You’ve seen, heard and read it everywhere: teachers need ongoing technology professional development. That’s where my job, and might I note one of the favorite aspects of my job, comes in.
But where is the time?
On a quest to provide teachers with more edtech PD at my school, I tried to figure out a way to fit this into their ever-growing, never-ending schedules. Inspired by my time working in higher education at NKU, I came up with the idea to host Lunch & Learn sessions.
Teachers were invited to bring their lunch and eat it in the library for some light learning or review of a topic and a chance to discuss the tools with teachers from different subject areas.
I loved seeing the teachers help one another and answer each others questions. It was a great chance for them to hear how teachers in different departments were using the tools- something that doesn’t normally happen.
The first session was dedicated to our new LMS Schoology. I wanted to make sure teachers were able to use some basic tools with a lot of functionality and uses in the classroom. We went over setting up assignments and discussion boards, using the audio feature to add a whole new element to discussions, submitting assignments and discussion board threads as a student and ways teachers can use these two Schoology tools in their classroom. I wanted to see a lot of discussion amongst teachers, and I was pleased with what I saw.
In order to tailor the sessions to the specific needs of those who wanted to attend, I sent a pre-survey via Google Forms. This helped me shape the precious 40 minutes that I had with them. Afterward, I sent another survey in order to make sure all the following sessions are just as, if not more, helpful.
I go back and forth about the option to offer these sessions twice per month: one session for beginners and one session for more advanced users. On one hand, I want everyone to feel like they’re getting something out of this. And on the other, I want to offer teachers a space to converse about what they’re doing on opposite ends of the building. All in all, I’d say it went pretty well. I’m really looking forward to the next L&L- I’m going to use a totally different format. I can’t wait to share about it!
If you want to check out my Prezi that I used to guide the discussion, click here.
What do you think? Do you like the idea of Lunch & Learns? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
Tech To You Later!
Katie
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