Program Philosophy

The JMU NETS•T Certification program has been designed by teachers and technology specialists for teachers and technology specialists.* Instead of traditional professional development, the Program focuses on the peer collaborative Virtual Community of Practice (VCOPs) which follows the adage:

We are all smarter collectively than any one of us is individually.

Just as the days of the Sage on the Stage are past, the facilitative role of the Guide on the Side is multiplied when applied to an entire community of learners. JMU NETS•T certification is above all a collaborative pursuit, wherein all members of the community assist all others in the community in achieving mutually-shared (yet individually achieved) performance goals.

Instead of relying on monolithic teacher-centered professional development resources, the design of the Program supports any type of professional development, whether formal (e.g., courses for academic credit), or informal (e.g., small ad hoc learning teams). Further, instead of creating static professional development resources whose shelf-life lessens with each new technology development, the JMU NETS•T VCOPs rely on dynamic self-renewing community-based resources (e.g., teacher-maintained wikis).

This allowance for locally-developed but widely-dispersed resources keeps program costs low, ensuring sustainability even in difficult economic times. This low cost of participation also means that more teachers can be certified for a given resource expenditure, thus increasing the overall rate of adoptions in schools and divisions. And this higher adoption rate is the key to the Program's success, because higher rates of adoption lead to a change not just in individual teachers, but in the overall climate of the school.

	We have such a large percentage of teachers and ITRTs who are NETS▪T certified, that it tends to create a culture of learning that affects not only the teachers who are certified, but those who aren’t as well…. Because we have so many certified, it becomes contagious to those who are not and they want to participate….

	Doug Alderfer, Principal J. Frank Hillyard Middle School JMU NETS▪T adoption rate of 40% and rising

In Virginia, the technology specialist role is filled by the ITRT. ITRT refers to the Virginia Instructional Technology Resource Teacher. This position is staffed by a licensed teacher who spends at least 70% of his or her time consulting with regular classroom teachers regarding the effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.