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5 Best Practices for Professional Development with a Chromebook Rollout | EdTech Magazine

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5 Best Practices for Professional Development with a Chromebook Rollout | EdTech Magazine

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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Your IT department just got the go-ahead to roll out thousands of Chromebooks to all of the K-12 schools in your district. You have the equipment all set up. Everyone has been informed. The students have returned their signed user agreements. You're ready, right?

One last question: Have the teachers been properly trained?

When rolling out new technology, the type of professional development that teachers receive makes an enormous difference in how that technology is integrated into classroom practice. In general, many teachers have a negative perception toward technology professional development and believe it typically is not designed to meet their individual needs.

Here are some best practices for technology professional development that will help IT professionals sync with teachers before a big Chromebook implementation.

1. One Size Does Not Fit All for Tech Training

Research has shown time and time again that large, one-size-fits-all, presentation-based PD experiences just don't work. Teachers typically find them to be ineffective or - worse - a waste of their time. Just like we ask our teachers to differentiate instruction to individual student needs, professional development needs to be designed with this same mentality.

Prior to delivering a PD session, technology leaders should consider conducting a survey or performing classroom observations to better understand individual teachers' needs. For a Chromebook rollout, this might entail grouping teachers based on comfort level - for example, those who have no experience with the devices or operating system, those who have minimal experience and those who feel relatively comfortable with the technology - to create an experience that is aligned with each teacher's abilities.

2. Lose the One and Done Process for PD Sessions

Technology PD of any kind is most effective when it's ongoing. The typical one-and-done workshops are not effective, and they rarely impact technology integration practices. Teachers need additional support outside of a professional development experience, and there are many ways to provide this, depending on what works best for your school or district.

For example, technology leaders can offer an online repository of training videos, they can provide "just in time" support when teachers are implementing a new practice in their classroom, and they can help establish a community of practice where peers and expert teachers help coach those who are having difficulty.

With Chromebooks, in particular, there is a lot to cover. No single professional development session will ever be enough to get teachers ready to use, implement and support an entirely new device in their classrooms.

3. Design for Engagement of Teachers and Students

Effective professional development, aside from being continuous, should also be delivered in an active, hands-on and engaging format that is personalized, applicable and relevant to teachers' individual needs. In other words, teachers should be able to take what they learn from a professional development experience and apply it immediately in their classroom.

For Chromebooks, professional development should also include a specific focus on the operating system (because it may be new for many teachers), device support (what to do if a student forgets his or her charger or loses logon information, or if the Wi-Fi is down) and classroom management strategies. Particularly in terms of classroom management with Chromebooks, if this is the first time students will have access to individual devices in the classroom, a significant amount of time needs to spent helping teachers become comfortable and confident in this area.

4. Go Above and Beyond with Tech Coaching and Mentoring

One technology PD strategy that has been shown to be particularly effective is one-on-one coaching and mentoring. Coaching can be an excellent strategy for meeting all of the design considerations mentioned above and providing personalized and just-in-time support to individual teachers.

That said, depending on school and district resources, coaching may not always be a feasible option. Effective coaching requires a great deal of time on the part of both the coach and the teacher, and this time investment is not something that every school or district can offer. However, coaching should be considered whenever possible, as it can make a significant difference in teachers' technology integration success.

5. Follow Up with Evaluations of New Tech

Professional development work is not done just because the PD experience has ended. Evaluation of new technologies that are being integrated is essential. Follow-up surveys with teachers are a great way to start, but highly effective evaluation involves moving beyond surveys toward classroom observation and the collection of student achievement and reflection data. Much like coaching, evaluation of technology PD requires a significant amount of time, which may not be possible within a school or district. However, technology leaders should aim to spend time on professional development evaluation to ensure that the experience has been successful and to determine what changes are needed in the future.

Professional development can make or break the rollout of new technology. In order for a new technology to be successful within a school or district, it is imperative for technology l eaders to move away from one-time, uniform workshops, and move toward designing professional development that addresses individual teacher needs in a hands-on and engaging format. Whenever possible, coaching and mentoring should be provided to support technology integration, and the evaluation of professional development should always occur to determine what can be improved upon in the future.

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5 Best Practices for Professional Development with a Chromebook Rollout

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Your IT department just got the go-ahead to roll out thousands of Chromebooks to all of the K-12 schools in your district. You have the equipment all set up. Everyone has been informed. The students have returned their signed user agreements. You're ready, right? One last question: Have the teachers been properly trained?

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See all the wonderful things Ryan Wheeler has made

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Integrating Ed Tech With The Samr Model - Lessons - Tes Teach

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What is the SAMR Model?..SAMR EdTech Examples & Tools.Quiz

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Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

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Coaching with the SAMR Model – Kenny C. McKee

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Coaching with the SAMR Model – Kenny C. McKee

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Many of you may be familiar with the SAMR model for integrating technology into instruction. If you haven't, SAMR is simply a continuum for assessing the depth of how technology is used. SAMR stands for: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. To explore those ideas a bit more, check out the SAMR in 120 Seconds video below.

SAMR makes a lot of sense to me as a way to assess how technology is used in a lesson. One of the issues I've had with SAMR though is how it relates to coaching. Simply assessing the way technology is used and reporting that to a teacher feels evaluative to me. As I thought about this through the lens of the coach, I wondered how we could shift the SAMR identifiers into coaching questions that would help teachers reflect on the use of technology in their classrooms and engage them in thinking about their next steps.

I worked with my colleague Kathy Bonyun (@literacychick) to develop these differentiate SAMR coaching questions. We used these questions in a digital leadership training we gave in our district, and the questions have since been refined by our district's digital learning team.

Check them out, and let me know your thoughts. Do any of the questions seem out of place? What would you add? Have you used SAMR as a model for coaching? Share in the comments.
Questions to Shift Your Focus Using the SAMR Model

Characteristics/ Look For's
No indicators observed

Work can be completed without the use of technology.

Work requires technology to be completed.

Work requires students to effectively search for and collect online resources that they share with the teacher and other students.

Student work requires technology use so that students can complete tasks previously not available (would have

Coaching Questions to move teacher to the next level
Have you considered using (______) to have students write/take notes/read? What would be different?
How could use of your (_____) enhance this lesson?
What forms of technology would engage your students? Instead of _____, how might you use __________?

Which technology tools might make this task more streamlined?
What might be new technologies that could enhance your lesson?
Have you considered students discussing on blogs or discussion boards? What would be the benefit? What help would you need?
Collecting student data can be time-consuming. Kahoot, Infuse Learning, or Socrative can collect student data. When could you use something like that? Have you considered making comments on student work digitally?

How could students collaborate digitally?
What are ways that students could integrate multiple media in presentations?
How could you further leverage the use of technology to have students write for real audiences? Aside from writing, how would your students respond to communicating what they've learned through podcasts or video casts?

How could students present to audiences via the web? Could you use Screencasting, Skype, etc?

How would this project change if students worked in teams to produce a video to demonstrate their research on _____?

What's next for you?
How can I best support you in pioneering innovation at our school? What are new technologies that you believe will impact student learning?

**Resources for PLC

Questions for teachers at any level:
Did you hear how your colleague, ______, has ______? What are your thoughts about that? How would you feel about partnering with our digital learning facilitator/instructional coach/media specialist?
In what ways do you see technology engaging students? How could we possibly utilize that for learning?
Tell me how you felt about your lesson.
How did the use of technology aid students in reaching the learning targets?

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Many of you may be familiar with the SAMR model for integrating technology into instruction. If you haven't, SAMR is simply a continuum for assessing the depth of how technology is used. SAMR stands for: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. To explore those ideas a bit more, check out the SAMR in 120 Seconds video below.

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How can a Tech Coach Support You? | Smore

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How can a Tech Coach Support You? | Smore

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Supporting technology integration in instruction

We can schedule time to:

Set and meet a long-term technology goal

Devise a plan to meet district and building goals

Brainstorm & explore new tools that support your instruction

Determine how technology can help your students meet your learning objectives

Co-teach & assist you duringa lesson

Curate resources specific to your curriculum

Collaboratively plan a lesson that integrates technology

Find and explore the best tools for formative assessment.

Model technology integration for your students to empower them as they demonstrate their own learning

Recommend technology strategies and tools to augment lessons or projects

Troubleshoot & problem-solve instructional issues

Not sure where to start? Let's talk about it!

You Can Book Me!

Supports instruction with recommended tools

Explores New (or new to me) Edtech Tools, Instructional Strategies, and Ideas

Connects with Other Educators

Provides Professional Development

Faculty meetings, department meetings, Lunch & Learns, & conferences are all places that a more formal structure of professional development may occur.
Where was Kim?
Shared and used Recap, with our HS Math department.

Awarded badges to 9th grade teachers after completing the Google 101 Challenge.

Ran a Breakout Edu faculty meeting

Check back here to hear about the recent places I've offered professional learning opportunities.

Encourages Opportunities for Further Learning

What I believe

I am a believer in the growth mindset and that everyone has the capacity to try new methods, practice new ideas and learn new information. I believe that you are not defined by "mistakes" you make, but how you react to them. I believe that technology should be relevant, purposeful and integrated into the goals and objectives of a class curriculum. I believe that small changes can make a big difference. I believe that when people feel supported they can achieve great things.

In alignment with the ISTE Standards (for coaches), I believe the comprehensive integration of technology can promote excellence and support transformational change throughout the instructional environment.

Kim Lowden

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Supporting technology integration in instruction We can schedule time to: Set and meet a long-term technology goal Devise a plan to meet district and building goals Brainstorm & explore new tools that support your instruction Determine how technology can help your students meet your learning objectives Co-teach & assist you duringa lesson Curate resources specific to your curriculum Collaboratively plan a lesson that integrates technology Find and explore the best tools for formative assessment.

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ISTE | No time for PD? 5 ways to embed it into your day

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ISTE | No time for PD? 5 ways to embed it into your day

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What Do Teachers Want from Their Professional Development? – Digital Promise

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What Do Teachers Want from Their Professional Development? – Digital Promise

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We've known for a long time that no two students learn the same way. So why should learning for teachers still be one-size-fits-all? As instruction becomes increasingly personalized for students, teachers are ready for those same principles to drive their on-going professional development.

We recently discussed the challenges in professional learning with a few educators and how micro-credentials - which recognize educators for the skills and competencies they gain throughout their careers - can be a tool to personalize professional development. These teacher perspectives, some of which you can see below, are crucial. We can't begin to improve professional development without first asking teachers what's most engaging for them. As one educator put it, "Teachers are hungry to learn. If we focus on learning and development, teachers know where they need to go."

Drive Professional Growth

The need and demand for personalized professional development is growing. And there are a tremendous number of learning opportunities for teachers, both traditional and informal. However, our systems must acknowledge this growing portfolio of places where educators gain these skills as well as the new ways they can recognized for their ongoing professional growth. Micro-credentials bridge the gap between where professional learning happens and the way teachers earn recognition for that learning.

#mc4pd @MJMadda: Big takeaway: Teachers need to drive their learning. pic.twitter.com/9HstezeYFT

- Angela Estrella (@am_estrella) January 30, 2015

Build Better Networks

Traditionally, educators have formed local, professional learning communities, commonly called "PLCs", to support their growth and development. Micro-credentials make the pathways to professional learning easier to navigate. Because micro-credentials focus on discrete, demonstrable skills, they provide a snapshot of skills teachers have. And, when coupled with evidence of competency, micro-credentials support authentic mentoring opportunities within districts.

Identify and Celebrate Excellence

Micro-credentials can be a powerful analytical tool for educators because they are competency-based and provide invaluable information on personal progress toward professional learning goals. Further, micro-credentials can give school leaders an opportunity to acknowledge teachers for their successes and find paths to development for those who would like to do more and could potentially create pathways for teacher leadership and mentoring.

Support Teacher Voice

Micro-credentials offer educators the ability to select the learning opportunities most valuable for them. Providing educators with the opportunity to gain recognition for the skills they demonstrate every day and have mastered over the life of their careers will create a culture of respect and trust. Similarly, micro-credentials will cultivate a collaborative environment as teachers identify what they know and find other like-minded educators who are seeking the same skills.
To view a large version of the graphic recording, click here. Would you like more information on how you can start incorporating micro-credentials into your professional learning plan? Click the link below to participate in our pilot. Or join the conversation by using #MC4PD or #DeeperLearning.

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What Do Teachers Want from Their Professional Development? - Digital Promise

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We've known for a long time that no two students learn the same way. So why should learning for teachers still be one-size-fits-all? As instruction becomes increasingly personalized for students, teachers are ready for those same principles to drive their on-going professional development.

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How Teachers Are Learning: Professional Development Remix

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How Teachers Are Learning: Professional Development Remix

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What's in this Guide:

Free PD Report

Read about PD Tool Comparisons, Trends & Themes, and Methodology & Framework Details.

Personalized learning is on the rise for learners in our schools. Redesigned schools include personal learning plans, playlists of content tailored to fit each learner, adaptive curriculum, and access to learning anytime and anywhere.

That's great for students but what about teachers? Where's the personalized learning, the carefully constructed playlists, the pitch-perfect material that fits their grade level and subject needs and interests?

It's all coming.

A new era of personalized professional development is sweeping into schools. We've created this guide to capture the extraordinary changes in PD tools and in the cycle of learning. We look here at tools that support how teachers engage with colleagues; that help teachers learn or find support for implementing fresh strategies and approaches; and that measure how that learning impacts practice in the classroom.

Even better: some teachers and schools are beginning to combine tools to brew their own personalized professional development. Some might choose a combination of Twitter, video libraries of best practice, and a social network for badging. For others, a path to personalized PD might involve in-person coaching and online courses, combined with video feedback tools.

Looking for recipes? Check out our field reports, tool box and analysis. And please share what you're doing by weighing in at the bottom of the guide. We want to hear from you. Whatever the concoction, teachers should accept no less than personalized and empowered PD.

To evaluate emerging edtech professional development tools, EdSurge created a "framework of a continuous cycle of learning."

More than 50 educators contributed to and reviewed EdSurge's Professional Development framework. Its four stages--Engage, Learn, Support and Measure--form a continuous cycle. Where in this cycle teachers begin and how they will proceed will vary. Some will get more out of one stage than another. That's fine, too. Teachers will discover the tools that work best for them--and when those tools are most useful. It's all about giving teachers a more personalized professional development.

Here, we evaluate and share 28 emerging and well-known tools, placing them into our continuous cycle of learning framework. We call those tools used independently by individual teachers " professional learning" products. By contrast, we categorize those that require some administrative support as "professional development" products.

