Returning to school after a long break is a little like rejoining a high speed train.
… an d i love it : wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve made an agreement with myself (& others) to restart my monthly reflective updates, within which I will post slices of what the Middle School’s been up to during the month with technology. Touching too on innovation in the MS
- Technology Coaches started back at school 1st August to plan an agenda item around innovation /creativity/next steps for an upcoming Educational Leadership [EL] team meeting.
We agreed to focus on developing the sharing of creative / innovative teaching and learning that happens within HKIS : frequently behind closed doors. Encouraging a marriage between simple storytelling and social media we will push to bring the stories to life. Cue ~ hashtag #engagehkis
“This will be back…”
~ - The Middle School [MS] welcomed 7 new staff to the division. They were furnished with technology hardware and required technical support through hours of scheduled / focused time.
It’s amazing how many systems are required in the day to day operation of school.
The following week saw the hundreds of returning faculty gather, refreshed and energised. Great to see the familiar and brilliant educational folk.
Having run the tech training sessions, I must say: they’re a tech savy bunch 🙂
~ - We welcomed 74 new students to the MS, presenting an overview of digital citizenship and technical expectations to the new families. New students were then supported as they set up their Bring Your Own Mac [BYOM] laptops.
Aiming towards effective instructional practises and keeping numbers to an effective size, we ran three simultaneous session’s to prepare new student’s to use Google Apps for Education [GAFE], Schoology, WordPress, Dragonnet amidst the laptop itself.
~ - Three after school Tech 101 sessions were also run for new students through the first two weeks to ensure they were all comfortable with the required systems.
We recognise that we use a lot of systems in school.
~ - Schoology training sessions have been provided for MS faculty on a scheduled and individualised basis. This differentiated support will continue through the school year.
~ - Meeting have been held with Academic Teams and curriculum teams to encourage alignment within the Schoology Learning Management System [LMS] environment. Our aim is to lessen organisational diversity across courses within the environment so that students interact with an increasingly common interface. The conversation’s to date have been successful in establishing common set up and operation.
- An increased number of MS teachers have started to use Schoology’s Grade book with their courses. The group have been provided with multiple support sessions to date, outlining set up and operational processes and best practise suggestions.
The group will be provided with ongoing and individualised support throughout the year.
I have no doubt it will be a busy and successful year.