This past week was the GaETC (Ga Educational Technology Conference) and it was amazing. I learned so much that my brain is in overdrive! I have so many ideas and things I'd like to do and try at Coker! I filled half of a brand new notebook taking notes on all the new ideas I heard about and tech tools I learned. It truly was a bit overwhelming.
But the final keynote speaker, Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher), had some words of wisdom that really spoke to me & I want to share with each of you. She said that we can't do every new thing we learned, but that we should try first to "innovate like a turtle." We all know the story of the turtle. Slow and steady wins the race. This is how we have to begin when our brains are filled with all the things we want to do but have no idea how we will get it all done. The answer is simple: we won't. Instead, she says we need to pick 3 new things and commit to giving them our attention at least 3 times per week. It sounds simple, but narrowing down 3 things will be the hardest! But I am working on it. I have 2 things I've decided on, but that 3rd one is the hardest!
#1 - JUST IN TIME PD - I want to turn professional development into something that gives more teacher control and is more individualized. Getting time in the day to meet together as teams with 7 grade levels, over 30 teachers, and only 3 specials is becoming increasingly impossible. But another quote I wrote down from GaETC essentially says this: We are no longer teaching content for a "just in case" society. Instead we are to prepare learning situations for our "just in time" society. What does that mean? Before, we went to school to learn content and prepare for situations in life just in case we ever needed the information. This is how education and society operated for years. But now, we have Google in our pockets and YouTube tutorials! How many of us have turned to Google for information or watched a YouTube video to show us how to make something?
My daughter recently received a kit for making bracelets. We read the instructions, but the bracelet wasn't going very well. So, we got out the iPad, found a YouTube video tutorial, and with a few pauses and rewinds, we had an awesome bracelet, We didn't watch a video 2 months before she got the craft set as a "just in case" measure. NO! We watched the video and learned how to do it the moment we needed the knowledge - "just in time!" This just in time society is the world our students live in and the world we live in! Why shouldn't professional development be the same way? It is my goal over the next few weeks to create more tutorial videos and online professional development opportunities that teachers can CHOOSE from and use when they need them (and review as needed). You will notice a new header at the top of my site-JUST IN TIME PD- this is where the PD options will be housed for us.
2 - AWARDS / Gamifying PD
Along with this new "just in time" PD, I want to implement a badge system for our professional development. You will choose your PD based on your own needs, and when you complete a tutorial or PD opportunity, you will earn a badge! These badges will be displayed for you online and I HOPE to get some actual stickers that I can give you as you earn the badges. The badges you earn will be up to you! I am super excited about this and have already started creating our badges!
#3 - ????
Well, my quest is to innovate like a turtle, but I can't decide on the final step to get started. There are just too many good ideas in my notebook and in my head!! I am 99% sure on my #3, but I'm not quite ready to share yet. I will leave you with only one hint in the form of a picture below. (Check under blog post.)
I want to leave you all with one more quote that I am going to keep in mind daily as things get overwhelming and I get discouraged (as we all do at times)
THE ONLY FAILURE THAT IS PERMANENT IS WHEN YOU QUIT.
Have courage, keep heart, & don't give up. YOU MATTER. Every day. Every smile. Every child.
But the final keynote speaker, Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher), had some words of wisdom that really spoke to me & I want to share with each of you. She said that we can't do every new thing we learned, but that we should try first to "innovate like a turtle." We all know the story of the turtle. Slow and steady wins the race. This is how we have to begin when our brains are filled with all the things we want to do but have no idea how we will get it all done. The answer is simple: we won't. Instead, she says we need to pick 3 new things and commit to giving them our attention at least 3 times per week. It sounds simple, but narrowing down 3 things will be the hardest! But I am working on it. I have 2 things I've decided on, but that 3rd one is the hardest!
#1 - JUST IN TIME PD - I want to turn professional development into something that gives more teacher control and is more individualized. Getting time in the day to meet together as teams with 7 grade levels, over 30 teachers, and only 3 specials is becoming increasingly impossible. But another quote I wrote down from GaETC essentially says this: We are no longer teaching content for a "just in case" society. Instead we are to prepare learning situations for our "just in time" society. What does that mean? Before, we went to school to learn content and prepare for situations in life just in case we ever needed the information. This is how education and society operated for years. But now, we have Google in our pockets and YouTube tutorials! How many of us have turned to Google for information or watched a YouTube video to show us how to make something?
My daughter recently received a kit for making bracelets. We read the instructions, but the bracelet wasn't going very well. So, we got out the iPad, found a YouTube video tutorial, and with a few pauses and rewinds, we had an awesome bracelet, We didn't watch a video 2 months before she got the craft set as a "just in case" measure. NO! We watched the video and learned how to do it the moment we needed the knowledge - "just in time!" This just in time society is the world our students live in and the world we live in! Why shouldn't professional development be the same way? It is my goal over the next few weeks to create more tutorial videos and online professional development opportunities that teachers can CHOOSE from and use when they need them (and review as needed). You will notice a new header at the top of my site-JUST IN TIME PD- this is where the PD options will be housed for us.
2 - AWARDS / Gamifying PD
Along with this new "just in time" PD, I want to implement a badge system for our professional development. You will choose your PD based on your own needs, and when you complete a tutorial or PD opportunity, you will earn a badge! These badges will be displayed for you online and I HOPE to get some actual stickers that I can give you as you earn the badges. The badges you earn will be up to you! I am super excited about this and have already started creating our badges!
#3 - ????
Well, my quest is to innovate like a turtle, but I can't decide on the final step to get started. There are just too many good ideas in my notebook and in my head!! I am 99% sure on my #3, but I'm not quite ready to share yet. I will leave you with only one hint in the form of a picture below. (Check under blog post.)
I want to leave you all with one more quote that I am going to keep in mind daily as things get overwhelming and I get discouraged (as we all do at times)
THE ONLY FAILURE THAT IS PERMANENT IS WHEN YOU QUIT.
Have courage, keep heart, & don't give up. YOU MATTER. Every day. Every smile. Every child.