I’ll keep this short as the video explains most of you. Any new educational technology can be complicated to dig into from scratch as you attempt to align it to learning outcomes. Well, a new feature that Pear Deck has introduced has taken a giant leap forward to help educators do just that. Before we jump into the new features, if you are unfamiliar with Pear Deck and why my students and I consider it the #1 EdTech tool that helps their learning, check out the video in the previous blog post. But if you are more concerned with why you should even dive into Pear Deck or learn about this new AI generation of Pear Deck sessions to a learning target, check out the video below. Like I said, I’m keeping it short so you have time to watch the video. If you have questions, please contact me at mohammam@elmbrookschools.org or the Pear Deck Learning team at support@deck.peardeck.com . Also, check out the amazing Stacey Roshan's video on this update.
So, what change am I looking at now? Over the past year, my administration has embraced the idea that professional development does not have to look the same for everyone. During our PD time, educators are often given the space to choose their own path and attend staff led sessions that meet their needs. This PD has been some of the best of my career. It was with this in mind that, I choose to take a risk as a professional.
In late 2016, I sent out an open invitation to staff in my district to see if any would be willing to come together to host an EdCamp in our district. I was amazed when over 25 peers asked to be a part of the team. Even more impressive is that only a couple had actually attended an EdCamp. So we have educators who are willing to take a great risk and plan an event that they have never seen first hand. This is the innovator's mindset if there ever was one.
Over the past 4 months, the members of our team have been doing amazing work to find sponsors for our event and plan the logistics. We've been able to get our breakfast and lunch paid for as well as some great prizes for our end of the day raffle. These great prizes include a couple of copies of The Innovator's Mindset George so kindly donated to the cause. We look forward to getting those in some brave hands.
Our EdCamp is scheduled for March 25th. When we opened registration on the first of 2017, I was afraid no one would come. But, this risk is paying of in numbers that are higher that I would've expected. What has surprised me is that about 65% of our attendees come from outside of our district. This really speaks to the power of the EdCamp brand and the quality of PD educators find there.
I am happy that I took this risk. But, I'm really proud of the educators I have on my team. We have staff from 9 of the 11 schools in our district K-12. These are change agents who are putting their time on the line to create learning opportunities for others. They want to create meaningful experiences for all learners staff and students. It is fun to see staff on our team who did not know each other come together and create this partnership based on a common goal. They all have unique talents that they are bringing to the team. It is a group that is centered on solutions not complaints. We are problem finders and problem solvers. But we don't do it alone. We do it together. We understand that the greatest changes and made when we have a team to increase our inertia. So, once the ball is rolling, it will keep on rolling and it will take a lot of force to slow us down.
If you are in the Wisconsin area, we would love to have you attend our EdCamp on March 25th. More info can be found on our site. Here's a direct link to the registration.
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