Professional development is an important part of effective technology use, and only high-quality professional development can ensure the maximum benefits from the time and money spent. Educational technology requires educators not only to become familiar with the technology available in their schools but also to totally transform the teacher role . Professional development helps teachers learn new roles and teaching strategies that will eventually improve their students' achievement. Along with the demand for quality professional development comes the need to be accountable. Professional development programs must be assessed to document their value to the school organization, individual educators, and ultimately the students.
Formative evaluation is used to modify or improve a professional development program.
It is conducted throughout a professional development program to provide feedback and to determine changes to be made during the program to make it more valuable to participating educators. There are a number of ways to collect information for the formative evaluation. Summative evaluation is conducted at the conclusion of a professional development program to determine its overall success, again in reference to the goals determined during the earliest stages of planning. Summative evaluation focuses on long-term changes in the educators through surveys, interviews, and peer evaluation. It also looks at changes in the school organization.