The following process is recommended for training observers to use the ICOT form.
- Review the tool and consider what you want to get out of the observation process. Are you trying to identify professional development needs? Are you assessing change in classroom practice over time? Do you want to document alignment with national standards?
- Have observers watch classroom lessons where technology is being used. This can be done in a real classroom, or by using video archives of lessons such as those at Videoclassroom.org, Observers may also use the ICOT to respond to a detailed written scenario of a lesson being delivered in a classroom.
- Observers discuss the data with partners or the whole group to reach consensus on how to apply the ICOT. How will you define technology as "in use?" How will you decide if a technology use is "Essential?" What will it take to determine if a particular standard has been addressed?
- Users of pilot versions of the ICOT recommend that that an observation be long enough to record the process of technology use across different activities and classroom transitions. Twenty minutes is a useful minimum, as it allows time to record data and attend to the details of the classroom setting. Depending on the intensity and variety of technology uses, and on the purpose of the observation, longer or shorter observation times may be appropriate.
ISTE will provide additional ICOT training resources in this area as they become available.
