesson or how to edit existing lessons to incorporate technology.
These professional development sessions will be run by John DiFato, Danielle
Wojcik, other staff members who volunteer, and technology-savvy students. In
order to best support our colleagues, we will offer follow-up sessions each week
following the professional development session for that month.
In order to address the four domains of the Charlotte-Danielson framework,
a significant source of stress for our faculty, we seek to tie our professional
development sessions into the requirements of these domains. Thus, teachers can
build their portfolios with artifacts while simultaneously learning strategies for
implementing technologies, devices, and programs into their classrooms. Our
sessions general purpose addresses Domain 1, Planning and Preparation,
because our sessions will provide ways in which teachers can use different
technologies, programs, and devices to improve their instruction and foster their
students 21st-century skills. By incorporating real-world strategies that foster
21st-century learning, we will address Domain 2, The Classroom Environment. We
can offer strategies using technology that help manage student behavior, manage
classroom procedures, and establish a culture for learning. Domain 3, Instruction,
deals with student-centered learning and communicating with students, facets of
this domain that technology professional development sessions can address.
Finally, we can offer opportunities for other staff members to teach these
sessions, which would allow them to create artifacts for Domain 4, Professional
Responsibilities.
This coming 2015-2016 school year, our professional development sessions
aim to make our colleagues more comfortable with technologies, devices, and
programs that enhance student learning. We hope to involve both teachers and

students in these professional development sessions, not just as learners but also
as instructors.
Sincerely,
Danielle Wojcik and John DiFato
English Teacher and Social Studies Teacher