PD Makeover
J2 Training - Janet Corder & Joan Gore
Kahoot
- On your device or laptop, open kahoot.it.
- Enter the Pin number projected on the screen and click Enter.
- Type in your name and click Join Game.
- Wait for the teacher to begin the game.
Post-It App
Read more about it here...includes a how-to video.
Note - The app requires IOS 8.0.
Post-It App Activity
Write your name and job title on a Post-It Note.
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere Activity
Text 267970 and your message to 37607.
Smore
Examples:
- ASCD PD Online
- Taylor ISD DuckLink #27
- Professional Development, Bellarmine Prep
- 2014-2015 Professional Develoment, Woodridge SD
- iPads in the Classroom
- iPad 101
- Ready for BYOD
- Frisco ISD - notice the links to sign-up for each class
Laura Chaffey (@laurachaffey), an educator from Australia, uses Smores to accompany her traditional Professional Development sessions. Click here to view Laura's Smores.
Smore User Guide
Creating One Pagers with Smore and Tackk
Professional Development Activities
Field Trips - This is one of our all-time most popular Professional Development days! Your staff will not want to leave at the end of the day.
App Task Challenges - Participants are given challenges to complete with various apps. The challenges can then be done in the classroom. These are creation app activities, not "drill and kill".
Rolling the Dice with Teacher Professional Development - Teachers in this workshop decide on an outcome for their lesson, roll a dice of apps to determine which apps will be used during the lesson and then work collaboratively to create a lesson based on the objective and selected apps.
Your PLN and Professional Development
Twitter
Build your own PLN on Twitter. Whether you're a lurker or a heavy-duty Tweeter, you will discover some of the best PD ever!
Click here for a great Twitter Guidebook.
Great Educators to Follow:
@alicekeeler
Twitter Chats occur when a group of people tweet about a specific topic using the same hashtag (#). By using the same hashtag, participants can all follow along and respond to questions posted by a moderator. The chats are at a specific time and usually repeat weekly. Find a Twitter Chat that interests you here.
Read more: How to Participate in a Tweet Chat by Janet Fouts
Using Twitter for Professional Development
How Do Educators Use Twitter For Professional Development?
How to Use Twitter Chats to Expand Your PLNTeachers on Twitter: why you should join and how to get started
Teachers: Embrace Twitter for Professional Development
A New Kind of Twitter PDThe Twitter Question of @ and .
The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Network
Plickers Activity
Do you use Twitter?
A. I don't have an account...yet.
B. I have an account, but I have not used it.
C. I have an account and I have Tweeted a little bit.
D. I am a Twitter addict!
Book Recommendations
Be Inspired! We have been greatly impacted by Dave Burgess and his book, Teach Like a Pirate. It will change the way you look at how you look at education.
Be sure and follow Dave - @burgessdave and follow the hashtag #tlap.
Digital Leadership
Administrators...this is the book for you! Eric Sheninger, a former New Jersey High School Principal, focuses on moving schools forward in the digital age.
Follow Eric - @E_Sheninger.
The Innovator’s Mindset by George Courus
Follow George - @gcouros
Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Follow Matt - @jmattmiller
EdCamps
EdCamps are popping up all over the world! Check out the EdCamp Home site for a calendar of upcoming events. If you cannot attend an EdCamp, follow the hashtag on Twitter to learn from wherever you are!
EdCamp Home
How EdCamps Break the Rules of Professional Development
Top 5 Reasons to Attend an EdCamp
The EdCamp Calendar lists all future and past EdCamps.
Marketing Your PD
Online Invitations
Send online Evites to your PD. Many of the sites send periodic updates to remind your staff about the upcoming event.
EventBrite
Punchbowl
Reserved Seating
Issue a ticket for technology training reserving a seat for the attendee. Click here for an online boarding pass template.
Themes
Teachers/staff will remember you and your session if you associate a theme with the training. A theme is a hook that can help start your PD off on the right foot! Below are a few examples:
- Teach Like a Pirate - Decorate with pirate hats, patches, gold coins and strands of beads. Open your session with the Play Doh activity from the TLAP book. Focus on how to implement the PIRATE strategies in the classroom.
- Getting Groovy with Technology - Dig out your 60's bell-bottoms, tie-dyed shirts and peace signs for a fun theme that's sure to to make your PD fun for everyone!
- Time Out for Technology - Wear a referee’s jersey, black pants and a whistle. Use popcorn, peanuts, and chocolate footballs or basketballs for snacks.
- Home Run Technology or Opening Day in ___ ISD - Wear baseball jerseys/t-shirts from your favorite or local team. Use popcorn, peanuts, hot dogs, bubble gum and apple pies for snacks. Give away baseball cards and tickets to a baseball game
- 911- Help is on the Way! - Dress in scrubs. Ask your local pharmacist to donate pill bottles, make labels and fill with jellybeans.
