I know that I am a little late in posting reflections because the calendar shows a new year has arrived and we are now several days in. But better late than never, right?
As a group, my colleagues and I have spent some time looking at where we are and where we are going. Part of that process was to reflect upon our past endeavors and I must say we have done some great things for our school district. In the six and half years that I have been an Instructional Technology Facilitator, we have created materials for a state Computer Skills Test, Responsible Use Policy and Internet Safety lessons K-12. We have delivered thousands of hours of Professional Development and co-taught lessons with our teachers. We have used our Professional Learning Network to keep up with the latest innovations in the world of educational technology. We have found much needed resources, gave teachers tons of ideas of how to make technology a seamless part of their day, and made many IWB lessons. We have been instrumental in the successful rollout of NCWise, Office 2007, SMART Board Initiative, and Google Apps for Education for teachers and administrators. Not bad!
However, as you can imagine from people who tend to be in these types of positions, we want to do more to really impact student learning, to keep the students engaged, and prepare them for their future. To be honest, sometimes I feel like I am swimming upstream. So, we met yesterday to do an analysis of where we are and what opportunities we have in the future to continue to put the ITF mark on education in GCS.
It was a great meeting and the list of opportunities that we have are exciting! Looking at them helps to rejuvenate the energy needed to do a great job in this position.
Google Apps for Students
We began using Google Apps for Education with a small group of students last school year as a pilot to work out the issues and see the benefits before we go district wide. Seeing the success of the pilot and having a vision of where we want to go, we are embarking upon providing the suite to all of our students. So we are looking forward to providing teachers with lessons plans and ideas to successfully use this powerful tool to improve teaching and learning. It is exciting to think of the possibilities: student collaboration, class & project sites, electronic portfolios, published writing, and self-grading quizzes. We will show teachers how to make the paperwork part of teaching easier by using calendars, appointment scheduling for conferences, increasing communication to parents and students, and using Google forms for resource signup and data tracking.
Project Based learning (BYOD, iPad)
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| Photo credit: specialkrb via flickr |
We have long been proponents of project based learning to provide students with authentic integrated learning activities. This school year, we are in the midst of a pilot for how the use of iPads in the classroom would impact student learning and achievement. So far, the results are very positive with evidence of increased student engagement, more in-depth study of content, and improved student outcomes. We are also investigating the possibilities of Bring Your Own Device. As these programs take hold and students gain greater access to technology, we will seize the opportunity to provide PBL units to take full advantage of the capability of those types of devices.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
As you know, STEM incorporates multiple disciplines in order to engage students in using problem-solving and discovery learning to find a solution to a situation. Because teachers have been learning new curriculum and a new way of delivering that curriculum, STEM has taken a back seat. This affords us the opportunity to put together some ways to effectively utilize the technologies we have in place in STEM activities that can be used next school year since teachers will have already been through one year with the changes.
Exciting opportunities, don't you agree? If you have ideas or suggestions, please post the comments. I would love to hear them!
