We did a thing! Over the summer, my school purchased new iPads for our Kindergarten through 5th-grade classrooms, and a couple of iPad carts for our Middle School. Not only did our students get new devices, but each teacher received a new iPad. The significance of this purchase is that our 3rd-5th-grade teachers will be integrating this tool into their classroom environments for the very first time and our Middle School will be adding it to their repertoire of learning tools. For some teachers, the uncertainty of what this "thing" might bring to their classroom can be a source of nightmares.
For me, this "THING" is a DREAM! As a Tech Coach, I love going into a new school year with a vision and a goal. The purchase of new iPads gave me a very clear vision and goal. My vision for the iPad is to equip our students with a powerful learning tool and for our teachers to create immersive learning opportunities where students can create, collaborate, and broaden their thinking. My goal is for the teachers to feel comfortable with the iPad and with integrating it into their lessons. To accomplish this goal, professional development is at the top of my "must do" list for the year. I've started working toward this goal, even before the school year began, by offering 6 training sessions over the summer on "Becoming an iPad Pro". This training focused on the basics of the iPad and was geared towards learning about the tool and its capabilities. Key components of the iPad training included navigation, multitasking, sharing, accessibility and modification, and creation.
The summer training laid the foundation for our new devices, so in order to work towards the goal of equipping our students with a powerful learning tool and for our teachers to feel comfortable with integrating them into their classroom environment, professional development remains at the top of my "must do" list for the year. With a firm foundation of iPad basics, it's time to build upon that and move towards how to best integrate this device into the curriculum so that it truly becomes a powerful learning tool for our students and not just an expensive pencil. So now that the "first days of school" are behind us and as we begin to settle into our school year routine, I am rolling out additional opportunities for professional development. Starting the month of October and for the remainder of the school year, I will be hosting a Tuesday Tune-Up after school on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Teachers can show up with a lesson plan that they feel is in need of a "tune-up". This is a great opportunity for teachers, with iPads in their classrooms for the first time, to bring in a lesson that they are not quite sure what it might look like carried out on an iPad versus a laptop. Or they can bring in a flat lesson plan that could benefit from a tech tool tune-up in order to pump up the volume! Also, beginning in the month of October, I will be offering Come E.A.T. (Everything Apple Thursdays). The Thursday sessions will also take place after school on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. The purpose of Come E.A.T. is to provide an opportunity for teachers to dive deeper into learning more about the iPad by embarking on the Apple Teacher Program. My hope is that by creating these two professional development opportunities teachers will come with a hunger to learn, engage with the technology our school has invested in, and a desire to feel more confident using Apple products for teaching and learning. By the time that the end of the school year rolls around, I am optimistic that the teachers that participated will have been inspired to become lifelong learners and will create innovative learning opportunities for their students.
Tune-Up Tuesdays and Come E.A.T. will provide teachers with the chance to learn more about our new iPads and integrating them into their "every day" classroom environment. Beyond that, it will allow teachers the time to see effective lesson plans, plan and create new lesson plans, and collaborate with their peers. But let's be honest, both of these professional development opportunities take place after school and are optional for teachers. As a mother of three, I know how difficult it is to stay after work on your own time for professional learning. That's why it is important for me, as their Tech Coach, to make it a priority to make myself available to teachers during their scheduled work time. Last school year, I created an Order Up! Tech Coach Menu. The idea was to communicate to my peers what exactly it is that I can do to serve them on a daily basis, and to open up the door for some great conversation and collaboration opportunities for technology integration. I'm using my Order Up! Tech Coach Menu again this school year so that teachers can have yet another opportunity to see effective lessons, plan and create new lessons, collaborate with a peer, and grow professionally.Nothing is more important than providing teachers with necessary, relevant professional development, especially when new technology tools and devices are placed at their fingertips. It's also imperative that teachers understand the vision and goal behind the new tools and devices. We know that "with knowledge comes power." My aspirations for this school year is that through the professional learning options that have been created, our teachers will feel empowered and confident in creating immersive learning opportunities for students. In turn, our students will be afforded meaningful moments to embrace the iPad as a powerful learning tool.
