Sharing at Faculty Meetings

At our most recent faculty meeting at Black River Middle School we had several staff members share some of their favorite tools that enhance student learning experiences. Social studies, science, language arts, mathematics, and special education were the disciplines that shared their tools of the trade. All of the "featured presenters" spoke to the importance of collaborating with our technology coaches to ensure successful implementation of educational technology. In fact, it was our wonderful tech coaches who came up with this idea of staff members presenting at faculty meetings. Another theme that popped up throughout the faculty meeting presentations was choice. Providing students with an opportunity to show what they know about the topic on their terms is pretty powerful. Two of our teachers shared their experience on a project where 6th and 7th graders taught each other utilizing various technologies. Students in 7th grade biology would teach students in 6th grade global connections about DNA. To flip things around the 6th grade students taught the 7th grade students about mummies. Web applications like Google Hangout, PearDeck, and Kahoot were used to communicate, assess, and learn. PlayPosit, formerly EduCannon, was shown as a way for teachers to engage students more deeply in videos they watch. This is a tool that allows teachers to embed questions through a video clip in order to better inform learning. Another teacher provided insight on the Orange Slice Google Doc Add-On. This tool helps teachers create rubrics that will score students work. FlipGrid was shown as way to provide students with a chance to express their knowledge in language arts class through recorded video clips. It gives reluctant students a chance to shine and all students a chance to improve their virtual speaking skills. Finally, one of our math teachers shared her notes from a recent math workshop she attended. One tool in particular, NearPod, was shown to staff as a way to engage learners through a presentation in real time. As you can see there are so many wonderful ideas and resources shared at our faculty meetings. The next step will be to provide staff members time at the next faculty meeting to sit down with these "featured presenters" and really get into how these tools can be applied in their very own learning environment. The more staff members share best practices, the more student success will be impacted.