You can find detailed reports using this framework and the methodology described below on each of these products by clicking on the name of the product or by searching the EdSurge site using the product name.

We hope this list and framework make it easier for educators of all stripes find the right tools for every stage of their learning process. Let us know! Weigh in in the comments section below.

Engage

These tools enable teachers to join groups, ask questions and share resources. Most tools that allow educators to engage also include a "Learn" component, such as webinars, online courses, and modules.

Learn

These are content-rich tools presented in a variety of ways including online courses, webinars or self-paced modules. Some of these tools also provide "Support" capabilities that help teachers implement skills and ideas.

Support

These tools help educators connect and share their practice with experienced mentors for feedback and coaching to improve their practice. Some tools in the "Support" category also allow teachers to also "Engage" with their peers, as well as "Measure" their learning.

Measure

These tools are usually associated with some form of collecting data on a teacher's practice. They provide some way to measure a teacher's growth or progress in adopting new practices or acquiring new skills.

There are two components to the EdSurge PD framework: professional learning stages and tool classification. On the EdSurge site, each of the 28 tools listed here have been analyzed according to this framework. You can read the analysis of each of these tools by searching the EdSurge site for the individual product page for each of those products.

Stage One: Engage

Teachers gain tremendous value from interacting with peers and colleagues--sharing challenges, successes, what works, and what doesn't. Community support is a big part of the way teachers process and apply what they learn.

We have included "Engage" as the first stage of the professional learning cycle because often it is from conversations with colleagues that teachers identify new practices that they want to implement or solutions to problems they would like to fix.

Stage Two: Learn

New methods for teaching are being created, reimagined or revived from the past. These new methods influence instructional skills and pedagogy. Even academic content, standards, and sequence of teaching those standards is in constant flux. That's why teachers are continually learning, and they do this by checking in with experts and taking time to learn new information and approaches.

We have included "Learn" as second in the stages because once a teacher is done processing and consulting their peers, often time the next stage is to find out what information exists outside their collegial circle.

Stage Three: Support

Mentoring, from coaches or fellow educators, is a way for teachers get support in implementing new ideas in their classroom or refining the skills they have. Coaching usually involves outside observers who look specifically at a teacher's practice and provide feedback on how to get better.

We have included "Support" as the third stage because once armed with support from peers and new information, teachers begin to implement new ideas in their classroom. Some teachers need more coaching and mentoring than others. Experienced teachers might themselves become coaches as they develop more skills.

Stage Four: Measure

Measurement can be both an informal and a formal process to track growth. These activities, which most often take the forms of evaluations and observations, help the teacher assess how their learning has impacted their practice in the classroom. It also helps them determine whether they have mastered a new skill and are ready to move onto something new.

While often, measurement can be used as tools to simply assess and move on, we think it should be used as a learning tool and thus have included it in the learning process. This final stage feeds into the step a teacher will take next as they process with their community, determine new skills they'd like to master, and begin the process again.

Tool Classification

To further differentiate what tools do and how they can be used, we have also classified tools in the following ways:

What You Learn

Academic Content

Teaching strategies related to specific academic content

Instructional Skills

Skills used to deliver instruction, such as classroom management, differentiation, and questioning techniques

Pedagogy

Teaching methods and philosophies, such as socratic method, inquiry method, constructivism, and project based

How Content is Assigned

Teacher Choice

Teachers determine and have control over what they learn and how they learn

There are different pathways for teachers to take, depending on their unique situations

Adaptive

Adjusts and personalizes recommended content for the teacher in real time

Usage Scenarios

Anytime / Anywhere

Available for use anytime and independent of a particular location

Access Method

The framework and classification system is based on survey data, literature reviews, and interviews with educators and professional development experts. EdSurge surveyed more than 400 educators across the United States on their attitudes, likes, and dislikes of professional development in their schools. In addition to surveying educators, we conducted in-depth interviews with educators at all levels of districts and charter schools on the reality versus the ideal of professional development.

This research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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How Teachers Are Learning: Professional Development Remix - EdSurge Guides

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What's in this Guide: Free PD Report Read about PD Tool Comparisons, Trends & Themes, and Methodology & Framework Details. Personalized learning is on the rise for learners in our schools. Redesigned schools include personal learning plans, playlists of content tailored to fit each learner, adaptive curriculum, and access to learning anytime and anywhere.

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Ryan Wheeler on Twitter: ".@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy"

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Ryan Wheeler on Twitter: ".@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy"

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy

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Sounds like we could introduce them to @diigo -- perfect for collabo with teammates and resource sharing! #TCEA16  https://t.co/t5Cli6cgAw

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy
— Ryan Wheeler (@SuperEdTechMan) February 1, 2016

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy

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Sounds like we could introduce them to @diigo -- perfect for collabo with teammates and resource sharing! #TCEA16  https://t.co/t5Cli6cgAw

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy

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.@calebhudgens I'm also considering setting up a #GoogleGroups web forum for #GAFE & #EdTech collabo https://t.co/qTyO6pJR6V #GoogleAcademy

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Sounds like we could introduce them to @diigo -- perfect for collabo with teammates and resource sharing! #TCEA16  https://t.co/t5Cli6cgAw

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Take PD to the Next Level with Badges - Gamify Professional Learning

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Take PD to the Next Level with Badges - Gamify Professional Learning

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A few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking at the 2015 Technology in Action Conference (TIA) held in Denton, Texas. The conference is always great and led by a stellar team in Denton ISD. It's a local conference for me, and a great time to connect with other educators in my area. During my time there, I noticed something outside the teachers' doors: badges! I had heard about this amazing, gamified professional development plan implemented in Denton ISD, but to see the badges outside the door really brought it home. I snapped the picture below that day and posted to Instagram and Twitter. It became a very popular share, and other friends were asking me for more information and links. So I decided to highlight my friends in Denton ISD in this post, AND their fantastic idea!

Gamification and the use of badges is nothing new, and many of us have found ways to use these in adult learning and professional development. In my experience, teachers love badges! The Instructional Technology Team in Denton ISD, ( Dwight Goodwin, Ross Garison, Leslie Taylor and the other amazing team members), created a Google Site of self-directed PD for teachers. Through this program, teachers are rewarded for stepping outside their comfort zones with fun badges to display outside their classroom door.

The Badge Website

The first thing that teachers see when visiting the is the video below, a creative little to explain the purpose and process of the badges.

Badge Site Introduction Video

How it Works

From here, the teachers have CHOICE in their learning. They can choose from topics around Google, Apple, Assessment, Communication, Miscellaneous, Flipped Class and Social Media. Within each section, they can choose what they want to learn AND how they want to learn it: through a self-paced course or video, or they can request a face-to-face training. Voice and choice make this a powerful, differentiated professional learning experience.

What I love is that they didn't reinvent the wheel. They linked to online courses in the Google training center, and video tutorials that are already out there. That makes something like this so much more doable! And considering how fast technology changes, we have to share our resources! Share is caring, right?!

The badges for each option have to be earned and applied for individually. These badges were created with , one of my favorite Google tools. (Check out my infographic on 10 Ways to Use Google Drawings in the Classroom .) Badges do not have to be complicated and time consuming; they just need to reflect the accomplishment! Looking for other options for badges? See my post on 5 Awesome Resources for Badges in the Classroom .

