1. Server room to classroom—Expand your focus from maintaining networks and hardware to helping choose instructional software. 2. Gearhead to gear guide—Fix devices and show teachers and students how to use them. 3. Tech provider to tech trimmer—Assess what programs and applications drive student achievement. 4. Data generator to data analyzer—Provide easy-to-read reports from various […]
When Amy Arbogash took the reins of the technology department at Verona Area School District in Wisconsin in 2017, it was in the middle of a multiyear shift to personalized instruction. Students were developing their own learning plans during the rollout of a 1-to-1 iPad program. That is why the district gave Arbogash the title […]
Developers of equity programs offer the following tips for success: You need it first—Equity PD gets the best results when leaders—from superintendents to school board members to principals—are trained before their staff. Dialogue, collaboration and role-play—Kids don't love PowerPoints or lectures, and neither do educators. PD that gets teachers talking, collaborating and even role-playing seems […]
During Noel Petrosky's 12 years at different Saint Marys Area School District elementary schools, she saw assessment data accurately predict student performance on state tests and inform instruction that led to student growth. That wasn't the case at Saint Marys Area Middle School when she became principal two years ago. "I thought, 'I can't go […]
Advocates of design thinking in education know what you've heard. "Its hard to look at design thinking and not see it as a buzzword" says Ryan Bretag, director of instructional innovation at Glenbrook High Schools District 225 outside Chicago. "When we narrow down design thinking to just a bunch of steps that you can follow […]
Ware County School District in Georgia has downsized its inventory of assistive technology. Thanks to a slew of technological advances, many of the specialized tools their special education students had used to communicate and learn are now redundant. "We don't need portable keyboards or word processors anymore" says Barbara Sonnier, the district's assistive technology coordinator. […]
Dan Hamlin, a postdoctoral fellow in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Paul E. Petersen have examined data to see what impact states lowering the bar on academic proficiency have had on student achievement. When they were created, the Common Core standards were intended as consistent benchmarks for student learning across the country. But public opinion […]
Teachers in the Susquehanna Township School District are finding success with their new curriculum mapping program using Chalk. With it, they can easily locate and align state standards with lesson plans, and if they have any questions, they can get live technical assistance through "Mr. Chalk" an online chat feature operated by company employees. Mr. […]
This spring, schools have experienced a profound increase in student suicides and attempts, as well as school shootings. Recognize that as bad as things have been this spring, things are likely to be worse next fall. Contention over race, origin, LGBTQ, and sexual assault/harassment will increase, along with contention over gun control in the context […]
Looking to illustrate an abstract concept from a novel she'd read, an Oklahoma high school student turned to her building-level school librarian. Then, with the school librarian's encouragement to tinker in the makerspace, the girl sculpted a clay model of a kneeling woman balancing a 3D-printed replica of the earth on her back. "She was […]
