Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

 

 

4a)  Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology.

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New this year my department has gone towards using Planboard instead of paper planbooks.  Planboard allows us to type out detailed plans for each class, connect Common Core (or any other standards), and share each plan--whether day, week, or unit--with other teachers.  When we gather in our PLC groups, it is so much easier to have one person type out the plan for the week/unit while others are more able to focus on creating and planning new, engaging lessons for our classes.  We also frequently use Google Suite as a group of teachers and with our students.

 

4b)  Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.

 

This past year our district was lucky enough to be able to have a $17 million dollar renovation.  Part of that update was the addition of new teaching walls in each classroom.  The teaching walls are entire walls covered in whiteboard paint that allows us and the students to write on and utilize the whole wall for math problems and examples.  In the center of the wall, we have a 100 square inch projected screen.  This projector uses the Epson iProjection technology to allow us to project our computer screens or the students' computer screens onto the wall.  There is also a touch-screen sensor so we are able to use our fingers (along with markers) as a pen/eraser on the wall.  It is similar to a SMARTboard, but almost the newest version!  Our first week back to school, and even now a few months later, the students and teachers are working together to share new tips and tricks that the teaching wall is able to do.

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I also created a review project for my Honors Geometry class that involved Trello last year for my ISLT 9440: Learning with Web-Based Technology course.  I had learned about Trello from classmates but decided to use it for the first time with my Honors course.  It was quite the learning experience that ended up having the students find a new favorite technology tool to review with, but it also made them feel special because we were able to work together and teacher and students to learn about the new tool.

 

4c)  Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams, and students, locally and globally.

 

I teach in a rural school in central IL.  It can sometimes be difficult to connect what we are learning in math class to students' lives.  So when my dad offered to come up with some math examples for my Algebra 1 class, I was ecstatic.  My dad is a County Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency which is an organization under the USDA.  As I was going over the examples with him one night, I came up with the idea to have him go over the examples with my class, however, he works almost 2 hours away from the school I teach in.  We decided it would be really cool for the students if he was able to video chat in using Google Hangout.  So, each class period that Friday, we video chatted with my dad for 25 minutes discussing how the Algebra 1 linear equations were used in daily life on the farm, with examples that included managing the weight of the cattle, production yield of corn and beans, and more.  The classes loved it!

 

 

4d)  Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents, and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

 

Every year I always send out an email to parents/guardians of the students in my class and introduce myself.  Within the email I always include links to our Google Classroom page as well as a code to join my class on the Remind App.  Along with email, Google Classroom and Remind allows me to communicate with students, parents, and even colleagues quickly and professionally.  It opens all doors and makes the materials I use in each lesson and concepts I am teaching easily accessible to all.  Parents and students are able to see what is being taught, what they missed if they were absent, and able to contact me if there is an issue or concern.  We as teachers in our department also invite each other to see each others' Classroom pages to help guarantee that we are aligned in time and content.  This ensures that if a student were to switch classes, they would be able to pick up right where they left off.