The other thing I absolutely love about this program is that teacher badges are printed and displayed outside their door! No one ever said badges had to be displayed digitally. I love this because the accomplishment is recognized by other teachers and staff, and I'm sure the students notice these as well! (FYI, I'm also a big fan of printing badges for students. They can be displayed on a bulletin board, the cover of their notebook or locker!)

This professional learning idea can quickly transfer to the classroom with student-centered challenges and badges. Make it meaningful and be sure it is aligned to your learning goals. It's a win-win!

The bottom line: Choose what works for you. If you spend all your time reinventing the wheel and designing the perfect badge, you will never get it done! Go for it!

Tweet: If you spend all your time reinventing the wheel and designing the perfect badge, you will never get it done! Go for it! - @ShakeUpLearning

What are you favorite strategies to shake up professional development? Please share in the comments below!

© Shake Up Learning 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Take PD to the Next Level with Badges - Gamify Professional Learning

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Gamification and the use of badges is nothing new, and many of us have found ways to use these in adult learning and professional development. In my experience, teachers love badges! Through this program, teachers are rewarded for stepping outside their comfort zones with fun badges to display outside their classroom door.

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The 10 Commandments of Technology Coaching | Hot Lunch Tray

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The 10 Commandments of Technology Coaching | Hot Lunch Tray

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We have all been new at something, done something for the first time, and we know some fast tips can make the experience better for everyone involved. Technology coaching in education has an especially high learning curve because you need to be effective since time is a valuable commodity to educators.

Here are the 10 Commandments of Technology Coaching:

1. Provide more than enough time.
The enemy of learning is a time constraint. If the administration does not provide you with enough time truncate the training to allow for practice, questions, or review at the end and ask to come back to complete the training.

2. Bring your own cords.
Have power cords, extension cords, and all of the attachments to connect to a large display with you.

3. Define goal(s) early and often in training.
What is the goal any tool helps you to reach?

4. Solicit contextual examples from the participants of how they might use this tool.
But research who the audience is and come with backup ideas.

5. Survey the audience for prior experience.
Yes, the Principal said they were advanced, but what do the participants show you?

6. Have several (leveled) versions of your presentation ready to go.
When you realize this group needs more remedial/advanced content, you had better have it on hand.

7. Smile at the people you are training.
You want them at ease and ready to learn, ask questions, and remember the training.

8. Yes, they have to bring their laptops.
Seriously, ask them to go get it if they come without one.

9. Always ask for a voluntary audience.
But when you get compulsory attendance treat them as if they volunteered.

10. Do not touch their screen, never touch their screen.
Sit on your hands. They can do it! They might enjoy your faith in them.

If you think Mel Brooks was right ....

What other commandments would you add?

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The 10 Commandments of Technology Coaching | Hot Lunch Tray

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We have all been new at something, done something for the first time, and we know some fast tips can make the experience better for everyone involved. Technology coaching in education has an especially high learning curve because you need to be effective since time is a valuable commodity to educators.

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Questions to Ask Yourself when Coaching Teachers with Technology Integration

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Questions to Ask Yourself when Coaching Teachers with Technology Integration

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The Future of Digital Learning | Professional Development | Document | PBS LearningMedia

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The Future of Digital Learning | Professional Development | Document | PBS LearningMedia

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How are educators using digital media and technology in today's classrooms? What do future classrooms look like? See what thousands of educators are saying.

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Texas districts rethinking technology integrations - Christensen Institute

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Texas districts rethinking technology integrations - Christensen Institute

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For the past year, 75 districts and charters in Texas have focused quietly on a vexing puzzle: how to use technology to jumpstart student achievement, but without wasting dollars on unwise technology bets that never pay off?

These 75 organizations first confronted the puzzle together last summer, when Raise Your Hand Texas, a privately funded organization that advocates for public schools, invited all 1,200 Texas districts to compete for five opportunities to receive up to $500,000 each and intensive technical assistance to implement blended learning.

Raise Your Hand Texas selected the book Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools as the training manual and CA Group as the implementation leaders for the project.

In the fall, the 75 teams that demonstrated the most interest and readiness met together to begin to draft their blended-learning plans. The best plans that emerged from those workshops, which I designed and facilitated as a consultant to Raise Your Hand Texas, embraced three strategies from Blended to avoid wasting dollars on bad technology spending in schools.

Strategy #1: Start with the problem and goal, not with the technology
Teams were forbidden from even discussing technology until Day 2 of the workshops, and they learned not to hang their hats on being 1:1 schools (see Julia Freeland Fisher's piece). Instead, they began with a deep analysis of their existing problems at the root of their poor performance. Then they developed goals for how much improvement they planned to make. The goals were SMART-specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-bound.

For example, KIPP Houston, one of the teams that eventually made it to the Top Five, began with this problem analysis:

Currently, only 22 percent of our high school students enroll in AP Calculus or Statistics. To reach AP math without taking double math or skipping courses, students must complete Algebra I in eighth grade. Currently, only 57 percent of our eighth graders do, mainly because they are not academically prepared. Their learning gaps are too disparate for the teacher to remediate in a whole‐group setting.

Then KIPP Houston developed this SMART goal:

By the end of a 60‐hour Algebra Boot Camp during the summer, 90 percent of students will meet their growth goals on the end‐of‐bootcamp assessment using a Flex model where they can learn at their own pace and get remediation/acceleration in order to be prepared for Algebra I coursework in 8th grade. The manager of digital teaching and learning will own this project.

KIPP Houston did not even mention technology until halfway through its blended-learning plan! The team focused first on its problem, goals, and design. Technology played a crucial, but subordinate, role in its plan.
Photo: KIPP Houston's team presents its blended-learning plan at the workshop. Photo credit: Raise Your Hand Texas
Strategy #2: Incubate disruptive pilots in areas of nonconsumption
Most of the 75 teams felt attracted to the benefits of a disruptive model of blended learning-an Individual Rotation, Flex, A La Carte, or Enriched Virtual model. These models are natural fits with competency-based learning and maximize student agency. Participants perceived a value in these innovations, particularly for middle and high school students.

The challenge, however, is that when school leaders try to implement a disruptive model with mainstream students in core subjects, the incumbent system resists. Established teachers are reluctant to replace their lesson plans; the facilities, schedules, budgets, and professional development clash with the divergent approach; and the new model is not well-developed enough to generate the student performance results that would merit its continuation.

A wiser strategy is to incubate the disruptive pilot first in an area of nonconsumption-that is, an area where the system is not able to provide service, such as, for example, an afterschool program, summer school, homebound students, advanced courses, foreign languages, test preparation, or electives. These areas provide safe harbor for incubating a disruptive model until it is ready for primetime.
Photo: Birdville Independent School District's team presents its blended-learning plan at the workshop. Photo credit: Raise Your Hand Texas
Birdville Independent School District, another of the Top Five, plans to pilot an innovative Flex model at Shannon High School, an alternative high school where at-risk students earn the credits they need to graduate in accelerated quarter terms. Birdville has big plans for this program, including project-based learning, small-group teacher conferencing, and a carefully vetted playlist of adaptive software, to transform the high school experience for this pocket of students. It will use its lessons learned to update its other high schools, once it has mastered the model at the alternative high school first.

