How I am Learning...Right Now

-
As an instructional technology coach and adjunct professor the amount of information I cover is extensive.  Teachers expect that a coach will have a wide range of knowledge, skills and pedagogy in order to help build capacity and provide the best recommendations for student learning.

As a teacher I am always learning from my PLN and my colleagues, building my knowledge base and improving my craft.  This post is dedicated to the ways I am learning right now, at this point in time.  I plan to cross post this information on my About.me page as well as my digital portfolio.  As educators it is increasingly important that we expand our own knowledge and model this learning for our students.  Cross posting this information on a page that I know others will see will help to keep me accountable and current in my journey. Can you imagine if all teachers posted how they were currently learning?  Our students would not only see we don't stop the journey when we leave school but it would open doors to faculty reaching out to each other more inquiring about opportunities.

Books

I'm currently bouncing back and forth between two books.  As I read, I highlight information and keep a Google Doc on each book so that I can revisit what stood out to me.  To see a complete list of instructional texts I've read (including links to my Google Docs where applicable) click HERE.


 


Twitter Chats

Twitter chats are such a great way to connect with other like minded people!  Here are a few of my current favorites:  

#BSD13Learns Bloomingdale School District 13 in Illinois is hosting a book study/Twitter chat on Understanding the Digital Generation by Ian Jukes, Ted MeCann and Lee Crockett (hence, the reason I am reading this text). This chat is moderated by the Superintendent of the district, Jon Bartelt. Could you imagine if more Superintendents modeled technology use like this?!  Disclosure: my twins graduated from this district in 2015.

#ICEILchat Illinois Computing Educators is one of the largest affiliates of ISTE (and the largest affiliate that is run almost 100% by volunteers!). ICE offers a wide range of learning opportunities for educators interested in technology including monthly Twitter chats.  Disclosure:  I am currently President-elect of this organization (although even if I wasn't I'd still participate in these chats!).

#CDL_MOOCEd A Twitter chat for participants in a digital coaching MOOC (mentioned below) but open to anyone.  

There are several other chats I participate in but these three are my current go-to's.  You can find me on Twitter @nmzumpano.

Podcasts

I have a long commute to and from work each day.  Some days I'm content to listen to the news or some music.  Other days I listen to podcasts.  Currently I'm trading off between:


Teachers Talking Tech (Two classroom teachers from Michigan!)

Goin' Digital Show (hosted by Illinois Superintendent Greg Goins)



MOOC

I was fortunate to stumble upon a MOOC designed for instructional coaches through the Friday Institute.  This Massive Open Online Course has allowed me to connect with other coaches from around the world.  As the only coach in my building, it's invaluable to hear what others are doing.


Conferences

Every teacher should attend conferences!  Not only is it an opportunity to meet your PLN in person and learn new ideas but it's incredible to be in an environment where everyone wants to be there and is excited to learn!  Recently I had the opportunity to spend 4 days at the ICE conference.  Over the course of the week there were 5,000 educators, administrators, tech directors and more that presented and shared their passion.  One of my favorite take-aways from this conference (other than the contagious vibe and reboot of excitement) is the fact that so many educators are generous enough to share their presentations.  See the resources here.

So...that's it for now.  It's how I choose to continue to become a better coach and instructor.  Who knows what the next learning endeavor will be.  How are you learning today?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Twenty Years is Worth Two Cents

-
Image
Time It’s been an interesting year.  My twins entered middle school (time flies).  My mom died unexpectedly leaving me parentless with probate and a house built by my grandfather in 1948 (time stands still).  Oh…and CPS is shuttering my school  (time to move?). The school I’ve built my career at and spent the last twenty years with students. I sat in the library with my colleagues and was read two scripts; one by my principal and one by a Chicago Public School Central Office employee.  With that, it was done (or in the beginning phase of 'done'). Teachers were told to “have a good day of teaching and learning” (one of our daily mantras) and were sent off to teach their students after just being told our school was not remaining open after this school year but our building would remain open with a new faculty and three student bodies.   George Leland school would inhabit our building while May Community Academy and Louis Armstrong Math & Science Elementary would be
Read more

Understanding Plagiarism

-
Image
Our middle school is 1:1 with Chromebooks so students spend a fair amount of time researching topics online.  A teacher noticed there is a lot of copying and pasting of information by students and asked me to come in and have a conversation about plagiarism.  I developed a Prezi with an accompanying notes guide for the students to complete as I presented the content to them.  The Prezi and notes guide are below.  As we wrapped up the students were able to use their Chromebooks for a bit of fun (with a topic that isn't so fun).  We played a Kahoot game where they reviewed concepts about plagiarism from their guide.  They loved it!  What I loved is that Kahoot also provides a summary of student responses to the game- I can see which students missed specific questions which allows me to follow up if needed. Resources used in the presentation (good for teachers and students): http://www.plagiarism.org http://en.writecheck.com (this has a plagiarism checker available) https://o
Read more

Water the Flowers, Not the Rocks: Tips from 10 Years of Instructional Coaching

-
This June I wrapped up ten years of instructional technology coaching. Soon (tomorrow, in fact) I will begin a new journey in my career where I will still utilize my coaching skills but in a different capacity. This new opportunity has caused me to reflect on lessons learned throughout my time as a school-based coach. If you are a coach or aspire to be one following are ten tips I've learned during my ten years in the role. Be a model . Practice what you preach! If you want your teachers to join Twitter make sure you are already there. If they would like to try a new tool or lesson familiarize yourself with it first in order to lend additional support. Be honest . If you don't know something, say so. As a coach, your faculty will look to you as an expert. There have been several times throughout my career that I've said, "I don't know that tool/concept/strategy but let me see what I can find out about it." If you are a former classroom teacher, remind peo
Read more