March TLP Session

20160303_175701On March 3rd, teachers part of the 2015-2016 cohort of the Teacher Leadership Program, met at George Washington Middle School to share ideas about technology integration and how they are implementing technology at their schools.   Brianna Becker, Amy Leslie and Rosetta Stewart from Matthew Maury Elementary presented on a web based tool called EdPuzzle.   EdPuzzle is used in conjunction with videos to provide students with interactive lessons that can include questions and teacher voice.  Lessons are self paced for each individual student.  Laura Murphy and Pei Wing from Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy presented a cross grade level lesson with 1st and 5th graders. It included integrating iMovie into explanations 20160303_173050about Ancient Civilizations.  5th grade students taught the 1st graders content about the civilizations and how to use iMovie!  Laura Zybrick, 3rd grade teacher from Lyles-Crouch also presented about Google Classroom.  She demonstrated the ease of use students encounter when they use Google Classroom, specifically when they click on embedded links.  For more information about TLP, please see your building Technology Integration Specialist.

TLP Session December 2014

The Teacher Leadership Project met in December 2014 for a full-day collaboration session to highlight all the great technology projects going on throughout the district as well as to learn new 21st century educational practices.

3rd Grade Teacher Amanda Eclipse shares student examples of App Smashing on iPads.
3rd Grade Teacher Amanda Eclipse shares student examples of App Smashing on iPads.

We began with a teacher sharing session in which 5 participants shared some technology enhanced lessons with the group.

A talented TLP participant created this simple comic using the Strip Designer app.
A talented TLP participant created this simple comic using the Strip Designer app.

The meeting continued with several breakout sessions including Gaming and Comic Creation. Martha Walsh and Kari Packard demonstrated how to use comic creation to retell stories and assist with story creation. They highlighted software on both computers and iPads. Kyle Dunbar and Bobby Ofterdinger  demonstrated some of the educational games available to ACPS students such as DimensionU and MinecraftEDU.

After breaking for lunch, the TLP cohort continued their day of learning by celebrating Computer Science Education Week through participating in the Hour of Code initiative. We reflected on the importance of providing our students with opportunities to learn 21st century skills. After spending time learning the basics of coding, it was clear that coding could provide students with opportunities to develop problem-solving skills and foster creativity.

TLP cohort members discuss the importance of developing a Professional Learning Network.
TLP cohort members discuss the importance of developing a Professional Learning Network.

We concluded the day with our final breakout sessions. Participants had the opportunity to learn more about coding, the benefits of using Skype to have students communicate with authors, and how to build their Professional Learning Network using social media and blogs.