Strategy #3: Use heavyweight teams to re-architect the system
The third technique that the most successful teams embraced is to use heavyweight teams. A heavyweight team is made up of experts from across an organization who come together to complete a task. Importantly, they leave behind their loyalties to their classrooms or departments and, instead, commit their hearts to the efforts of the heavyweight team for the duration of its project.

Heavyweight teams have the expertise and power they need to re-architect a system. They can retune staffing, facilities, budgets, and curriculum to a new student experience. Too often, however, schools do not leverage heavyweight teams when they undertake so-called "technology integrations." Instead, they focus on professional development for individual classroom teachers. This PD-focused approach is a key reason that so many blended-learning implementations fail to be transformative. The organization failed to use a heavyweight team to do the upfront work of re-architecting the system.

Moving forward in Texas
Today, five teams are moving forward as demonstration sites for blended learning in Texas, supported by Raise Your Hand Texas funding and CA Group guidance. These include Birdville Independent School District, Cisco Independent School District, KIPP Houston, Pasadena Independent School District, and Point Isabel Independent School District. Raise Your Hand Texas invited 15 other districts and charters to participate in the Raising Blended Learners Pilot Network. All of these systems will receive technical support and collaborate using the Blended Learning Resource Portal, which is open to the public.

With the Raising Blended Learners initiative, Texas is poised to lead the way in demonstrating how to transform an old system into student-centered learning at scale. As Texas catalyzes transformation across its 1,200 traditional districts, other states will have an example for how to embrace the benefits of 21st-century technology without wasting money on bad bets.

Heather is an adjunct researcher for the Christensen Institute and president of Ready to Blend. She is the co-author of Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools and co-founder of Brain Chase Productions, which produces online-learning challenges disguised as worldwide treasure hunts for students in grades 1-8.

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Texas districts are rethinking technology integrations - Christensen Institute

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For the past year, 75 districts and charters in Texas have focused quietly on a vexing puzzle: how to use technology to jumpstart student achievement, but without wasting dollars on unwise technology bets that never pay off? These 75 organizations first confronted the puzzle together last summer, when Raise Your Hand Texas, a privately funded ...

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Ready or not, here it comes: Remaking teacher training with an innovative twist - The Hechinger Report

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Ready or not, here it comes: Remaking teacher training with an innovative twist - The Hechinger Report

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Until recently, the options for first-rate training for teachers were fairly limited.

Teachers filed into seats in whatever college happened to be closest to home, regardless of the quality of its programs. Online courses were often regarded as degree mills with low standards. One-size-fits-all training given by consultants or school administrators was often mocked. "Professional development" seemed an empty phrase.

It's too soon to declare yawn-inducing teacher training a thing of a bygone era, but some new methods are flourishing.

Online courses and hybrid approaches like blended learning are growing in popularity and prestige. The ability to personalize learning - to create a customized lesson matching the ability level and interest of the student - could help teachers get training that fits what they actually need. And, of course, information and teaching materials are more readily available, and cheaper to share, online.

Some say teachers and school leaders should have a say in the development of these new programs.

Among the groups launching new programs that bring educators into the fold is The Redesign Challenge, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are soliciting ideas and seeking applications from people who want to take part in educator-run meetings that are "an open dialogue between those who often make the decisions and those who have to live with those decisions." They've named the first challenge they want to tackle: What can be done to make video more useful in teacher training?

Advocates for the use of video say it lets teachers see inside the classrooms of effective educators to watch them at work with students. And it provides a way to explain the effective use of new strategies, such as blended learning. (Pro tip: If you simply plop students in front of a computer program and walk away, you're doing it wrong.)

Many organizations and teachers say everyone is better served if educators and technology gurus meet, share ideas and otherwise work together to ensure that education technology products are useful for schools.

And it's not just a trend in teacher training programs.

Another example is Launch, a program that incubates early-stage ed tech ideas with technical support and a network of teachers willing to try something new in the classroom. Core to the program is a belief that teachers should be baked into the innovation process - from the beginning. It is one of many education technology initiatives run by the nonprofit 4.0 Schools, a growing organization that recently opened a new office in New York City.

Amid the hubbub of innovation, some say we must also remember to set up ways to measure the effectiveness of education technology. We might get the clearest reading if we evaluate after teachers are properly trained, having been given carefully designed tools and afforded ample time to adjust to a new paradigm.

For more news about blended learning delivered to your inbox every Tuesday, sign up for my weekly newsletter.
Sign up for a free subscription, and invite a friend to subscribe This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about blended learning. .

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Ready or not, here it comes: Remaking teacher training with an innovative twist - The Hechinger Report

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Until recently, the options for first-rate training for teachers were fairly limited. Teachers filed into seats in whatever college happened to be closest to home, regardless of the quality of its programs. Online courses were often regarded as degree mills with low standards. One-size-fits-all training given by consultants or school administrators was often mocked.

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Growth Mindset – What Does this Mean for Coaches? | Ms. Houser

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Growth Mindset – What Does this Mean for Coaches? | Ms. Houser

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I've been thinking a lot about growth mindset lately and what this means for us coaches.

A few years back we read the book "Mindset" by Carol Dweck with our staff and did some really great learning around it's central message: it's not just our abilities or talent that brings us success - but whether we approach our goals and work with a fixed or growth mindset. If you haven't read the book, here are a few of my favorite excerpts to help give you some more background:

Believing that your qualities are carved in stone - the fixed mindset - creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character - well, then you'd better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn't do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.

There's another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you're dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you're secretly worried it's a pair of tens. In this mindset, the hand you're dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way - in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments - everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

As you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another-how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road.

At the time of reading the book, I was totally pumped up and inspired to work on my own growth mindset, but I haven't honestly thought about it for a long time. Then last week I happened to hear a really terrific podcast with Carol Dweck as the guest, and I got to thinking about it all over again.

After listening to the podcast that morning and heading into school, I found myself much more aware of different fixed vs. growth mindset thoughts that came up in my head that day. And when the fixed thoughts came up, I was bugged with myself, because "Hey! I'm a coach! I should be radiating a growth mindset!!"

But the truth is, I'm not always growth mindset perfect. I get down on myself and can be hard on myself. I can sometimes be harsh in my judgment of teachers qualities and abilities.

Now do I need to be perfect? Maybe not. But I can certainly be more aware, and take steps to get better.

So what's a helpful first step in this growth mindset building process? How about changing your thoughts and words. Check out the infographic below for ideas on what this might sound like.

And how about some specific ideas for how to foster a growth mindset at your school and in your coaching?

Read the book "Mindset" as a staff and facilitate discussion circles.

Embrace the idea and word "YET"

Develop and use growth mindset statements with staff consistently as part of school culture.

Make the connection between "process" and "achievement" in your feedback.

Incorporate growth mindset activities for PD icebreakers.

Emphasize learning as a process.

Create a growth mindset language wall in the PD room - help teachers recognize when they are having a fixed or growth mindset

Highlight mistakes as an opportunity for learning.

Work with teachers to develop a bank of language for feedback that can foster a growth mindset in students.

Read "How Children Succeed" with staff, and watch the Angela Duckworth Tedx video.

YOUR TURN

In the comments below, I'd love to hear:

What are YOUR hidden fixed mindset thoughts? How can you adjust this to a growth mindset?

What's one thing you can do to foster a growth mindset at your school?

Thanks for spending some time with me. Happy Friday and I"ll talk to you soon!

