Teacher TECHshop

I'm hooked, I admit it.  I love learning about educational technology and  I catch myself wondering when will be my next chance to catch an edchat or an edcamp ... or even just an opportunity to collaborate with a fellow educator.  So when Nancy Watson, Super Instructional Technology Specialist, came to our campus to give a mini-workshop, of course, I attended!  ... several sessions!  It was great to see the excitement build in teachers as they learned about the cool tools Nancy shared.  I loved the format: during planning, single topic, brief and focused, with lots of interactive time to "play."  

What if we could have more of these TECHshops?  This was the spark that launched our Hump Day Tech Hangout.  Teachers gather one to two Wednesdays a month during their lunch break and plug-in to a ten-minute tech tip.  Teachers bring their devices, ask questions, share ideas, and then take their new knowledge back to their classrooms.  

After attending a couple of  edcamps (#EdcampDallas and #EdcampRockwall), I wanted to format our sessions more "edcamp style." So as teachers enter and jot down ideas on sticky notes which can be answered by other teachers or in future Hangouts. And we rely on the law of two feet. What is that, you ask?  Watch this video explaining edcamps in less than 3 minutes and find out!  

We just held our second Hangout with close to a dozen teachers joining in.  This week focused on quick and easy Blogging ideas.  We addressed the basics like "How do I insert a picture?" to the more blingy like "What can I create with Canva so I can add it to my blog?"  

What was most encouraging to me was seeing that teachers were excited and willing to try it out in the classroom.  One teacher replied the same day,  "I did, I went back to class and showed my kids the poster site you shared.  Thanks for hosting ;)."

Another teacher shared, "Thanks Lilly for helping us on blogs - just what I needed.  I didn't know how to really utilize it as a coach. Your ideas were great! Thanks for always being so resourceful and helpful!  Hope you have more of these Teacher TechShops!"

Through this collaboration, we are growing into 21st Century teachers, one tech-byte at a time!