Professional Development
Leading by Example
Professional Development & Trainings
My role as an Instructional Technology Coach is a unique space where the spheres of technology and teaching overlap. I am always looking for opportunities to create and support a vision and strategic plan for technology use. This includes leading professional learning about the potential for technology to transform the learning and enrich the classroom, as well as to prepare teachers to integrate technology in their classrooms.
EDucational TECHnology
Professional Development & Trainings
A core aspect of my work is to build the capacity of educators and administrators by facilitating active learning experiences. I do this by creating and facilitating professional development sessions and workshops specifically suited to the needs of the school. Take a look below for some examples of professional development I have created and implemented.
A SAMPLING of MY Professional Development Sessions
Ed Tech Interactive PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Ed Tech pd on the go
Sometimes you want to give a little extra professional development without clogging up people's inboxes... that's where Ed Tech PD on the Go comes in. Hung around the school for easy engagement, it is small tidbits of ed tech at your fingertips!
In this interactive Ed Tech professional development session, teachers engaged with the material independently and then shared out their aha moments, ideas for using their learnings, and other useful ideas.
This session was designed to be differentiated as teachers at any level could engage with the material.
Leveraging Google for your organization's organizational needs
As a Google Certified for Education Trainer, I lead many professional development about Google tools and applications. One area of particular importance is how we leverage these tools both individually and as an organization.
This is one of many professional development sessions that I have helped design and run.
Screencastify... More than just a screen recorder
Screencastify, the screen recording Google Chrome extension is one of my favorite Ed Tech Tools. This PD session was created after a new version was released.
In this session we reviewed using Screencastify, introduced the brand new features, tried out using these features as students / seeing the teacher interface and showcased ways to use this amazing extension in the classroom.
Marie Kondo Your Google Drive
Just as Marie Kondo encourages us to declutter and tidy your physical space, it is just as important to organize and tidy your virtual space. In this Professional Development session, teachers and faculty were led through the philosophy, best practices, and tips & techniques to create a system for leveraging their use of Google Drive through a much more organized and easier to navigate for your own needs. The final piece was a worksheet and guided work session to help set teachers up for success!
What do you MEME?
In this interactive Professional Development session, teachers were led through both the concept of memes as digital artifacts and the technical skills to create a MEME, an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by non-genetic means, especially imitation. We also explored the practical application of this tool and concept into the classroom.
Design Principles & Poster Creation with Adobe Spark
In this interactive Professional Development session, teachers were led through both the concepts of basic graphic design principles as well as the technical aspect of creating a poster in Adobe Spark using Spark Post. Teachers were given time to create and then share-out their “Hope” poster creations, as well as the practical application of this into the classroom.
View Webpage for Self-Paced Instruction
Exploring Tech Tools for Feedback & Assessment
In this interactive Professional Development session, teachers explored three different tools in the lens of feedback and assessment. First they engaged in an activity with sticky notes and then were shown how to use an app called Post-It to collect the feedback and convert it into a digital record. Then they got a chance to try out Padlet, the online corkboard site, as a vehicle for generating feedback. Finally, teachers were introduced to Flipgrid, a video response site, and how this tool could also be used in their classroom in the sphere of feedback and assessment.
Get Creative with Google Docs
How can we leverage Google Docs to make better organized and attractive materials? This session focused on different tools and techniques teachers can use when they create materials, info sheets, lessons plans, meeting notes, etc. Teachers were led through functional and creative applications and then had to opportunity to explore these concepts in a self-paced working document.
Stop-Motion in the Classroom
In this interactive Professional Development session, teachers were introduced to Stop-Motion, both the concepts and technical components of creating an animation. We explored how this could be used in the classroom in the various content areas. Teachers were given an opportunity to create their own animations and share-out their final creations.
Leading Professional Development in a Remote Setting
In response to the COVID crisis, I have worked extensively on developing professional development and delivering it in remote sessions. Below is an example of such a session.
Watch my Presentation about Blended Learning
Check out the video I created for a session I led about “Teaching with a Blended Learning Methodology” at the 2017 CEESA (Central and Eastern European Schools Association) Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria.