How to Set Up District-Wide Choice-Based Professional Development
This district reimagined PD by tapping interested teachers to guide PD sessions on new software, creating a model that can be used for smaller initiatives as well.
As an edtech coach, I constantly seek innovative ways to deliver impactful professional development (PD), and when our district decided to transition from Microsoft to Google, I saw an opportunity to reimagine our approach to PD. My team of edtech specialists, plus our administrators and I.T. department, and I created Google Day, setting up a transformative model that engaged our entire staff and created lasting impact.
Don’t Fizzle, Sizzle – 6 Steps To Ignite Your Passion Projects
It happens all too often. Someone has a great idea. It gains momentum and maybe even gathers new participants. Heck, sometimes a committee is born. Now it’s an all-out awesome idea—a movement with a vision and a purpose and objectives. The anticipation and optimism are palpable. The hypothetical ball gets rolling. Great things are starting to happen, and it’s only going to get better!
And then it happens. There’s a shift, a turn, an unanticipated plot twist. Suddenly the vision starts to feel “fake” and stakeholder buy-in starts to wane. It’s such a let-down from the rah-rah high of just a few days/weeks/months ago. I know. I’ve been there.
Yeah, But What Do I Get?
The other day I got a private inbox message via my Twitter account. It was from someone I’ve seen online in common interest circles, but whom I don’t honestly know personally or professionally. It was from someone who is an educator. It was from someone who has a leadership title.
The person noticed that I had achieved a certain “accreditation” from an EdTech company. He sent me this message that was basically asking, “Yeah, but what do you GET?”. I was initially naive in my interpretation of his question, and I responded with my own truth: “I just really enjoy all of the [XYZ-Company’s]
Minah Minah: Ed Leadership Lessons from a Muppet
The Edcamp Foundation has reposted this blog with permission from Kathi’s Integration Innovation blog.
Someone shared this video with me this morning, and I haven’t been able to get the song out of my head ever since. I’m pretty sure I just did the same thing to you – sorry! It’s such a catchy little tune and it’s been around since I was a little kid, which means it’s been around for a long, LONG time. It’s old school Sesame Street, it’s the Muppets…it’s Minah Minah. Anyone who knows me will tell you that this is the PERFECT metaphor for how I approach educational leadership. Minah Minah……..