Short & Relevant PD
Lunch and Learn or Power Lunch - Short training sessions during the lunch hour are extremely beneficial to the members of your school district.
Teachers in different grade levels and disciplines can share their ideas at these sessions throughout the year. The presentation should be easily repeated and a handout made available or put on a shared drive. Videotape the sessions and post them on the district website so that people could come back to it for review or for those that could not attend. Don't forget to bring a snack to share!
Lunch & Learn/Power Lunch Ideas:
- Nuts About Nearpod - Nuts or Nutter Butter Cookies
- Go Noodle - Ramen Noodle Salad
- Socrative - Sock It To Me Cake
How About Breakfast PD?
- Rise and Shine - Providing training before school may be the only time that some employees can attend.
- Tacos and Technology - Provide breakfast tacos
Here are just a few more…
- Mobile Monday
- Wired Wednesday
- WOW Wednesday
- Tablet Tuesday/Thursday
Incentives and or door prizes for staff members who attend training do not have to impact the campus or district budget. Ideas to consider include:
- Free pass to wear jeans
- Prime parking spot for a day, week or month
- Donated restaurant coupon
- Principal or assistant principal takes the teacher’s class for an hour
Top-Down Technology
- Model technology usage every day
- Set expectations for faculty members
- Be a cheerleader
- Designate a faculty meeting once a month for technology training and updates
- Provide release time and training support for those who seek it
- Require a technology component in team notes and lesson plans
- On a Friday, send an email, Remind message or Tweet stating that all who read this may leave fifteen minutes early to encourage faculty members to frequently check their inbox and Twitter accounts.
- Send emails, Remind messages and/or Tweets that recognize various teachers who effectively integrate technology.f
- Maintain a blog, Smore, or other online newsletters for parents to keep them updated on the latest school news.
Remind (formerly Remind 101)
Remind has also been used by educators attending conferences to alert their colleagues of great sessions, the best vendor booths to visit and most importantly, where to meet for lunch! The Remind Attach feature allows teachers to instantly share documents and photos with their peers.
Texting to Professional Development
5 Ways Administrators are Using Remind
Online Learning
Sophia - Professional Development for Teachers - Sophia offers free, online certifications geared at the Flipped Classroom, however, the training is great even if you don't flip!
Simple K-12 offers free webinars covering a variety of topics.
Nevada Pathway Project - This free, online MOOC (massively open online course) is designed for teachers and instructional leaders who are trying to change their pedagogy to meet the needs of the 21st Century student.
School District Websites for Technology Professional Development
Great Resources
Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Kleinspiration by Erin Klein
Edutopia by the George Lucas Education Foundation
Technically Yours, Teamann by Amber Teamann
Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom by Steven Anderson
Shake Up Learning by Kasey Bell
Professional Development Resources for Teachers by Teacher Vision
Why Teachers Need Personalized Professional Development by Edumedic
Google Classroom Tutorials by Aaron Svoboda
Everything Google LiveBinder by Mickie Mueller
Professional-development reform: 8 steps to make it happen by Tom Murray
10 Keys to Making Professional Learning Meaningful by Samantha Cleaver
Why Quality Professional Development for Teachers Matters by Ben Johnson
After the Training
What happens after the professional development occurs? How do you know that you have wisely invested school district money by sending a faculty member to a convention or workshop? How do you keep the enthusiasm going after a professional development session?
- Strut Your Stuff - Participants invite their supervisor and/or trainer when they are teaching something from a professional development session.
- Designate one faculty meeting each month for Cutting Edge Technology. Different staff members present a technology lesson from a training (face-to-face or online) or conference they have attended. The meeting does not include any other information...only technology!
- Attendees present a technology moment at a parent meeting/PTO. Not only does this allow the participant the opportunity to share what they are doing with the students, it is great PR for your professional development program.
- Use Remind (www.remind.com) to send documents, voice messages and/or text messages with new ideas, websites, etc. to participants.
- Create discussion groups - Participants meet regularly (face to face, Google Hangouts, etc.) to discuss the professional development session(s) - what worked, what did not work, what changes had to be made for implementation, etc.
- Hold regular Twitter Chats where teachers can share their thoughts and ideas for implementing the skills in their classroom that were taught in the PD session(s).
- Recognize staff members who have implemented new technology skills in their classroom through newsletters and/or school website, at faculty meetings, school-wide email, etc.
Tools for Gathering Input
Door Prizes/Giveaways
J2 Training
Janet Corder & Joan Gore
www.j2training.org
j2training@yahoo.com
tinyurl.com/j2shelf
Follow us on Twitter:
@corderj
@joangore