Internet staff development essentials: here are tips for doing teacher training right. (the online edge).

With a 10-year national investment of $37.8 billion in education technology, a report released recently by the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, www.ceoforum. org, claims that schools are too focused on installing hardware and not looking at how it can be used to help students learn. Hardware and online connectivity account for about 63 percent of school technology spending; only 17 percent is devoted to teacher training. The forum recommends cutting hardware buying back to 45 percent and beefing up staff development to 30 percent of the yearly budget.

While it may seem expensive to do Internet staff development well, it costs more in the long run to do it poorly, and even more to skip it altogether. So whether you do your own staff development or hire outside consultants, the following are key elements I have gleaned from doing countless programs:

FOCUS ON SKILL DEVELOPMENT "Inspirational" presentations certainly have their place, but participants will benefit far more if they acquire specific useable content and practical techniques they can apply educationally. Examples include learning to do targeted Web searches, how to sign up for online discussion groups and how to propose collaborative projects.

TAILOR PROGRAMS TO LOCAL REALITIES Teachers will justifiably feel frustrated if the content presented cannot be applied because the needed technology is not available. Similarly, the skills and examples that are introduced should be appropriate for the teaching levels, content specialties and technology experience of the participants.

USE HUMOR WITH A PURPOSE Humor can be used effectively to add interest, but is more valuable if it relates to concepts in the presentation. For example, I share the term "dinosaur point" when glazed looks of participants tell me it is time to move on to a new activity. That concept came from a student's book report on dinosaurs that concluded: "This book told me more about dinosaurs than I cared to know!"

ENCOURAGE NOTE-TAKING When participants "act" on presented information by keeping notes in their own words, they will always be better equipped to apply the content after the program has ended. I almost always provide participants with overview handouts they can use in following along each presentation, and encourage taking notes.

CITE GENUINE TEACHING EXAMPLES While there is no lack of hypothetical examples for using online resources to enhance, extend and transform the curriculum, it is far more valuable to show how real teachers and real students use online content for specific educational purposes. Drawing on the expertise of local school experts can be particularly motivating.

IDENTIFY MAJOR CURRICULUM SOURCE SITES Distributed lists of applications can soon become obsolete, since individual addresses can suddenly change, move or disappear. While examples are important, it is more effective to identify the "source sites" where applications can be found, since these locations are relatively stable (see "Curriculum Hot Spots on the Web 2002," CURRICULUM ADMINISTRATOR, September, 2001).

SCHEDULE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES Presentations should ideally include live online demonstrations that can also model what to do if problems arise. However, it is important for participants to try the procedures themselves as soon as possible. I therefore prefer to break long presentations into shorter blocks of time, each followed by online labs.

RECOMMEND SUPPORTING RESOURCES Staff development should also provide or recommend additional materials to help teachers apply what they have learned when they go it alone. These can include background articles, step-by-step instructions, copies of presentation slides, and optional activities.

PRESENT A VARIETY OF OPTIONS The best staff development programs continue throughout the year, and provide different types of experiences including large-group presentations, small-group presentations, curriculum- or level-specific workshops, and sessions with individuals. It is also important to announce related staff development experiences such as area conferences, workshops and online opportunities.

Odvard Egil Dyrli, [e-mail], is senior editor and emeritus professor of education at the University of Connecticut.