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Growth Mindset - What Does this Mean for Coaches?

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I've been thinking a lot about growth mindset lately and what this means for us coaches. A few years back we read the book "Mindset" by Carol Dweck with our staff and did some really great learning around it's central message: it's not just our abilities or talent that brings us success - but whether we approach our goals and work with a fixed or growth mindset.

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How to use Google Classroom for professional development - Daily Genius

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How to use Google Classroom for professional development - Daily Genius

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Last month I wrote a post titled ' 3 Different Things You Can Do With Google Classroom'. Soon after, I received several emails and Twitter messages from people who read that article on Edudemic, and are interested in ideas and ways Google Classroom can be used for Professional Development.We have been experimenting with different scenarios and settings for using Google Classroom for PD at my school, Plato Academy Clearwater, during the last month. We have generated several workflow examples and experimented with almost all of them. We've had some successes (and some failures!), but the ones that seem to be working the best for us are so great that we wanted to share them with you!

Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) & Google Classroom

The Team Lead in every grade can create a course, and invite/register the rest of the team. He/She can create as many courses as there are subjects he/she teaches/leads. If the school is departmentalized, the Team Lead can create one course per subject. For instance, a Math & Science Team Lead can create one course for math and one for science. A Language Arts Lead can create a Reading course a Writing course, and a Social Studies course.

The Team Lead can choose to either use the Announcements, or the Assignments, to initiate discussion on a subject. He/She can attach the agendas before every meeting, which can be edited by all the members at any time AND in real time, upload instructional and "how to" videos, and even share and co-create common assessments in real time, even if the team members are based at a different location.

Google Classroom for Professional Development

A teacher/trainer can create a course in Google Classroom, which is going to be the training session he/she offers, and invite teachers/participants to join the course. The trainer shares with the participants the PowerPoint slides of the training via the Announcements tab, and handouts of the training via the Assignments tab. Here, the trainer can use the option "Make a copy for each student" from the menu that appears at the right side of the attached document, so that the teachers/participants can have a clean copy of the attachment, which they can then use in their classroom with their own students. In addition, the trainer can post questions about the training, which the teachers/participants can answer individually or collaboratively in groups, or even collectively as a whole group. The collaboration can happen in real time, or at the trainees' leisure, if the trainer chooses to set a due date and/or time for the question/assignment. At more rigorous trainings, ones that require the participant to produce evidence of the knowledge they gained during the training, the trainer can assign real assignments to the teachers/participants, which he/she can grade, using Doctopus and/or Gubric. Here is a video that explains how this is done.

Principal - Teacher Collaboration with Google Classroom

Principals and administrators can take advantage of the power of Google Classroom to guide and lead instruction, or to share with their faculty certain information of key importance. For instance, in my school, my principal decided to use Google Classroom to create a secure and private online place to share with her teachers important information on Florida Standard Assessment (FSA). She created a course named FSA, and she uses that course to curate and organize information the Florida DOE publishes on FSA. Every time she adds an item, the teachers/students in this course receive an email. If the item is of great importance, the principal then creates a short assessment for the teachers to complete. Since all teachers are in the course as "students", they can communicate with each other, exchange ideas, and offer support, under the Announcements tab within Google Classroom. During Professional Development Days, teachers can collaborate in real time and conduct vertical planning sessions, build common assessments collaboratively, and support each other in multifaceted ways.
About The Author
Nikolaos Chatzopoulos currently teaches 4th grade Math and Science at Plato Academy, in Clearwater, Florida. He is a technology enthusiast, and enjoys discovering ways to incorporate technology in the classroom in meaningful ways, in order to provide opportunities for authentic learning experiences.

Nikolaos can be reached at chatzopoulosn@platoacademy.net and on Twitter @chatzopoulosn

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How to use Google Classroom for professional development - Daily Genius

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Last month I wrote a post titled '3 Different Things You Can Do With Google Classroom'. Soon after, I received several emails and Twitter messages from people who read that article on Edudemic, and are interested in ideas and ways Google Classroom can be used for Professional Development.We have been experimenting with different scenarios and ...

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PBL Pilot: 4 Strategies to Implement and Spread PBL in Your School | Edutopia

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PBL Pilot: 4 Strategies to Implement and Spread PBL in Your School | Edutopia

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Editor's note: Matt Weyers and co-author Jen Dole, teachers at Byron Middle School in Byron, Minnesota, present the eighth installment in a year-long series documenting their experience of launching a PBL pilot program.
Implementing PBL in our middle school this year has been a journey of love, labor, and professional growth. We have found throughout this journey that a close working relationship with families and district administration has proven essential to building trust and securing the level of success that we feel we've attained this year. However, the group that we've struggled to fully engage has been our fellow staff. In the true nature of dichotomy, we have been extremely public about our adventures within our community and on social media, but have stayed relatively private within our school.

We felt that the online education community was the perfect venue to begin sharing our practices while we were gaining PBL experiences and gauging our district's readiness to embark on the PBL conversation. This leads us to one of our most interesting questions yet -- how do we safely gauge interest for PBL among our colleagues? As suggested in Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, et al, we feel the answer lies within the previous question -- we need to make the conversation safe.

Strategies to "Make It Safe"

1. Make It a Two-Way Street

All teachers are experts, so when you enter into conversation with another teacher about PBL, make a specific effort to learn something about how this teacher runs his or her classroom. This will facilitate learning by all involved parties, as well as ensure that everyone leaves the conversation feeling wanted and valued.

2. Recognize Previous Efforts

Professional educators are notorious for allowing their extreme passion for their students to translate into long hours on the job. Many of the lesson plans, units, and classroom routines that teachers utilize are the product of multiple years of fine tuning. It would be a daunting task for anyone to assume that the only way to bring PBL into their classroom would be to throw out the majority of the lessons and routines that they've worked so hard to generate. John McCarthy, our mentor from the Buck Institute for Education, recommends that teachers who are interested in PBL plan one PBL project per semester.

3. Utilize the Word "And"

This strategy, also taken from Patterson's Crucial Conversations, has proven particularly powerful. Patterson and his co-authors expertly describe how to use the word "and" to avoid getting caught in an either/or decision. For example, many of the teachers with whom we've discussed PBL have expressed concerns that if they were to utilize PBL, they would be forfeiting their ability to teach all of their essential curriculum. We feel an appropriate response would be, "Do you feel there is a way to teach your essential curriculum and engage your students in a meaningful, authentic project?"

4. Make Your Classroom an Open Door

It took us awhile to get there ourselves, but opening your classroom door to anyone and everyone once you're comfortable with PBL is a powerful tool for continuing the PBL conversation. Some of the best professional development that either of us has ever experienced was the "meeting after the meeting." This is the dialogue that often ensues after an important meeting, training, or observation, an opportunity for participants to break down and assimilate new information into their educational philosophies.

Our Results Using These Strategies

For the first few months, we had little interest from other staff. Now, seven months into our school year, we finally have teachers seeking us out for information and ideas on PBL. We were recently approached by staff from two entire grade levels expressing their interest in utilizing PBL next year. For us, this is profoundly exciting. Our tiny seed that we planted last summer has started to sprout. It has a long way to grow, but with the right nourishment, we will see a beautiful bloom in the not too distant future.

We look forward to hearing about how you and your colleagues share your thinking about PBL practice in the comments section below.

