DT&L Bytes
Digital Teaching and Learning @PCHS │ October 2, 2017
An Opportunity to Do Something Amazing
Change is hard. Change, when we don’t drive it ourselves, can make us feel like we haven’t been doing something right or our work isn’t good enough. That’s not what it’s meant to be.
“Change is an opportunity to do something amazing” (Couros 3). It’s the process of bettering ourselves, of improving, growing and always learning. To change as educators is to embrace the premise that our world is continually evolving and our students will need to be prepared to walk into a world that is different than yesterday and especially different than the world we walked into at their age. To change is to innovate our instruction to meet today’s students where they are and not where we once were.
Change, for the sake of change, is not innovation. It’s just something different. Merely using technology is not innovation, either. “Technology can be crucial in the development of innovative organizations, but innovation is less about tools like computers, tablets, social media, and the Internet, and more about how we use those things” (Couros 20). It’s the why that gives us vision and inspires us (Sinek); it’s that how that puts our vision into action.
We have an amazing opportunity to change the learning experiences of our students on a daily basis. For that change to be innovative, we need to keep the learner at the center and ask what is best for this learner and what is best for his or her future. “Any time teachers think differently about who they teach and how they teach, they can create better learning opportunities” (Couros 21).
“The role of the teacher is to inspire learning and develop skills and mindsets of learners. A teacher, designer and facilitator, should continually evolve with resources, experiences, and the support of a community.” (Martin) Keep the dialog open. Ask questions. Collaborate. Take a risk. Reflect. Re-evaluate. Share. You have a community. Take advantage of those resources. Take the opportunity to do something amazing.
Resources:
- Couros, George. “What Innovation Is and Isn't.” The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity, Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc., 2015.
- Martin, Katie. “Creating a Culture of Innovation Versus Transformation, “ katiemartin.com, June 10, 2015, https://katielmartin.com/2015/06/10/creating-a-culture-of-innovation-vs-a-transformation.
- Sinek, Simon. “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” TED Talk video, 18:04, September 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action .
e-Hallpass
e-Hallpass is an electronic hall pass system that allows us to continually monitor our students whenever they leave our classrooms. No more writing out passes on scraps of paper or Post-It notes. "Pin" students out of class from their iPads, their phones, your iPad or your desktop.
Use your normal classroom policies regarding when a student can leave the room; students may generate a pass, but it's your decision if they can leave. When it's appropriate for them to leave, they generate the pass, you pin or approve it. Their pass changes color depending on its state: waiting, approved, or complete. The visual is great! Is the student just going to the bathroom or getting a drink? Have them leave their device on the chalk rail, on your desk, or somewhere else visible - you know they're still out while it's sitting there.
Visit this link for additional information and a pass creation video.
We have mini-workshops scheduled this week and next.
Digital Learning Study Halls
e-Hallpass
Dept. Prof. Learning
Which Digital Tools are You Using?
Partner with us and help us ensure your tools are approved and ready for to use when you need them. PLAN AHEAD. Visit Pine Creek's Resource List; it includes the resources submitted by you. Don't see the one you'd like to use? Visit the District database. Still don't see your resource? Fill out the Digital Tool Application and we'll get it submitted to District IT for approval. Once the tool is approved, we'll update our list and inform you. This process takes time, especially if a purchase needs to be made.
Please be patient with us and the District as we embark on this new process. The District database is continually being updated as is our own resource list. Our goal is to ensure you have the resources you need while protecting our students' privacy.
Have questions? Contact anyone of your Digital Resource Team members, Susan, Sasha or Steve.
PCHS Digital Resource Application
ASD20 Digital Resource Inventory
PCHS Digital Teaching & Learning Resources
What can your Digital Learning Coach do for you?
- Share with you what tools we have available to you and your students
- Show you how to use the tools we have
- Push out course-specific apps to you and your students
- Co-teach with you so that you can focus on the content and I can focus on the tool and any digital issues
- Trouble-shoot issues, iPad and Desktop
- Share our Vision and what it means as we travel down the road towards making that it real
- Help you plan and reflect on lessons using digital tools
- Provide Digital Citizenship tips and resources
I'm here to serve you!
Susan Murray-Carrico, Digital Learning Coach
Email: susan.murray@asd20.org
Website: http://www.pchsdigitallearning.org/
Location: 10750 Thunder Mountain Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Phone: 719.234.2663
Twitter: @FrauSusi