Beaver Country Day School

Feb 17, 2009 Professional Development Day

Sarah Scoville

WHAT

The February 17, 2009 Professional Development Day was developed in response to
the need to prepare the faculty for the implementation of a full lap top program for 2009-
2010 school year. The faculty were thoroughly surveyed and interviewed to gauge their
concerns and questions. The Professional Development Day was aligned with their
concerns.

The workshops were designed to introduce new technical tools to help faculty transition
their curriculum. They were very hands on, designed around playing with the tools.

The panel was to showcase faculty who weren’t necessarily tech savvy, but had taken
risks and experimented with technology to enhance their curriculum.

The Live FAQ was meant to help answer the logistical management questions that the
faculty had around their entire classroom having laptops.

WHO

Kelley Connoly the Director of Library and Information Services, Rob Connor the
Assistant Head of School, and Sarah Scoville Educational Consultant worked together
to coordinate the day. They worked together on the philosophy and general content.

Kelley and the library staff constructed an iteach discussion informing the faculty of the
various workshops content and the ability to sign up on line. Kelley fielded questions
about the specifics of the technologies introduced and the expectation for workshop
leaders and panel presenters.

Sarah ran the logistics of emailing the faculty to ask to run workshops, providing what
was needed for the workshops, agenda, and the like.

The day was run in house. All the people running workshops, panels, discussions,
introductions, and closings were BCDS faculty. With the exception of one son of a
faculty member who helped with a workshop.

FEEDBACK

The day was met with very positive reviews in general. “When I left the Feb 17th
Professional Development Day I felt …19% overwhelmed, 54%…inspired, …
33%exhausted, …64% informed, …35%excited.”
“I left the Feb 17th Professional Development Day with …37% many questions,…
61%many ideas, …20% a plan, …67% more tools”

Workshops: The faculty enjoyed having time to experiment and play with the new tools
introduced. 91% of the people who responded to the survey took away actionable tools
from the workshops.

The IPGP was useful to ground the tools into something actionable for 72%. Many had
already thoroughly planned out their IPGP unit and saw no room to inject technology.

"This was a great prof development day. I really learned and applied and a
WORKING day. I am tired of discussing and not having time to DO. This day was
PRODUCTIVE!!!"

"I feel like I really had the time and the guidance to IMPROVE my curriculum
instead of just getting ideas from discussions"

"I was blown away by what my colleagues have done! Hooray for their efforts!
Hooray for their service to kids!"

"This was a really good day. Not perfect, but very good. I was exposed to some
things I hadn't been exposed to directly before. I got to learn a couple of things I'd
been interested in but never explored. The conversations in both formal
workshops were excellent, just excellent. People really trying to lean stuff and
help each other think through what impact the technology might have on their
classrooms."

"It was great to have the time allotted to play with these tools and get a handle on
how to implement them!"

One suggestion was to shorten the workshops so that there could have been 3 instead
of 2. And another was disappointed in the loose structure to the workshop.

“As a workshop leader i would have liked more information on what was
expected of us to present. I felt as though i was told to not prepare or spend any
time getting ready but in actuality a lesson plan was very necessary for the
other teachers to get anything out of it.”

Panel: 95% were inspired by the panel’s willingness to take risks and experiment.

"Please express my gratitude to the teachers who presented, especially the

panel. They did a wonderful job. I'll be better with my kids as a result of their
willingness to learn themselves, to try hard to implement for their kids, and then
to share with other teachers. That's what a first class learning community ought
to be about."
Live FAQ: 80% thought the Live FAQ was helpful in thinking about classroom
management when all the students have laptops.

“It's all about planning appropriate lessons and clearly distinguishing when it is a
good time to have a laptop out and when it is a bad time to have a laptop out.”

