Summer PD Offerings are here!

As you may or may not know, Lori Hinton sent out the magical list of In District Summer PD offerings and I have to say - it's one awesome looking line up!   There are so many fabulous offerings and I'm amazed at all of the different classes that are being offered.  As much as I'd love to plug the classes that I'm teaching (Online Web Presence, REACHing Success with Technology in the ELA Framework, REACHing Success with Technology in Elementary PE, and some Jumpstart classes) I also want to highlight that one of my favorite authors/educators/researchers is coming for a PD Course!   Jim Knight will be in the district on Monday, August 18th to present on High Impact Instructional Strategies.   I HIGHLY recommend  signing up for his workshop - as he offers teachers many practical suggestions that can be used in a variety of subject areas.   He's a great presenter and I'm excited that he'll be back in District 64!

Click here for all of the District 64 Professional Development Offerings!

Summer Plans?

Are you interested in some intriguing professional development this summer?  Do you need some credits to move up the pay scale?  District 207 has some great course offerings at fair prices for this summer.  See the flyer below.   If you are interested, click here to register.

Awesome Workshop Opportunity!

Last year I attended the workshop below (from the staff bulletin last week) on Formative Assessment. This was an amazing day spent reflecting on how we assess our students and use powerful instructional strategies in our teaching.    Please read the blurb below from Lori -as I would HIGHLY recommend going.   I do have the Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning book in my office if you'd like to sneak a peak - just let me know!   I hope you consider attending this awesome experience!!!  

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunity - Limited Space!

Formative Assessment: What is it? How can it make a difference?

In 2009, John Hattie wrote his groundbreaking book, Visible Learning. This book is a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to student achievement. In other words, Mr. Hattie reviewed all of the research related to different instructional strategies and then ranked the strategies in order of their impact on student learning. WOW!

Hattie’s research supports the work of other leaders in the field of education, including Marzano, Silver, Chappuis, Wiliam, and Knight. According to Hattie and others… One of the most powerful instructional strategies we can implement in the classroom is FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT.

Formative assessment is one of several high-impact instructional strategies that have a significant positive effect on student learning. “The achievement gains realized by students whose teachers rely on formative assessment can range from 15 to 25 percentile points or two to four grade equivalents” (Black & Wiliam,1998). “Certain formative assessment practices greatly increase the achievement of low-performing students, in some cases to the point of approaching that of high-achieving students” (Chappuis, 2009).

Do you want to get started using formative assessment in your classroom? Are you looking for simple, easy-to-implement strategies that you can start using ASAP?

The Department for Student Learning is proud to host an upcoming workshop for District 64 teachers called “The Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning.” This full-day workshop will teach you about seven formative assessment strategies that can powerfully impact student achievement. These strategies maximize the power of your lessons and are appropriate for any teacher in any content area. All participants will receive a copy of Jan Chappuis’ book Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning.

The workshop will be held on Friday, October 25 from 8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. at Jefferson (Plimpton). Space is limited so sign up soon via the link below if you are interested in participating. Registrations are due by Monday, October 21. Please do not secure a substitute for this workshop until your registration is confirmed by the Department for Student Learning.

*Registration Link: Formative Assessment Workshop

*If you are unable to attend on this date but are interested in this workshop, please send Lori Hinton an email. If there are enough interested people, we may be able to offer this workshop again at a later date.

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and you had time to reflect, relax, and recharge to start this new school year!  As a reminder, I'm here for all our your personal staff development needs!   As an instructional technology coach, it's my job to help you enhance your curriculum with technology - so please don't hesitate to ask!  I know that there is a lot of new technology around Roosevelt from SMART Boards, Chromebooks, and iPads in primary classrooms.  Please don't hesitate to ask for help integrating it seamlessly into your curriculum. 

I know many people were interested in "Flipping" their instruction at the end of last year.  I'm here to help you with that too!   My old principal sent me the video today of an EXTREMELY creative "Flipper".   Check it out if you need a good chuckle.   

Have a fabulous first day with kiddos and I look forward to working with everyone this year!

Oh... and if you missed it... I did have some big news to share over the summer.   We are expecting a baby girl in late December!  We couldn't be more thrilled for a new bundle of joy to be joining our family!

       

Mapping with Google: Free Online Course

Are you interested in learning more about Google Maps and Google Earth?  Google announced that they are offering a free, self paced course on everything with Google Maps starting June 10th.

Discover new ways to navigate the world around you with Google Maps and Google Earth.   Improve your use of new and existing fatures of Google's mapping tools.  Choose your own path.  Complete a project using Google Maps, Google Earth, or both, and earn a certificate of completion.

Want to sign up?  Click here.

Want to see more?  Watch the clip below.

I signed up - who's with me?

What is an Instructional Coach?

I follow a group on Facebook called, The Instructional Coaching Group, led by Jim Knight and the University of Kansas, the leaders of Instructional Coaching.  This weekend, Jim posed a question that I would LOVE to know your answer to!

He says the definition of an instructional coaching is:

Instructional coaches partner with teachers to support them as they meet goals usually through the use of effective teaching practices. 


After having an instructional technology coach for almost two years, what would your definition be?   These answers are purely for me, but I'd love to know your opinion, so please share below!!!

Google Camp

Have you heard me talk about going to Google Camp last summer?  I had a great time learning and putting all things Google into practice in a class called, "Google Apps for the Collaborative Classroom" through District 207's PLAY.  

They are offering the same class again this summer, and I thought I'd pass along the information if it's something that may interest you.  Click here for more information or read below.  There are also offering an Advanced Google Apps in the Collaborative Classroom.   Click here for more information.

This week long experience, planned and designed by Maine 207’s team of Google Certified Apps Trainers, will first prepare you to use the core suite of Google Apps for Education, which includes Google Drive, Gmail, Sites, Calendar, Chat, Groups and Video. As teachers learn the tools, there will be hands-on opportunities for modifying existing lessons to make them more collaborative through Google Apps. Teachers will also have the chance to model authentic student activities by building a portfolio of work using Google Sites.

Courses are 4 full days from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, and the final day (5) is from 8:30 am - 11:30 am. Lunch will be provided on each of the full day sessions.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone wanting to learn more about how to use Google Apps in the classroom at any grade level or within any subject area. Attendees will be given ample time to work with these tools to modify or design their own lessons. This will be a hands-on, collaborative experience where you will work with the tools and learn from others. Everyone, from beginners to experts in Google Apps, will benefit from this experience.

What is the Cost? 
Out of District: $399 per person - includes 4½ days of training, lunches, and access to training materials. 
In District: FREE (in district employee deposit of $100 to secure your seat, refunded after course completion)

Does this course carry graduate credit hours?
Optional Aurora University credits: 2 credit hours ($100/hr or total of $200, check payable to Aurora University and due on first day of class for Aurora Course: OEDT 5088)