FEARLESS IN FIRST

  via GIPHY In March 2020, our world was flipped upside down. We had this foreign virus enter our state and no one knew how to navigate that. We watched and even participated in food being snatched off of the shelves. We saw loved ones and friends pass away and saw others suffer residual effects of this virus. No one could have ever expected that this virus would affect our country with the magnitude that it did. Educational leaders had to make the toughest decision to shut down schools for the safety of everyone. District leaders, teachers, and school staff had to frantically work up a plan to continue learning through all of this, even if that meant from a distance.  Distance Learning:  Whether we call it distance, virtual, online, or e-learning; our educational platform moved to uncharted territory in March. Our goal was to teach students no matter where they were. Schools had to act swiftly to provide technology and internet to students who did not have access. Teache...

Was there a field experience that you observed/participated in/led that you feel could have been improved? How & why?    via GIPHY      Feedback and data are only good if we use it. As a math coach I am constantly pulling reports to look at student performance and gains. In our system we use i-Ready to evaluate student performance and then using the data we individualize the instruction to help students grow. We take the diagnostic of i-Ready three times a year. Each time it gives myself and the teachers instant and detailed information about each student and ways to close gaps on specific standards.      I am fortunate enough to be able to go out to the schools I serve and help lead professional learning communities. These meetings are a time for us to delve deeper into the data and walk away with a plan for our students. Here is one of the PLC presentations that we used at one of our schools. We really wanted teachers to be intentional abou...

Which field experience had the most significant positive impact on your growth as a technology leader? via GIPHY Using Twitter and creating Professional Learning Networks has definitely been the experience that has had a positive impact on me this semester. The CoSN standard that I connected this experience to was 7B which states, use various communication tools and techniques. Twitter is a digital platform that allows people to connect to and communicate with others anywhere in the world. It is a tool that can be used to provide professional development and learning opportunities from the comfort of your home and device. Before this class I knew of Twitter but never had a desire to join another social media platform. However through learning and engaging in this platform I have learned a lot about connecting with administrators and other educators around the world. An administrator once said to me, “we will never arrive” meaning we all still have learning to do. Sheninger referenced ...

via GIPHY When the pandemic hit, districts were left running frantically making sure students were ready and able to continue their education through remote learning. The problem quickly became students having access to the devices and internet needed to maintain their learning while schools had to shutdown. For some students and affluent areas this was not a problem. Other students and lower income areas struggled with this. This pandemic exposed the digital divide that exists across our country.   via GIPHY I work in a district that I felt acted swiftly in providing students access to a chromebook and internet devices as did most districts. While our district did have a plethora of technology and hot spots to disperse, not all districts could do the same. However creativity helped in these areas. Some students found themselves using the school's steps or restaurants to access Wifi. Wifi was placed on buses and rotated around to act as temporary hot spots. In some districts t...

  It is no secret that technology is abundant. Every school in this first world has access to some type of technology. The most prominent for most schools would be chromebooks, desktops, iPads, and SmartPanels. Schools with STEAM labs have coding devices like Bee-Bots and Ozobots or VR systems. Schools even implement BYOD. Whatever the technology tool is, implementation is key. However if teachers do not know how to use said technology then that effective implementation is null and void. via GIPHY Some days I can relate to this GIF. A technology coordinator is tech support!! A TC is viewed as the knowledge keeper of all technology. When in doubt, a teacher will look to them for advice. The TC is also responsible for sharing their knowledge in order to grow capacity in their teachers. Effective professional development can make the difference in technology implementation for teachers. If you want teachers to take what you offer and implement it in the classroom, it must be meaningf...

  via GIPHY “Technology will not replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational” -George Couros It is no secret that technology has evolved tremendously over the years. We are no longer confined to using just a calculator in math. The world of technology gives us a plethora of resources to use at our fingertips. According to McDaniel (2020), “technology is used for enrichment, extension, and extra practice of the content after teaching it directly to the students”. While technology can be transformational, it is important for students to understand the expectations for using the various resources available to them. The ISTE standards for students give them a voice and engage them in the technology driven world. Incorporating technology into content areas allows for great collaboration, creating digital citizens, designing, and computational thinking to take place. Merging math and technology together can elevate practices and engage st...