Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

  Originally written for ISTE 's official blog , November 2023.  Over the course of my career, I’ve looked for new opportunities to reflect on my practice and learn from other like-minded individuals. I’ve led study groups, conducted action research and obtained (and renewed) National Board Certification. I’ve sought professional development with the same rigor as those experiences. The  ISTE Certification  program was the answer I was looking for. ISTE Certification is an internationally recognized credential in which those in education show mastery of the ISTE Standards for Educators. The devices and tools you use aren’t the center of this professional development; pedagogy is. The rigorous program will deepen reflection on your practice and have you analyzing how (or if) technology fits in. Now that I am officially an  ISTE Certified Educator , here are seven tips that helped me maximize my learning while enrolled in the program. 1. Check your schedule. ...

 In February 2023 I authored a blog post for ISTE . Below is the piece.  In my three decades in education, I’ve come to learn many things. One is that change moves at a snail’s pace until something steps in to challenge the status quo.  Enter ChatGPT.  As you’ve no doubt heard, since this artificial intelligence program became freely available to the public, ChatGPT has made educators nervous, excited and curious about the impact it will have on our field.  Once resources became available, I curated a list of the pieces I felt educators should engage with to gain an understanding of ChatGPT. I shared this list with a small professional learning network I belong to. One of the members of the PLN took the resources and created an  easy-to-read detailed slide deck , which was then publicly shared throughout our networks, including the ISTE community forum  ISTE Connect . While I encourage you to look through our guide in its entirety, here are five recomm...

This post was originally written for the ISTE Community Leader's July 2022 edition . Happy summer break, coaches! I hope you have had an opportunity to reflect, refresh, and reset. As a director of a coaching program and former technology coach, I know that the work never truly stops; it just looks different for a few summer months each year. As you are reflecting and preparing, here are five tips and things to consider to make this next school year the best. Revisit Coaching Data . Did you conduct an end-of-year survey of your teachers? If so, revisit that data. What do your stakeholders think worked best? Are there professional development topics they want to learn more about? District initiatives you know of that need additional support? Whether your data is formal or informal, it is still essential and should drive your work. If you want to improve data collection this next school year, now is the time to prepare. I created a crowdsourced document of potential survey questions...

  Written for ISTE's blog , published 4/8/21 Do you manage your time or does time manage you? The lines between work and home life have blurred over the past year of remote working conditions for many educators. The feeling of always having something to do or an email to answer can be hard to turn off. Cognitive overload is real for educators. But honing executive functioning skills will make it easier to find a balance between work and life. Here are five ways to get started.   1. Make your calendar work for you   Calendar reminders Many calendar applications allow for more than scheduling video conferencing meetings. The calendar application within my productivity suite allows me to set “reminders” for myself. The significance of this is that unless I hit “mark as done” or delete each note, these reminders stalk me throughout the week by bumping to the next day like a digital tap on the shoulder. Think ahead When scheduling a meeting a week or more in advance,...