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PBL Pilot: 4 Strategies to Implement and Spread PBL in Your School | Edutopia

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Editor's note: Matt Weyers and co-author Jen Dole, teachers at Byron Middle School in Byron, Minnesota, present the eighth installment in a year-long series documenting their experience of launching a PBL pilot program. Implementing PBL in our middle school this year has been a journey of love, labor, and professional growth.

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5 Non-Negotiables of Professional Development - Corwin Connect

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5 Non-Negotiables of Professional Development - Corwin Connect

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This post was originally published on Cooper on Curriculum.
Running any form of professional development can be a daunting task, whether it is at the district level, at a conference, etc. At the beginning of the planning process, facilitators often don't have much more than a blank slate and a job such as, "You have one hour to teach your audience about [insert trendy topic here]." I have been leading professional development for a handful of years, and I have found that preparing with certain non-negotiables in mind helps to (1) provide me with a solid direction, and (2) assist in making my sessions that much more effective.

Here are my professional development non-negotiables:

1. Avoid, "So little time, so much to do!"I always begin with the end in mind by asking myself, "With what enduring understandings do I want my audience to walk away?" This question helps me to better focus my work by taking a less is more approach, instead of trying to "cover" an entire topic in one session (e.g., differentiated instruction, close reading, formative assessment, etc.), which is entirely nonsensical if you think about it. It should also be noted that (1) sometimes these enduring understandings might develop across multiple sessions, and (2) these understandings should be explicitly stated for the audience. For example, in a recent presentation on Common Core mathematics, one of my statements was "I am starting to think about teaching with rigor." In no way can a teacher be asked to overhaul his instruction overnight.

2. Avoid, "You're telling us to teach one way, but our PD is done in another!"In other words, every professional development session is an opportunity to model best practice. Each presentation that I conduct has an essential question somewhere near the beginning, usually after an initial hook, and then the question reappears at the end. These questions are meticulously crafted in order to spark curiosity, promote inquiry, and provide a context or umbrella for all of the presentation's content. These are the same types of questions that should be used with students as they are engaged in instructional units.

3. Avoid, "I can't see the slides! My eyes!"While you're creating your slides, if you even so much as question whether or not the content will be visible to everyone in the audience, change what you're doing. A few quick tips:

Save the sans-serif fonts for the screen (and your slides), and the serif fonts for print. An example of a sans-serif font is Arial, and an example of a serif font is Times New Roman.

Do you best to make sure the size of your text does not drop below 30 points.If there are instances in which this task does not seem possible, maybe you are trying to cram too much information into one slide.

Be careful with your color schemes. Do not use colors that are too bright or might be washed out by a low quality classroom projector. Also, for consistency, I usually try to create my slide decks with no more than 3-4 colors. Audiences appreciate the predictability (all headings in blue, all subheadings in red, all bullet points in orange, etc.).

4. Avoid, "Can I get a copy of these slides?"All slides and relevant resources should be made available to the audience at the very start of the presentation, at the latest.

If the only resource is a slide deck (made in PowerPoint or Keynote), convert it to a PDF, upload it to SlideShare, and make its link available.

If you are dealing with multiple resources, one option is to upload to a Google Drive folder the previously mentioned PDF and any other resources. I like creating this folder before my slides are completely done, shortening the link to the folder through tinyurl.com, and then making the link available on the first and last slides of my slide deck.

5. Avoid, "Nobody cares what we think, and we're the ones with the students!" As a presenter (especially one who is an administrator presenting to teachers), you never want to simply railroad instruction while letting the thoughts and ideas of your teachers fall on deaf ears. Also, a wildly successful session in one school could easily fall flat on its face in another, so make sure to always plan with your audience's readiness level in mind. When you're done, evaluate the effectiveness of your professional development. There are countless ways in which this evaluation could take place, but at the very least I always ask for teacher feedback via a Google form. This feedback then helps to drive where we might go next with our learning.

These five points represent what I believe are five non-negotiables when planning any form of professional development. So the next time you are stuck with a blank slate and a task, call upon these ideas to get you started!

What are your non-negotiables?

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author: Linda M. Gross Cheliotes and Marceta F. Reilly

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author: Jennifer Bay-Williams & Maggie McGatha

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5 Non-Negotiables of Professional Development - Corwin Connect

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This post was originally published on Cooper on Curriculum . Running any form of professional development can be a daunting task, whether it is at the district level, at a conference, etc. At the beginning of the planning process, facilitators often don't have much more than a blank slate and a job such as, "You have one hour to teach your audience about [insert trendy topic here]."

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More Ideas for Badges in Professional Learning | Shake Up Learning

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More Ideas for Badges in Professional Learning | Shake Up Learning

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Here's an update on using badges in teacher professional development with new ideas and resources. Gamification with badges can be a great motivator for teachers and students! I posted in the fall on this concept, and it was one of the most popular posts ever! Thanks to my friends in Denton ISD for letting me share their awesome website. The team in Denton sparked a lot of interest in the idea of using badges and self-directed learning to help teachers learn new about using digital tools in the classroom. Then teachers receive a badge to represent their accomplishment and learning. These badges can be used digitally online, or printed out and posted on the door. See the original post for details on their website and program: Take PD to the Next Level with Badges.

I received a lot of questions and ideas from other digital learning coaches that were looking to do something similar in their district, and I wanted to highlight two specific school districts that are using badging in professional learning. I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of where badges and gamification will lead us in education!

The AH-mazing Kyle Pace took this whole badging idea and ran with it! Kyle is an Instructional Technology Specialist for the Lee's Summit School District in Missouri. Kyle is also a Google Certified Innovator, and an amazing speaker and presenter. (If you get the chance to see Kyle present, DO NOT pass it up!) Kyle created a Google Site for their gamified PD with badges. He divided the content into five main categories: communication, digital literacy, Google, social media, and web tools. Underneath each badge is a description of the candidate deserving of the badge. If a teacher meets this standard, they can then submit their evidence via a Google Form, which looks like the screenshot below. The most important piece of this evidence is that the teacher used this new skill or digital tool in their classroom! This is not a one-and-done experience. This can transform what teachers do in the classroom!

Kyle created the badges in Canva. (I love me some Canva!) He is also modeling the use of Twitter and their hashtag #r7c2L on the site, even embedding the related tweets. Great idea! I also love that there is a connection to some student challenges. Check out the Chromebook Challenge badge created by Kyle's teammate Julie Jensen!

Kyle's Words of Advice

Always keep the end goal in mind; always thinking about what you want teachers to accomplish by earning the badge. Also, getting buy in from administrators helps a lot because they need to be earning badges too! - Kyle Pace

Michelle Phillips is an Instructional Technology Specialist for Prosper ISD. She is also a DEN Star Educator and SMART Exemplary Educator. I've had the privilege of working with Michelle locally, and she is one to watch. Michelle is leading some great initiatives in Prosper ISD, and the badging website is just one of them. Michelle has set up seven main categories of badges: Apple, assessment, blended learning, communication, Google, miscellaneous, and web tools. Depending on which badge teachers pursue, they are given different options to earn the badge. For instance, with Google badges, teachers can attend a face-to-face tutorial or watch an online video. Then teachers will complete a Google form to apply for their badge where teachers are required to describe how they used the tool with their students. Teachers may also request a training on the site, or suggest a badge.

