Schools
District's 200 Teachers Gather for Technology Day
"Technology Day" is a hit for teachers who learned how to bring educational software and new technology into their daily teaching practices and apply them to state standards.
On the last day of school for the district, Suffield teachers became the students.
School was out for kids on Thursday but 200 teachers were back the next day in the classrooms for “Technology Day” - a professional development day for learning technology tools in the classroom.
“The amount of excitement and enthusiasm that we encountered was tremendous,” explained Becky Osleger, directory of technology. “It got teachers curious about how these opportunities could fit into their own learning and classroom practice.”
Find out what's happening in Suffieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The result was a general consensus of bringing more technology into daily learning.
“The thoughtful plans that teachers were generating were exciting. They were full of energy,” said Osleger.
Find out what's happening in Suffieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Teachers from all four schools came together for sessions on iPads, mimio boards, podcasting and applications like jing (video recording software), Google Docs and Edmodo (a type educational social networking).
Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.
The idea evolved as the administration identified professional learning needs that align with the Common Core State Standards, said Osleger.
Some of the district’s own teachers led the sessions along with a few outside consultants.
“The best part was we had so many teachers who were courageous risk-takers and agreed to lead the workshops. They rolled up their sleeves to do this together,” said Superintendent Karen Baldwin.
Members of the Board of Education heard about the day during the Monday night meeting and commended the staff for pulling together a great program.
“What can the board do to foster this technology usage going forward?” asked Scott Schneider.
Baldwin pointed out upcoming teacher negotiations could focus on “time and access to time to learn.”
She said a great bonus to the day was the ability of all the teachers in the district to come together at the end of the year as they do at the start of the school year for convocation.
Said Osleger: “The day was truly a great way to end the year and gather all of our educators together to share and collaborate.”