“I liked the scenario and the small group discussion. I thought the role play was
pretty bad - I think that makes us look unprofessional. I think whole fac
discussions are also tough. more scenarios and small group work would have
been better for me.”
What are some examples of actionable changes you are planning to make in your
curriculum?
1. I definitely plan to utilize the flip cam in my classes. Utilizing document
sharing tools, communicating information to peers/students will be much
easier and efficient.
2. Make Hiatt Center Webpage more interactive
3. Created a ning.
4. I had been reticent to dive into yet another tech innovation, but after
Tuesday I am ready to make it work for next year. I have not actionable
changes planned yet.
5. I am thinking about having a ning page for my classes.
6. I am going to have my kids make videos teaching a math concepts we have
learned. I want to use Jing to make videos to answer FAQs.
7. I definitely feel as though we need to instruct our students on how to use
resources in the library, and I need to take more time to do that myself. I am
glad to have been exposed to some useful tools for document sharing.
Those tools will allow me to make my classes "greener" and allow for faster,
more effective communication in the writing process.
8. I created a ning I'll use this spring.
9. I am planning to find ways where i can incorporate blogs and nings into my
class
10. Create a wiki for a class....
11. I'm not sure if I will get to it this year, but to create a ning for the future
would be useful.
12. Document Sharing
13. N/A
14. Find ways to transfer the writing assignments I already give (in math) and
create new ones in an online forum.
15. designing engaging lessons and targeting the development of specific skills
using technology
16. I definitely plan to incorporate document sharing into my English classes. I
will introduce it to students to use for peer editing and collaborative projects.
I also plan to use it to provide feedback for students on their writing.
17. I want to put many of my units in wikis and nings so that I can cut down on
paper handouts and offer a more immediate forum for student responses.
18. New ning page
19. Learned how to incorporate a jing and explode a whole new way of working
with a blog into my blog
20. I am admin, so not totally actionable in a classroom, but lots of good blogs
found when I was in the RSS group - and learned a lot about Wikis so now I
 can set one up with ease.
21. I am presently developing a blog for my math classes. I started it yesterday.
22. Using buzzword and further researching ways to use podcasts in class
23. I learned how to distinguish among using a ning, a wiki, and a blog so now
have a better sense of what kind of unit/lesson plan can best utilize those
tools.
24. Use of ning and wiki's!
25. I'm not sure yet - I'd appreciate more time in departments to discuss how we
can use it with specific courses.
26. I will be working on a ning for the senior projects and use a jing as well.
27. I can now distinguish among the Wiki, Ning, and Blog in terms of their
various educational purposes.
28. I can use some of the web tools that i was able to practice during the
workshops
29. improve my wiki; imbed many more tools.
30. I'll start having my kids do Buzz Word documents &/or google doc
powerpoints for their collaborative projects. I think I'll be able to embed links
to these into my wiki, so that should be nice.
31. Use of flipcams to document student understanding and to broaden the
audience for my students.
32. Though I am a staff member, I plan on incorporating document sharing
technology, in addition to wiki/blog/ning technology into my work.
33. To use the flip cameras within the next week to both engage student
participation in performance and to get them to assess and reflect on their
own work. Also, to use my RSS info to help set-up pathfinders for my spring
term content.
34. Using Google Docs for student work and collaborative writing with kids
35. Use of wiki in sharing documents. Would like to use some video &audio
equipment but did not have a chance to go to that group
36. We need discussions of effective use of these tools. Simply using them
does not mean we are teaching more effectively.
37. explore more. get more feedback from my peers about what is working and
what is not. Research ways to connect each teachers blog posts maybe rss
feeds to one central homepage
38. I feel much more prepared to use Buzzword in my class. I also feel like
exploring the use of the flip camera.
39. I am planning to buy a flipcam for the athletic department. In particular to
use for the lacrosse team to take to SC and post their video on Youtube.
40. i have added a new assessment in the form of a student video; i have
added my own ning space to house curriculum, blogs, student videos, etc.
41. Making a ning Asking the Department to create nings for their classes
42. I will be making a Ning for one of my classes this spring, and I created a
Wiki for the 8th graders on good books to read.
43. video recording will be really useful for my classes
44. possibly making a wiki for my class

Some of the ideas that my group generated over lunch were.

1. there was little discussion on the focus area, however there was talk about
technology and what we had been working on in the morning.
3. Thought: This technology stuff certainly gives us so many more avenues to connect
kids (in their virtual world) to social justice issues. Question: How do we drive the
courage and conviction of teachers to intentionally develop students as social being
(that means thinking critically and doing something about systemic inequity and
injustice)? What role can technology play? Question: How do we move kids (age
appropriately) beyond content (details and facts about individuals and events, etc.) to
questioning the formation of the reality that surrounded those events, individuals,
etc.? What role can technology play?
6. I need a blackberry to stay on top of all that is happening in my virtual world. There
are numerous uses for the flip cam, besides just documentaries. Class lectures,
presentations, visual clues in review games. Bringing outside information into the
classroom.
7. none, really. People seemed to need a break
11. Using RSS feeds and widgets, a little about voicethread and debating the relative
merits of wikis and nings
12. My group didn't really talk about our workshops
14. lots of talk about wikis vs ning, laptop use and respect
15. Again, no one showed up at our table, so one of us who knew something about our
topic shared his knowledge
16. I had a great conversation about how to integrate issues of Social Justice into the
classroom using technology. How Tech. can be another avenue to dissseminating
information and encouraging people to take action.
17. No real specific ideas bubbled up from our lunch group. We talked a little about how
to decide when to us a blok vs. wiki vs. ning, but it didn't feel accionable to me in the
end.
18. Taping into RSS for Wikis and classroom use
19. Did not have a seat at the table
20. N/A
21. there wasn't enough room at the tables to sit with a specific group. the set-up felt a bit
controlling.
22. we talked about nutrition:)
23. We didn't get a chance to discuss at lunch; there were not enough tables or "hosts".

