It has been about a month since I last posted and after another tough afternoon against the Vikings my Bears season has hit a new low. I am happy to report our path in Bettendorf is trending in the exact opposite direction. We have two weeks left in the second term, which means we have completed 7 weeks of Freshman and Sophomore students carrying their own iPad to and from school. We have some great successes, thought through new challenges, and stretched our thinking! The piece that I keep having to remind myself of is that it is really only 7 weeks. With that being said we have some teachers seeing powerful student learning in their classrooms using Educreations, Edmodo, Evernote, Pinnacle video, Google (everything), and much much more. As a staff we are asking the right questions. What do we want the students to do differently and how can this device help make that meaningful learning task easier?
We have worked with the staff and families to help with the transition to a 1:1 platform as well. It has changed the dynamic in the classroom and at home and we need to help support both of these. We have held parent meetings and worked with teachers that are having to now account for a powerful learning tool but also a gaming device in every student's hands. The cool piece of all of this is that just like anything in education we are helping to shape student behavior. The BYTE Squad has been a great group to support our need for increased technology questions as we have many current students in the trenches helping others students throughout the day.
A couple exciting opportunities for professional development are quickly approaching. On December 12, we will be having cross curricular conversations about the transition and classroom practice. We are pleased to announce that on February 16th we will be hosting EdCamp Iowa at Bettendorf High School. We are the host site in the East while there is also an EdCamp Iowa West. You can register at the following link:
http://www.EdCampIowa.org. Additionally, we will be holding a Bettendorf only tech conference on April 10th featuring, The Principal of Change, George Couros.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support in this effort and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
