Professional Learning Collaboratives

April 8, 2013

Dear Faculty & Staff,

We are about to complete our fourth Learning Collaborative Day for the 2012-2013 school year. As a result of your interests in the learning collaboratives, we will have offered 20 different sessions covering content, curriculum and technology, with two objectives in mind: 1) to provide quality professional development to our staff in-house, and 2) to introduce and establish opportunities for our staff to collaborate and connect as face-to-face learners.

The feedback you have provided through reflections will assist us in planning professional development and collaborative opportunities next year, and help us continue in our journey to transform classroom instruction. 

Our goal for the Learning Collaboratives was to establish dialogue between teachers, regardless of the campus/grade level, and to be cognizant of what commonalities we share with regard to student engagement, the digital environment, the depth and complexity of instruction, and what we must do as educators to meet the needs of ALL students. 

Thank you again for your commitment to these collaborative sessions, and for taking the valuable information learned and implementing in your classrooms. We are seeing the results!

Mitzi Neely

Assistant Superintendent

Professional Learning Collaboratives

Day 4 ~Tuesday, April 16, 2013

 

Welcome to the fourth, and final Learning Collaborative Day for the 2012-2013 school year. We continue to be excited about the opportunities that are before us as we build a collaborative culture and work with colleagues as connected learners.

The registration for Day 4 will be online and opens in the morning April 9, 2013, at 8:00 am. You have five session choices to choose from. Select the session you are most interested in and each session is limited to 25 participants.

Session choices for Tuesday, April 16, 2013:

• CopyRight or Wrong? –  Have you ever wondered when, or if, it was acceptable to use an image, a sound bite, a video clip, or even an excerpt? “When” and “What” kinds of multimedia are Copyrighted? We will take a look at the laws and doctrines governing Copyright.  Attendees will learn where to look for Free Use images and how to search for other image sources. We will also show how to create customized blog headers, backgrounds, images, etc. for personal use without violating copyright laws.  (Rm 223, Computer Lab, Intermediate)

• What’s the Big Idea? – We’ve trained for PBL. We’ve heard from Marzano. Now, explore the philosophy of Jim Burke’s book, What’s the Big Idea?, and learn how inquiry-based learning brings it all together and can increase the depth of discussion and research in your classroom. You will create your own question-based unit as well as acquire other ideas and activities to implement in your classroom. This training also looks at engaging students with essential questions and how to create the essential questions to help foster a culture of innovation in the classroom. (Rm 122, Middle School)

• They Gave Me An iPad… Now What? – Is your iPad an expensive device for checking attendance and email? Let’s change that.  Find out how this amazing tool can revolutionize your classroom and move you forward into future ready learning and transform instruction. (Middle School Library)

• ePortfolios:  Educating Students to Infinity and Beyond – Generate an eportfolio by using student blogs.  Learn how to set categories for subjects, reflect on learning with blogs, publish work, embed PDF files and more.  Let’s share ideas and learn from each other how to make the best use of student blogs. (Intermediate Cafeteria)

• iDevices: Moving Students to Content Creation –

This session will focus on using iDevices to move students from content consumers to content producers. Participants will gain hands-on experience with developing a class social media account for content sharing as well as using various apps to help students create content to extend discussions inside and outside the classroom. Preferred device: Mac laptop, iPad, or other iDevices  (PLATO Lab, High School)

Registration Information:

Registration opens in the morning, April 9, 2013, at 8:00 am, and closes on Sunday at midnight, April 14, 2013. Sessions are limited to 25 participants each.

 

Professional Learning Collaboratives
Day 3 ~Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Welcome to the third PLC Day for the 2012-2013 school year. We continue to be excited about the opportunities that are before us as we build a collaborative culture and work with colleagues as connected learners.

The registration for Day 3 will be online and opens today at noon, February 19, 2013. You have five session choices to choose from. Select the session you are most interested in and each session is limited to 25 participants. Remember, that some of the sessions offered on Day 3 will be repeated again on Day 4.

Session choices for Wednesday, February 27:

CopyRight or Wrong? – 

Have you ever wondered when, or if, it was acceptable to use an image, a sound bite, a video clip, or even an excerpt? “When” and “What” kinds of multimedia are Copyrighted? We will take a look at the laws and doctrines governing Copyright.  Attendees will learn where to look for Free Use images and how to search for other image sources. We will also show how to create customized blog headers, backgrounds, images, etc. for personal use without violating copyright laws.  (Rm 223, Science Lab, Intermediate)

The Four Big Questions –

How do we move forward in this rigorous world and meet all the needs of our students?  How do you plan for students that are struggling, while planning for those that excel academically?  How can we build on what students learned last year, while preparing them for the next year?  How do we know that we are assessing our students to the level they need to be assessed?  Come join us as we walk through the 4 BIG questions that can drive your team planning while answering all of the questions that are running through your head.  If attending please make sure to bring a copy of your TEKS. (Cafeteria, Intermediate)

They Gave Me An iPad… Now What? –

Is your iPad an expensive device for checking attendance and email? Let’s change that.  Find out how this amazing tool can revolutionize your classroom and move you forward into future ready learning and transform instruction. (Plato Lab, High School)

ePortfolios:  Educating Students to Infinity and Beyond –

Generate an eportfolio by using student blogs.  Learn how to set categories for subjects, reflect on learning with blogs, publish work, embed PDF files and more.  Let’s share ideas and learn from each other how to make the best use of student blogs. (Rm 122, Middle School)

iDevices: Moving Students to Content Creation –

This session will focus on using iDevices to move students from content consumers to content producers. Participants will gain hands-on experience with developing a class social media account for content sharing as well as using various apps to help students create content to extend discussions inside and outside the classroom. Preferred device: Mac laptop, iPad, or other iDevices  (Library, Middle School)

Registration Information:
Registration opens today at noon, February 19, 2013, and closes on Sunday at midnight, February 24, 2013. Sessions are limited to 25 participants each.

Click here to register. Must be logged into your school mail to access the registration.