Michelle created the badges in Google Drawings, modeling the Google tool for her teachers. But Michelle has added an extra level of competition to her site: a leaderboard! On the home page, there is a leaderboard showing which campuses in Prosper ISD have earned the most badges. I love this idea! What a fun and friendly way to make it more competitive.

Michelle's Words of Advice

Start with the badges you really want everyone to have experience with then add more as you go. Competitions are a great way to get teachers engaged in the program. Have lots of badges ready to hand out before you start. Teachers like to see their badges right away. Don't wait too long to hand them out.

Do you have a badging site you would like to share? Please share in the comments below. I'd love to see and share with others!

Want to Shake Things Up in Your School or District? Bring Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning to You!

Ready to shake things up in your school or at your event? Email me at Kasey[at]ShakeUpLearning.com, or submit this PD request form to bring Shake Up Learning to your 2016 event.
Below are just a few of the keynote presentations and workshops that I deliver across the country:

Change is the New Black: Embrace the Digital Learning Revolution(keynote)

The Teacher's Guide to Google Classroom (workshop or presentation)

Digital Differentiation with Google Apps (workshop or presentation)

The Golden Treasures of Google! The Fabulous Tools You Don't Know About! (presentation)

Blended Learning with Chromebooks (workshop or presentation)

The Social Media Secret Sauce (presentation)

Testimonials

Here is what others have said about Kasey Bell's presentations:

" Thank YOU for an outstanding presentation this morning. I received so many wonderful comments about your keynote at our conference. These attendees didn't just say they "liked" it; they each offered a specific point from your presentation to share with me that impacted their thinking about "change" or the integration of technology & instruction. Now that's an effective presentation! " - Jane McKinney

" Great session. Loved the 'treasures' theme throughout. Great, quick overview of tools and classroom applications for Google Apps. " - Chad Kafka

" If you are attending a conference, follow these steps:
2. Find Kasey Bell. 3. Put all her sessions on your schedule!
You will learn so much and have a great time doing it! " - Stacy Menifee

" Best session I went to at FETC 2015.....So much wonderful information and every bit of it useful! " - Luanne Rowland

© Shake Up Learning 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

18 Challenges for Teachers in 2018 FREE eBook!

Get the FREE eBook: 18 Challenges for Teachers in 2018! Simply fill out this form and we will send you the 83-page PDF ebook.

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More Ideas for Badges in Professional Learning | Shake Up Learning

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Pinterest Here's an update on using badges in teacher professional development with new ideas and resources. Gamification with badges can be a great motivator for teachers and students! I posted in the fall on this concept, and it was one of the most popular posts ever!

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3 Key Components of Digital Transformation - Pt. 2: Support it - Working At The Edge

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3 Key Components of Digital Transformation - Pt. 2: Support it - Working At The Edge

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Last week we started to explore the key components behind a successful digital transformation. In Pt. 1, we learned some ideas about the first key component - Lead it. In this week's post we'll focus on the second component - Support it.
Support it. "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." ~Alvin Toffler
Simply providing a digital device for students and staff does not a transformation make. To reach the goal of transforming teaching and learning through digital tools, teachers (and students) will need to learn, unlearn, and relearn. They'll need to be supported to turn vision into reality. Without regular professional development for teachers and leaders, and rethinking human and financial resources, it is impossible to yield an effective transformation.
Professional Development for Teachers
Be prepared to provide a variety of learning opportunities that align with the goals of your initiative. Just like our students, teachers are at different places in the journey and should be supported wherever they happen to be.

Here's what we've done and are currently doing for our teachers:

Build a common language around technology and pedagogy - In the early days of our transformation, professional development took the form of a cohort model over three years, with approximately a third of the teaching staff each year receiving professional development to build common language around both technology and pedagogy.

Provide differentiated PD opportunities through choice - Our current goals focus on developing transformational learning opportunities with technology as defined by the SAMR framework and Webb's Depths of Knowledge. To reach this goal, we are supporting our teachers' learning by providing a variety of differentiated opportunities through weekly team/grade level meetings, department meetings, Summer Academy and attendance at conferences such as PETE&C, ISTE, the Bucks-Lehigh EduSummit and various Edcamps.

Don't forget the innovative teacher leaders - We are also providing opportunities for our most innovative educators, the Innovate Salisbury Team, to produce their own instructional innovations in areas such as genius hour/20% time, makerspaces and project-based learning.

Professional Development for Leaders
In the first post in this series, we focused on the importance of leadership in the digital transformation process. Your leaders need to be supported, too!

In Salisbury, the leadership team participates in their own professional learning. The team meets monthly in a lunch and learn format. Past topics have included

The SAMR framework - As we have implemented our walkthrough protocol focused on SAMR and Webb's Depths of Knowledge, we have had to "norm the group," making sure that we have a common understanding of levels of technology use and rigor.

Webb's Depths of Knowledge - Administrators were led through a series of activities to develop a rich understanding of rigor and the Webb's hierarchy in preparation for leading professional development for teachers. On last year's opening day, every administrator was responsible for leading a session to introduce the full staff to Webb's Depths of Knowledge.

Transitioning to PA Core - The administrative team participated in various book studies including ASCD's series on Common Core. This new learning was valuable for administrators to engage teachers in conversations as curriculum was rewritten or updated, depending on content area.

Numerous technology tools - Through the years the leadership team has received professional development on the various software tools used by our students and teachers. One of the most memorable, though, was an impromptu professional learning session on Twitter which occurred in the middle of winter. As a leadership team we took good advantage of a 2-hr cold weather delay!

Rethinking Resources
We want our teachers and students to be creative and innovative, designing new products and processes that have value. How can we use your human and financial resources in ways that will more effectively support your digital transformation? How can we model creativity and innovation?

As a result of asking these questions several years ago, we discovered some innovative ways of using our computer technicians and librarians to support our professional development and digital transformation.

Computer technicians were hired with expertise in software applications in addition to computer repair.

The changing role of the librarian was documented in an updated job description.

A new administrative position was created, Supervisor of Instructional Practice, to coordinate the support mechanisms of the digital transformation.

These varied job roles came together in the formation of a support group (we call it TLC, representing technicians, librarians and coaches) to best identify and support the professional learning needs within each school.

For me, there are two important takeaways on the component of support in a digital transformation:

Frequent opportunities for professional learning keep your digital transformation goals at the forefront with everyone in the organization focused on transformational learning, professionally and for our students.

While everyone needs a common language around technology and pedagogy, effective supports meet teachers and leaders where they are and challenge them to embrace a growth mindset for continuous improvement. Building and district leaders must work collaboratively to ensure the individual and collective needs of teachers and leaders are being met.

In what ways have supports been critical in your school's digital transformation? How have you approached supporting your teachers and leaders in innovative ways? What additional components of support would you add to this list, such as instructional or technology coaches?
Connect with Randy on Twitter and on the TLTalkRadio podcast!

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3 Key Components of Digital Transformation - Pt. 2: Support it - Working At The Edge

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Last week we started to explore the key components behind a successful digital transformation. In Pt. 1, we learned some ideas about the first key component - Lead it. In this week's post we'll focus on the second component - Support it. Support it. "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who ...

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Facilitate Online, Team-Based PD with
Google Hangouts and Google Slides 

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Facilitate Online, Team-Based PD with
Google Hangouts and Google Slides 

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Digital Learning Coach Presentation from TCEA 2015

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Digital Learning Coach Presentation from TCEA 2015