Teach Essentials Training Days

The Big Ah-hah

What does it mean to integrate technology?Teach Essentials Training DaysAka: Technology Boot CampMy first experience training our teachers.1The Morning of Day 1Master Teacher here.

Technology Integrationhere we come!!

You call that a curriculum framing question? Ive seen a first grader write a better CFQ!

Hey you over therequit checkin yer email!

All of you--drop and give me twenty!

Well here I am. Day 1 of training. I am so excited. We preselected 11 teachers who really embrace technology and use it frequently in their classrooms. It should be a great group to work with because they really understand what it means to integrate technology. I feel like my job is to get these teachers in shape to meet 21st century skills! This is NOT going to be a walk in the parkthis is going to be like technology boot camp!!2End of Day 1I think theyre really getting this stuff!

No one is going to slack off on my watch.

They better have those ISTE standards memorized by tomorrow!

By the end of Day one I was feeling pretty good. The teachers seemed very motivated. We researched--Standards, curriculum framing questions, tapping into prior knowledgethis is good stuff! I can tell that theyre really getting it! I cant wait to see how theyre going to embed technology into their final unit projects! They really enjoyed looking at all of those great project design examples. I am really looking forward to tomorrow!3Day 2Im pretty sure theyre getting this stuff.

AhDay 2more learning and exploring. Cant wait to show them all of the assessments that are going to be at their fingertips. They are going to love that workspace!!

They are very motivated to keep going. Their units are coming along well and theyre very excited about implementing more technology in their units. I can tell that their wheels are turning and they are going to come up with creative ways to use the Internet to communicate and collaborate.

I am a little concerned that the focus has shifted from students using technology to teachers using technology, but Im sure its just a phase..I hope its just a phase.4End of Day 2They seem to be enjoying this class, but Im not sure theyre really getting this stuff.

I know theyre not getting it.

What the????

I am going to have to kick some major assessments tomorrow.Uh-oh. I think theres been a definite shift. I see more and more of the group implementing technologies that will be teacher led, but not much student led. Where did I go wrong? Who can I turn to? And Why am I still smiling?5Friendly AdviceIts out of your hands, dear.

No disrespect, sister, but we have an obligation and duty to do whats right .Okay..I can clearly see now that theyre focusing more on their use of technology rather than student use.

I turned to a friend who was convinced that there was nothing I could do.

But I had a hard time believing that ..6Of Course I Integrate TechnologyI take my kids to the lab at least once a week!I take attendance on my computer every morning!I check my email throughout the day.I use my projector to show video clips!I show my students websites that Ive found.I show my students Power Point presentations all of the time!And. I have a web page to keep parents informed!

I never would have guessed that this group of teachers didnt have a solid grasp on what it meant to integrate technology.but they didnt.and if they didnt..you can bet the rest of the district wasnt too far behind. The whole time I just assumed that the teachers in my class knew what it meant to integrate technology. Ughhh. I feel silly having to address this

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Morning of Day 3The elephant is in the building.Its time to address the problem head on. What does REAL technology integration look like? What does it really mean?

8Student Use of TechnologyStudents use email or blogs to communicate ideas and thoughts.Students create digital stories.Students find and evaluate websites.Students collect and analyze information.Students create a visual presentation using a technology tool.

Ah-hah!

Its about time you figured this out. Now get back to work and figure out how youre going to share with the rest of the troops. The night before day 3 we discussed true technology integration on our wiki. There were many thank yous and Ah-hah moments the next morning.

By the end of the last day after they showcased their units, I was so impressed! 9Whats Next?

.and this is an example of a survey they will create

.and this is the website were going to use to set up a blog.

...and heres a spreadsheet that theyll create to analyze their data.

and heres an assessment they will use to evaluate their peers.

Well done, people.Youve survived Technology Boot Camp, but your work has just begun.I am happy to announce that the teachers who went through training will be sharing their units plans with the rest of the staff and we will be training more teachers in the months ahead. It might take some time and effort, but it will be so worth it in the end!!! Thank you, Intel for making this possible and for changing the way educators use technology with their students. 10