Professional Learning
As part of our school-wide professional learning plan, our teachers have regularly scheduled opportunities to learn in math, language arts, and technology integration. Additionally, teachers have one full-day planning day for each 9-week period. This gives teachers a chance to dig in and apply their learning to common assessments, unit plans, and projects for the upcoming weeks and helps to prevent the "information overload" that comes from learning too much without a chance to implement the learning into your planning and teaching routine.
I have the pleasure of facilitating our monthly technology integration professional learning sessions, which we call Tool Time (apologies to Tim "The Toolman" Taylor and the rest of the Home Improvement gang). During this time, we focus on ways to effectively integrate technology, including curriculum, ISTE-S standards, student engagement, formative assessment, and using our district Learning Management System. I intentionally differentiate this learning for our grade level teams by changing the sessions to meet their needs and giving them an opportunity to respond and to be a significant part of their own learning. Here is the presentation from our October session. One of the highlights of the session was teachers getting to write some advice to their "pre-BYOD" selves. Check out the amazing advice that they gave themselves!
Device Sharing
Although there is no one right way to devise an equitable device sharing plan, all effective methods share some common criteria. The plan should have input from staff members, be well-understood, and provide opportunities for each teacher and student to regularly use technology for teaching and learning. At my school, we have a variety of different plans; some grade levels split up devices between classrooms permanently, some have a set rotation, while others use a shared Google spreadsheet to sign up for sets of devices during their instructional time. These plans were devised by each grade level and serve to increase student access to technology. Here is an example of a device-sharing spreadsheet that our 4th grade teachers used in the spring of 2014.
Device-Neutral Assignments
Looking for a way to get started with device-neutral assignments in your classroom? The Smore flyer below was created by Susan Campo, a high-school Geography & Science teacher in Toronto, Canada. It has lots of great resources and tips to help teachers create device-neutral assignments and to promote digital equity with your students.
"Dear Tellagami - An Open Letter From an Educator." Zig Zagging. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://www.zigzagstech.com/2014/07/dear-tellagami-open-letter-educator.html>.
"Device Neutral Assignments." Smore. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <https://www.smore.com/r0um-device-neutral-assignments>.
"The Digital Divide: Resource Roundup." Edutopia. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://www.edutopia.org/article/digital-divide-resource-roundup>.
"ISTE Standards For Students." ISTE Standards For Students. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students>.
"Professional Development vs. Professional Learning." Mattsons Musings. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://mrskmattson.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/professional-development-vs-professional-learning/>.