Planning and Determining What to Share (First Week PD)

“Google, what's new?” I type into a new search box, hoping to uncover new features, tips, and hacks that I can share with colleagues this fall on the second day of our welcome back institute at my school. While I have been watching the #notatISTE hashtag intently and scouring the @GoogleForEdu Twitter account feed, I know that inevitably new features will be released and updates made up until (and right after) the school year begins. Educational technology evolves at a rapid pace, often too quickly to stay up-to-date. Google does an incredible job of taking feedback and making meaningful changes that help teachers and students to work more efficiently, but coping with change is difficult for anyone. When a person opens a familiar platform to see drastic visual or functional changes, those changes can lead to frustration.

Anticipating the headaches or the frustrations of my colleagues is one of my jobs classified under "other duties as assigned." Supporting 131 people who have varying needs for educational resources and tools can be a challenge as I strive to value and honor each of them. Staying current with updates and educational tech news feels daunting, and discerning what teachers need to know or might find most useful is overwhelming at first. Aside from asking Google what's new, where do I begin?

Planning my first professional learning session of the year is proving to be a challenge as I have an abundance of information to share. Determining what's essential for my colleagues to know about at the start of the school year is critical. Appreciating and recognizing that teachers are concerned with being ready for the first week needs to be at the forefront of my mind while I prepare to deliver information. Understanding one's audience is one element of public speaking that I constantly emphasize to my college and high school students every semester almost every class period (in fact I did it yesterday). As such, the tips and tricks I select to share must be practical, useful, and straightforward.

Each person I encounter has a different level of proficiency and will utilize Google Suites products to varying degrees. Instead of trying to teach to the middle, which often satisfies only a few people, I hope to provide a differentiated experience for my colleagues. One tool or another will spark a practical idea that they can use during the first week back and will encourage them to return to the presentation to explore more of what is pertinent to them when they have the time to do so. My rough outline of the presentation involves both a live, teacher-led presentation that will highlight new features and a few quick tips that any teacher can implement in his or her classroom. While several teachers may be familiar with several of the tips, a refresher is always helpful after a long summer. My level 2 tips will be alluded to but brushed past to spark curiosity and interest in future PD sessions. Also, I want to evaluate what teachers want to know more about and what will be most useful to them. Level 2 tips will be available after the initial live session. Using Pear Deck student-pace feature, teachers will be able to asynchronously explore different hacks related to specific Google Suites products that apply specifically to their classrooms. Whether it be Google Forms, Sheets, or Docs, teachers will have options to ask questions, interact, and discover new strategies and resources that will positively impact the learning experience of their students.

While I have not completed the presentation, I have a solid outline and vision for what I hope the experience to be. To make the experience interactive and more engaging, I will be using Pear Deck to encourage teachers to have a voice, share ideas, and connect with their colleagues. The teacher-led pace will be used to keep us on track and give an overview of the resources and ideas available, but I will open the student-paced mode to model how Pear Deck can be used to differentiate and also allow them to have a personalized learning experience at a time that is convenient to them.

What do the students need?

When students (and teachers) drive their learning, they will feel more invested and ready to absorb and apply the content. In spite of a solid outline, I still feel a great deal of pressure. Again, technology is changing so rapidly - what if something new is released in August that changes the functionality of one of the products I'm sharing?

I return to the idea that ultimately, effective pedagogy is not about the tech; it's about creating a quality learning environment for students and leveraging resources to create opportunities for deep and authentic learning experiences. Considering the needs of the students and tailoring the experience to the audience is critical. For me, my students need something quick they can use immediately and inspiration to bank for the next few weeks of the school year. Students starting a new semester need to be aware of how to navigate the digital environment in which they are learning and also how to communicate with their teachers and peers while engaging with the content. 

How might we help our students reach specific goals? 

Every so often, I encounter a teacher who wants to learn what's new with ed-tech or ask me if there's something fun for students to try. Of course, there is always something new to learn or try. Tools are being created, disappearing, or charging more for the use of their products all the time. ISTE standards remind us that our jobs as teachers are to create authentic learning opportunities and cultivate a culture of collaboration. Google Suites tools are especially helpful when striving to achieve this goal, but the standards do not specify tools or the paths that students take to learn. As such, a teacher should not consider which tool to use before they consider the desired outcome of their students and the skills that are being built. Ultimately, there are countless ways for students to demonstrate mastery and several low-tech or high-tech ways in which they can do it. 

How can we innovate our classroom in a meaningful manner?

Using technology for the sake of innovation is not innovation. The SAMR model outlines the process in which teachers can design a lesson to go from simply substituting something that was once done on paper to making a learning activity that is truly a redefinition of the learning experience. Teachers will craft lessons that fall in various places within this model, which is absolutely okay. Again, the question to answer is what ultimately do we want students to learn. When a clear picture of that question is defined, each teacher can begin to consider the avenue students will take to arrive at the desired destination.

Why choose one path over the other? (Do we even need to choose one way?) 

The more I explore the possibilities within ed-tech, the more I believe in personalizing the path for students. Our society used to be driven by linear paths. To achieve the American dream, a person must complete high school, go to college, get a job, own a home, etc. The Millennial generation and Gen Z truly are redefining the picture-perfect life that generations of the past valued. Paths are no longer clearly defined. Going where the path may not is now even more important than before — as such, providing students with choice and the flexibility to move at their own pace through blended and more personalized learning environments are essential concepts that we should be striving to include in our classrooms.

Imagine the possibilities.

The possibilities are endless with how we foster critical skills in our students. With more knowledge at our fingertips than ever before and a rapidly evolving educational landscape, we should stop fearing change and start pushing our students to drive their learning. As I continue to build my first professional learning experience, I know that I want to find avenues to encourage my colleagues to explore new and innovative ways to use the ed-tech tools available to enhance their students experiences a little more personal and meaningful to them this year. On to step two - building the presentation!