Good Endings

Yesterday was my last after school flex training session. Over the past four or five years, I've facilitated over 150 of these training sessions, working with hundreds of my colleagues, and learned a ton along the way, both in preparing to train teachers, and learning from them during the workshops.

Today was my last in-service presentation... I think. I'm actually not sure if we have any more in-service days scheduled this year, and if we do, I'm sure I'll be presenting again. But this was the last one I know about, and if it is the final one, it was a great way to end. In three hour-long sessions, I worked with close to 90 teachers. The topic was "Everything You Wanted to Know About Your Computer... *But Were Afraid to Ask," and the entire agenda was based on the specific questions the participants submitted ahead of time in a survey, which we read, researched, and answered. A lot of new questions came up during the workshop, and we were able to find answers to these as well, often from other participants in the session who shared their knowledge in a backchannel discussion and out loud.

We might not have flex requirements in our budget for next year, so my days of offering 40 or so of these a year are over for now. And I'll be making a happy return to the classroom in the fall, so I won't be tapped to present at every in-service in our district. Instead I'll be able to actually attend some of these workshops and learn from my peers, which I am really looking forward to doing again, believe it or not.

I am looking forward to the change next year. Working with teachers is both challenging and rewarding, but I feel like I have had five years of intense, full-time professional development for myself. I've learned so much about technology integration and education in general that the only logical step at this time is to get back in the classroom and put it into practice myself!

So this was the end of the presenting to teachers part of my job, and it was a good ending. I still have almost two months of working 1:1 with teachers and providing on-demand assistance with tech integration before the end of the school year, but after today, the finish line is in sight and it feels good to be in the homestretch.

Innovation

Hello, and happy Tuesday to you all. :)

This week's post is a short one. I would like to remind everyone that an innovative presentation will be taking place online tomorrow evening on Twitter.

For our district’s second annual innovation celebration, a group led by Joe Mazza, Principal at Knapp Elementary School, will showcase the opportunities and potential for professional development on Twitter by hosting a live chat. Now that's some real innovation! Tune in to Twitter from 6 - 9 p.m. and check it out at #nped.

A Wednesday with Swindy

Wait, today is Wednesday? It looks like I missed a Tuesday.

I blame it on all the sugar from the kids' Easter baskets... between that and all the requests pouring in for AIC help from my colleagues, the days are racing by quickly right now!

Here's what's going on today...

I am helping facilitate three iPad pull-out training days for elementary teachers and principals.

I am attempting to locate GPS devices for the science field trip at one elementary school.

I am tracking down microphones for a HS teacher who would like to record audio in a room without built-in mics.

I am working with teachers who will present eight workshops, three times each, during our Engagement in-service day.

I am helping a middle school teacher learn to use Prezi with her students.

I am investigating how a HS secretary could scan pictures without any access to a color scanner (take a smart phone or iPad picture? -- any suggestions out there?).

It is shaping up to be a very busy week, but that's OK. The busy weeks are much more fun!

Looking Ahead

April is the coolest month. Take that, T.S. Eliot!

There are lots of good events involving educational technology integration coming up in the month of April. Here are some things to look forward to this month in the world of Academic Integration coaching:

April 18 – For our district’s second annual innovation celebration, a group led by Joe Mazza, Principal at Knapp Elementary School, will showcase the opportunities and potential for professional development on Twitter by hosting a live chat. Now that's some real innovation! Tune in to Twitter from 6 - 9 p.m. and check it out at #nped.

April 10 and April 18 – a group led by Academic Technology Coordinator Dr. Kristen Kozloski, will train teachers in elementary schools with new iPads. The training days will focus on everything from basic operation and proper care of the devices, to sharing of tips and tricks, finding and using the best apps for education, and moving beyond the apps to other educational uses of the iPads. There will also be a strong connection between the iPads and Response to Instruction and Intervention Implementation, as RTII Coach Amber Molloy is also presenting the workshops. I will be happy to assist these two excellent professionals in their endeavors by helping teachers who are new to the iPads navigate and use the devices.

April 12 – Everything You Wanted to Know About Your Computer… *But Were Afraid to Ask. This after-school flex training workshop is a popular session intended for those who feel a little bit like technology in the classroom has passed them by. Teachers can get a foothold in some of the basics, and pick up a few tips and tricks for using the programs on our classroom computers, particularly the Microsoft Office applications - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. What makes this session unique, however, is that it will largely be directed by the participants’ individual questions. Those who sign up will receive an email a few weeks prior to the session asking for questions and topics they would most like to see covered, and facilitators will work to research and provide answers during the workshop.

I will also be offering flex training sessions on using our Schoolwires Teacher Web pages this month. The basic session will be held April 18, and the advanced session will be held April 23.

April 24 – The Engagement In-Service Day will feature eight technology integration workshops. In the staff survey following the last in-service day, teachers asked, by overwhelming margin, for more training on technology integration. We were happy to help answer this call by enlisting the help of ten expert teachers, who will present sessions with their firsthand knowledge of programs they use in their own classrooms. The technology workshops for this day will include the following exciting topics:
Blogging with Students
Then and Now: Motivating Students Through the Use of Technology
The Student-Centered Classroom: Using Video and Standards-Based Grading
Student-made Video Projects
Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Ideas for Getting Started
Look back, See Further – An Introduction to Teaching with Primary Sources
Everything You Wanted to Know About Technology… *But Were Afraid to Ask
Edmodo in the Classroom

Finally, the weekly video podcast, Tech Tip of the Week, which has been by posted every week for the past two school years by the Academic Integration Coaches, will continue every Friday in April, with exciting new ideas for integrating technology into our classrooms.

Happy April, everyone! Don’t forget to contact your Academic Integration Coach to help you get your tech on!

Until next week, be well.