What is innovation? George Couros (2015) defines innovation as “a way of thinking that creates something new and better” (p.19). As I have progressed through my Digital Learning and Leading (DLL) program at Lamar University, I was asked to develop and implement an innovation project. I didn't want to choose any random topic that didn't make any sense to me, I wanted whatever I chose to be useful to a Technology Integration Specialist since I would be spending so many months o

Today’s educators have a unique challenge of preparing students for a workforce that is always changing and therefore they must change how they teach. The students of today need to be able to communicate, learn independently, think critically, collaborate with others, apply digital skills, and manage knowledge (Bates, 2015). For teachers to learn how to teach these skills, professional development must change also. Educators need to experience blended learning in order to bet

I have officially re-named my course! It is now called; Technology Integration: Creating Significant Learning Environments. The focus of the course is increasing student choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning. The basic outline is: Technology in the Classroom 21st-Century Skills COVA + CSLE Personalized Learning Blended Learning Wrapping it All Up Last week I added more meat to the first half of the outline, this week I fleshed out the second half. Now that t

As a learner, I have taken many classes but this is the first time I've had the opportunity to create a class of my own. There is a lot of behind the scenes work to be done! Many questions have to be answered, resources to be found or created, and assessments to be developed. The very first thing I had to do was to identify the outcomes of the course. What did I want my learners to know and how could they prove their learning. I used my previously created 3 Column Table and U

If you've followed my blog, then you know that I've been working on an Action Research Plan on the effectiveness of a tech coach on technology integration and teachers' perception of technology integration. I started the whole process by creating an outline that I would use to develop my plan. Next, I continued to research the role of a technology coach, the coaching cycle, and technology integration. I found many resources to add to my coaching toolbox! There are micro-crede

What is Action Research? It's pretty much an inquiry system of research conducted by people in the educational field that want to learn more about the learning process and how they can improve upon it (Mertler, 2017). Teachers perform an informal form of action research on a daily basis when they reflect on how their lessons went and what they could do to improve them. Formal action research is made of 4 stages that contain 9 steps. I am currently in the gathering information

Now that I have completed my class on global perspectives in regards to innovation and technology integration, I took a look back at my innovation plan and made changes based off lessons learned from others around the world. In the process of creating my new Call To Action video and my Literature Review, I discovered teachers, no matter where they live, are wanting more control over their professional learning. They are beginning to participate in massive open online courses

Jifunzeni is a Swahili word inviting all to learn. Here is my personal Jifunzeni to all of you! Join me in personalized professional learning! References: Boston Consulting Group. (2014). Teachers Know Best: Teacher's Views on Professional Development. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.teachersknowbest.org/reports Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development (research brief). Palo Alto, CA: Learning

When I first took the position as a technology integration specialist, I knew I would have to facilitate learning sessions with educators; but as a teacher, my only role was to attend and learn. Now, I am helping to plan and run them, a big change of perspective! This past summer I helped with the expo portion of our Know Your Impact conference organized by my district and runs for 3 days in early June. That was my first look into the behind the scenes aspect of professional

It's time to switch from old-school, sit-and-get professional development to the ongoing, interactive professional learning. Gulamhussein (2013) states that Professional Learning should have 5 key principals: Extended throughout the year. Ongoing support through all stages of implementation. Active learning and hands-on application Modeling and coaching included Specific and authentic to the learner. I agree with these principals and I intend to use these as I facilitate prof