Artifact 2: Technology and the 21st Century Learning Space Design

This was by far the most fun project that I worked on.  Thinking about and then designing a 21st century classroom lead me to think about how I use the classroom, but also on how I'd like to be able to use my classroom.  With 1:1 devices in my students' hands, the need to have access to chargers was a priority for my design.  After that I wanted to have a space for a green screen so that students weren't trying to record in the hallway or unsupervised in the MRC.  I also, wanted furniture that was flexible and could be moved as needed for group work, projects, or presentations.  Finally, I wanted my room to be cozy and able to meet the various movement needs of my students.  Some other great features are a printer, a pet, and couch!  Check it out:

Artifact 1: Educational Technology Leadership Slideshow

This first artifact was a report on the state of teacher needs in my district.  It points out the fact that even though we are an advantaged district with funds for technology, the need to provide teacher training in this area still exists.  Fancy tools alone don't increase student learning.  Teachers need to know how to implement tech tools within their lesson plans to engage learners and teach the standards in ways that develop critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration.  This isn't a one and done staff development day.  It needs to be ongoing and differentiated to help teachers meet their goals and close the skills gap.  Below I've attached my slideshow pointing out this need in my school district.

Managing Educational Technology Services Reflection

This was by far my most challenging class for two reasons.  First off, hubs, firewalls, and data speed are not something that I deal with on a day to day basis.  These are the items that make me dial 9-1-1 to our tech department.  Secondly, working with a group of six busy adults, all who work at different buildings in our district, made completing a group project seem overwhelming at first.  However, as with each of these classes, the take-away has been tremendous and I felt like I really learned a lot.  I may not ever put to use the hardware side of this class, but by going through the process of developing a district-wide technology plan, I know have an even greater respect for what the coaches, technicians, and IT department do.  I had no idea what was truly involved in a technology plan.  From the teacher's perspective it seems simple; give us iPads, load them up with apps, have a parent consent form.  However, I discovered that budgeting, repairing, disposing, and providing for professional development all play key parts of a well run technology plan that prepares 21st century learners.  I was happy to discover some of the good things that our District has in place like a help desk, coaches, and hardware replacement cycle.  Moreover, I was also able to see some of the areas in need of improvement, such as: professional development, more technology coaches, the need to address the digital divide, and a better way to be sure that we are educating our students on digital citizenship as well as plagiarism and copyright laws.

Artifact 2: Walk-Through Form

Several years ago, our district participated in walk-throughs done by administration.  The focus was Depth of Knowledge, but to me they weren't really beneficial because the feedback wasn't there.  All we got to see was a spreadsheet of numbers.  This didn't tell me, as a classroom teacher, anything specific about what I could change or how to do it.  In thinking about technology use and using the 4 C's, I created a form that I feel is definitely teacher friendly and if used in conjunction with some good old-fashioned conversation, I think very powerful.  Being on the other side of a walk-through helped me to see it's value.  So I've included a link to my form.

Artifact 1: Professional Development

How do you reach educators and support staff when collectively they are at all different levels?  Where is the pre-test for that?  I think the answer to that question for staff development is - choice.  We have to give several opportunities for choice so that teachers and all others, from support staff to psychologists, can reflect on what they need and what they want, to grow.  One of the things I am most proud of is my PD day menu.  During this professional development day, I gave educators choice and a variety of learning opportunities that would help them in their classrooms right away. Take a look...

21st Century Educational Leadership Reflection

This has been my most loved class so far.  I love planning things from lesson plans to vacations - I'm your girl!  So being able to plan professional development is right up my alley.  However, the challenge of it is real.  My biggest fear in being a teacher leader is not having all the answers.  When I left education to be a stay at home mom, I really felt I was at the top of my game.  After returning to the classroom, it was quite a struggle to not only keep up but to catch up.  So much had changed.  I immediately felt as if I was behind the eight ball.  After being back for eight years now, I finally feel like I can be in the position again of a teacher leader.  Partly because I went back to school and feel more confident in technology use.

Now the challenge becomes implementing all that I have learned and helping other teachers to step on board.  I love the #observeme movement.  This is one of the first ways that I think I can help be a teacher leader.  By showing my professional colleagues that I'm open to others seeing what I'm doing in my classroom on a regular basis, I feel that I would be taking that first step towards growth for myself and others.  If I open up my room, maybe others will too.  Learning from each other is one of the most satisfying, powerful, and easiest things to do.  Teaching can be isolating, but it doesn't have to be.  I want to help us be more reflective of our teaching and I really just want some great ideas!

Also, running or even sharing at a staff meeting is another way to be a teacher leader.  The resources on emails and hosting staff meetings were very informative.  It is nice to see that principals feel that they too have staff meetings that bomb and others that are great.  There is so much to learn from them.  Often after attending a conference, we are asked to share out with colleagues.  I can now be more effective on how I do this.  Taking into account that there will be teachers and support staff at all different levels and stages.  Providing choice, making it fun, giving the chance to move or be creative.  These ideas that we try to implement in the classroom also appeal to adult learners.  Most importantly, adults don't want their time wasted.  They want to know how this "new thing" will benefit them and be allowed time to practice in a safe and non-threatening way.  This upcoming October, I'll be sharing what I learned in Defined STEM training at a faculty meeting and I'm ready!

Capstone Project

Well...let's just say that working on our Capstone Project is the ultimate in terms of the 4 C's.  We're having to use creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication in order to get this project rolling.  Probably the biggest struggle is the size of our group. We have a large class and so the natural tendency is to break into smaller groups where we can actually discuss our ideas and put a plan together.  This is similar to the class size that we're used to teaching and it also reminded me of when our grade-level teams get together for collaboration.  Anything bigger than about 6 people is difficult when the end-result is the production of something.  This will also prove to be a challenge when we're looking to coordinate a time to get together in the future to finish planning and roll it out to our District.  The help of a teacher to facilitate us was very beneficial in the first stages.  We will need a person to step into this role if we meet again as a large group.

Another difficulty in this project is the collaboration piece of it.  My group is in charge of the promotion, yet we were unable to effectively design anything because the details of the challenge had not yet been fleshed out.  We are relying on them to figure out the challenges first, so that we have accurate information to advertise.  We also came across a dilemma of a which digital tool to use.  We wanted one that we all knew, had the bells and whistles we were looking for, and yet was collaborative so we could all work on it at the same time.  We started we Piktochart and then discovered it wasn't collaborative - or at least we could figure it out.

Going forward, in order for this Capstone Project to be successful, we will definitely need to coordinate some time to work together.  We will need to effectively figure out the best time, date, and place to meet so that we can have the majority of people present.  We will have to share out our ideas and action steps with each of the sub-groups so that we can be effective in the way that we roll out our challenge and manage the results.  There is a huge risk in doing anything district-wide.  Will we be able to hit our target audience, get them to be as passionate about this as we are, and follow through on communicating the results and celebrating the accomplishments of the participators?  If it is done well, it could be a huge step in growing our capacity as a staff.  It can boost comrade and help our cohort to be seen as teacher leaders within our district.  If it is rolled our poorly it will certainly be a negative reflection on our group and seen as many other new initiatives are seen - the flavor of the day.

I feel my strengths are that of organization and communication so I know that I will do my part to organize us and communicate our tasks, goals, and follow-up plans.  I will also work hard to communicate to the other groups and will follow through any task that I'm given.  I think that one way to do this is to come up with a schedule by working backwards from our end goal.  If we create a  list of goals with deadlines and then assign who is responsible, it will help us to stay on track.  I think this was started already, so we just have to tweak it and hold each other accountable to it.  Oh and snacks are always a plus!