Do you have any more questions about implementing a full lap top program in
2009-2010?
1. Would be good to hear again about home we are supporting any families who have
financial needs related to purchasing a laptop
2. No.
3. Many. But I was inspired by the in-house energy both by Kelly C. and the panel. So I feel
confident in being able to find answers to my questions.
4. Are we truly ready to handle all the challenges that lie before us? What if I am not ready to
TEACH this stuff? Are the kids ready to handle all this? How can we ensure that we won't
overwhelm our students by using too many different tools to accomplish the same task?
Can we truly assume that all our students are living in the digital age and want to use these
tools? Do our kids want their virtual world interrupted by school? Some kids don't like the
fact that we are trying to use "their" technology in our classrooms.
5. Yes -- and hopefully we'll have time for those discussions in faculty meetings this spring.
6. - Will there be required software or will Google Docs, etc. make such software a thing of the
past? (Given days when you cannot get online, I hope we still have software!) - Will
Inspiration be encouraged/required?
7. I know that we are planning to shift away from First Class. My question is: are we planning
to move to a platform that might let us consolidate or unify all of the different tech tools
we're using? I think it's great that teachers are experimenting with different online
classroom spaces, but if we're moving in a direction where all teachers will have their own
online classroom space, it might be helpful to our students if these many spaces were
housed together somewhere.
8. My questions center on outlier students teachersa thinking they are progressive because
they use technology when it is what they are delivering that must be the focus the demand
on the system.
9. none that I haven't raised before!
10. I definitely think we need to have more discussions.
11. I'd like to hear more about the site prioritization system that will make it more difficult to get
to certain sites
12. Does the usefulness of thing like wikis, nings, etc. warrant that we should be a laptop
school? Can't all these things still be done without having every student come to class
ready to learn with a laptop.
13. Yes, but I am certain have not yet formed all of them.
14. Will students receive any overall training, or is it our responsibility to train them in whatever
programs we are using?
15. Not really. I think it's going to push us to be more explicit about what we want kids to learn,
and more transparent about how we expect kids to do that learning. I had an incident in
class today that played out exactly like the role play, so you could tell that that part of the
exercise was grounded in reality!!!!
16. who and when specific technology tools are taught... sequence in curriculum 6-12
17. Will there be spare mac and pc laptops for when students laptops conk out in the middle of
the day?
18. No
19. Yes.
20. Will all laptops have the same capabilities? What will the support services look like for
students?
February 17, 2009
Professional Development Day
BCDS

AGENDA

7:45 – 8:15 Breakfast - Faculty Lounge

8:15 -8:30 Introduction - Rogers Room

8:30 – 9:15 Risk and Experimenting: What I’ve Discovered - Rogers Room

9:30 – 11:00 Workshop 1

Resources at Your Fingertips Faculty Con. Rm. Library staff
RSS – Keeping Current 205 Wilkins / J. Kaplan
FlipCam 204 Lippman
Wiki 101 BR. 102 Adjout
Podcasting 203 Connor
What to Choose? Ning vs.Blog vs. Wiki 218 Connolly
Document Sharing 219 MacDonald

11:15 -12:15 Lunch

12:30-1:15 Live FAQ: how to deal with class management with laptops
- Rogers Room

1:30 – 3:00 Workshop 2

Creating a Ning Faculty Con. Rm. Flannery
FlipCam 205 Morrillo
Wiki 101 204 Albritton
Podcasting 203 Connor
What to Choose? Ning vs.Blog vs. Wiki 218 Connolly
Screencasting / Jing 202 Burman
Document Sharing 219 K. Kaplan

3:10 – 3:30 Closing - Rogers Room