The Article
Professor Yong Zhao and his colleagues at the Center for Information Development of the Michigan Technology Implementation Project (MTIP) developed a rubric designed to provide a framework for school professional development staff, administrators, and teachers to design, identify, or evaluate professional development programs focused on integrating technology into the curriculum.

Discussion
The rubric was developed based on a comprehensive review of the literature on professional development for teachers, especially in the use of technology for educational purposes and a longitudinal empirical study of professional development for teachers. The rubric is designed to assess the potential effectiveness of comprehensive professional development initiatives and programs, including components developed through district/school efforts and those purchased from outside vendors. The rubric included five categories of indicators. Each category contains a set of factors that have been found to affect the effectiveness of professional development for technology integration. The categories included such things as context (professional development should provide teachers with adequate resources and time to experience and experiment with district-supported technology), content (professional development should focus on using technology to improve student learning), and provider (professional development should be provided by educational experts who understand technology or technology experts who understand education). The whole rubric yields one total score that indicates the overall effectiveness of a professional development program. If the final score is less than 1, the professional development program is poor and needs improvement. If the final score is larger than 2, the professional development program is excellent.

What It Means To You
The rubric is designed to be useful professional development staff, administrators, and teachers. Would the rubric be useful to staff in your district in evaluating or designing a professional development program focused on integrating technology into the curriculum?

For More Information
If you would like to receive the rubric, you can contact Professor Yong Zhao at zhaoyo@msu.edu

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