Professional Development Day

This is the original blog post from a year ago.. below that there are updates as to what we are doing this year to build on this..

After many discussions with my principal, we decided back in May that our June 13th PD day would be a tech driven day.  I explained to him the concept of an unconference and although we both loved the idea, we knew we needed to start a little smaller with this day.  We came up with 10 session offerings and then I created a Google form and sent it to the staff.  Based on their selections, we made the schedule.

Next, we talked about a QR code scavenger hunt.  My principal, loved the idea but didn't know how to make it happen.  I dove in because I knew how exciting this would be.  It took me two days, but I got it worked out!

We had 9 stops.  2 of which were just to get people to parts of the building they wouldn't normally visit: the pool and the chorus room.  In those two rooms, there are simply two QR codes taking them to another stop.

I had 4 paths for the Ts to take.  At the first stop (the pool) they pick a color from a bag and that is the color they will follow throughout the hunt.

Here are the next stops:

1. To get to the math room, the QR code is a math problem they solve with the answer being the classroom number they need to go to.  In that room, they will then respond to a polleverywhere question either via text or on the computer asking which of the things they learned today would they most likely use next year.

2. To get to the science room, they view a science lab experiment.  Once they get to the science room, I found a periodic table online that is made up solely of QR codes.  They have to scan the code of any element and up pops a video about that element.  They have to take a screenshot of the video as an artifact to present at the end.

3. To get to the tech room, they will view a demonstration of the 3D printer.  Once they get to the tech room, they need to use their device to video the laser engraver or the 3D printer in use or they can take one of the Spartan coins we made on the 3D printer.

4. To get to the Social Studies room, they have to view an online social studies quiz.  Once there, they have to post on Padlet an activity that they will use the technology learned today in next school year.  I will then reshare that with them in September to refresh their memory.

5. To get to the computer lab, they once again solve a math problem.  Once in the computer lab, they complete a Google form survey about their experiences today and what support they would like in the future for technology.

6. To get to the LOTE (Language Other Than English) department, they will view a video link to a Spanish song on countries and capitals.  Once there, they will tweet out something they learned today using the school’s hashtag.

7. To get to the Chorus room, they will view a video of our school’s women’s choir performing at their last concert.

8. To get to the Art room, they view a Thomas Kinkade painting.  Once there, they add two words to a wordle that describe today.  This way, when we create it, we all can see what words in common they described the day with.

9. To get to the end (cafeteria), they view the lunch menu from our school website.  Once there, they get two gift certificates and can view the Twitter chat on the big screen.  To complete it, they have to have three artifacts.  The screen shot, the video or coin from tech and have completed the Google Form which we will check on our Chromebooks at the final station.

Overall, I think it went really well.  We had a few teachers that are not comfortable outside their comfort box and were not happy about using all of the technology, but you will have that everywhere.  Most teachers thanked us for not only making them get up and walk around on a day that traditionally has us sitting down all day, but also for introducing them to the practical uses of the technology they learned on that day.

For this year:
I am beyond excited that we are going to have another PD day like last year!  Organic PD that comes from what our Ts need is a driving force for me now that I am the Tech Integrator for the High School.  Again this year, I will send out a Google Form looking for ideas as to what teachers would like to learn/share on this day. There will be scheduled sessions on Schoology, eDoctrina (for scanning tests via iPads, phones), Google Docs, QR creation and implementation and Twitter.  The rest of the sessions will come from the Google Form results.  There will also be a session where teachers can come and share what is working well in their classrooms and what are best practices for edtech.

I am very excited to be a part of this learning/sharing day! It isn't often that the first day after the student's last day is so invigorating!