TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

This year, in an attempt to help teachers learn and collaborate more easily, we have established a users group for teachers with Promethean boards. The group meets weekly at the LMC for half an hour. Teachers who attend are rewarded with a PUG. At the end of the year, PUGs can be turned in to Mr. Hendron for recertification credit. With a minimum of twelve PUGs, a teacher is credited for an after-school integration class, and half a point for every PUG.

I am also awarding GLND bucks for time spent learning something new with me. Teachers get a buck for every 30 minutes and they can also turn those in at the end of the school year for recertification points.

Last summer was a busy one. I attended NECC in San Antonio and participated in a couple of presentations with John Hendron. The first one was a hands-on workshop on Google SketchUp. The second was a sesson sharing all we do in Goochland on the professional development front.

I also spent a portion of the summer learning about iLife 08 and ActivStuidio 3. I created video tutorials that are available on the website, and planned classes for new and returning teachers.

I have created a new Moodle course to help teachers use primary sources in the classroom. There is an associated page with resources on the school Wiki as well.

I have started using the IShowU application to create brief instructional videos for teachers. The videos are posted to my school blog.

I will be teaching a variety of courses throughout the year to interested teachers to help them meet their annual technology goals. I will post updates periodically as to the number of teachers who attend and the feedback I receive after the classes.

The schedule is posted on our Wiki.

On October 15 I’ll be teaching my second after-school class for teachers-Promethean Level 4, Part 1. There will be 16 teachers in attendance. We will work on advanced classroom techniques using the Promethean ActiVotes and ActivSlate. On the same day the online course for Internet Safety opens. I have modified the course used by John Hendron last year. We are using the Moodle Content Management System. This is a screen shot of what the course looks like.