Teacher Buy-In

We are just a couple of weeks into the school year and the teachers are settling into their routines. The teachers have had their iPads now for just over two weeks and we are still about a month away from the student rollout of the iPads. I have met with every team and my initial meetings were mainly to answer any questions that they had and to help them get started with a couple of apps.  

Many of my teachers have embraced the ClassDojo and Remind apps to start the year off.  The teachers veered toward ClassDojo because it aligns with our schools use of PBIS.  The teachers felt that they could implement Class Dojo before the students receive their iPads and use the app to establish their class routines.

Along with Class Dojo many teachers are also implementing the Remind app to keep the parents informed.  Parent communication is always an important aspect of an effective teacher and this app offers a quick way to keep parents informed of what is going on in the classroom.  Email has been the choice of parent communication but now the teachers have another option to add to their toolkit.

Ms. Figueroa is showing her students Class Dojo

My teachers have really impressed me!

Since our initial PD with Digital Promise the teachers have been thinking “big” picture when it comes to using the iPads in their classroom. When we first learned that we would be a part of 1:1 iPads with our students many teachers first thoughts were; “what apps would work for my subject?” There are definitely wonderful apps out there for every subject and the teachers first thoughts were very subject centered.  

The more they use the iPads and see the possibilities, their conversations with me have changed.  Our conversations don’t start with the question, “what app will do this?” Instead, the conversation starts with ideas like; “here’s what I would like my students to accomplish”, or, “I would like to figure out a different way for my students to look at this problem”.  They are no longer concerned about which app will work best. They are more interested in how this is going to enable deeper learning or meaning for the project or task. Many teachers are not sure how to accomplish what they are dreaming of. (that’s where I come in) They are just thinking about how to really get the students motivated to find answers and take action.

In the past, many of our teachers have been willing and wanting to collaborate with each other; but the way our schedules are designed many of us never have common planning time. What has been amazing is to hear teachers in the Fine Arts Department talking about what is going on in the Language Arts class and trying to figuring out how to better collaborate with each other. They are thinking that the iPads may be the bridge that can cross the curricular gap and have students work collaboratively between disciplines.

It is great to have so many teachers thinking BIG! I love that their ideas are very transformative in how they envision their classrooms to be.  I just need to reel them in (just a bit) and remind them that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  We need to start with a solid foundation for both the teachers and students!

But you can’t help but love the enthusiasm that they are showing. “Go Big or Go Home!” 

We are certainly going big!