By: Sheri | In: 21st C, ACTIVclassroom |
The Spring Branch/Promethean Symposium held on January 24 was a huge success with over 300 district teachers and administrators in attendance. The day began with keynote speaker, Dr. Debra Pickering. Her topic entitled Using Technology to Enhance Instruction and Learning connected on so many levels with the 5-Year Plan technology initiatives we have underway in the District. While teachers were attending over 30 seminar sessions that were offered, Dr. Pickering talked with District leadership about Leadership in an Era of Technology in the Classroom, where she encouraged them to work both systemically and individually with classroom teachers to maximize the potential of this new era. “There have been, and will continue to be, significant changes in the classroom as new technologies influence curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. This is a time that leadership is critical to insure that we are not just adopting technology because it is new; we have to insure that the new technology is combined with effective instructional practices.” The teachers’ day consisted of three hands-on seminars. The first two seminars focused on designing effective curriculum-focused flipcharts. Seminar leaders (SBISD teachers) modeled a successful lesson for the first 30 minutes and then focused participants on the student interactive/engaging pages in the flipchart. The seminar presenter allowed work time for teachers to create flipchart curriculum based on what tools and skills were just demonstrated. Seminar C focused on tools available in the ACTIVstudio software. Presenters again modeled how the tool is used during a lesson, and participants were given time to produce a flipchart while presenters facilitated. Because this Symposium was so well received, we plan to sponsor another one next year.
