INFOhio ICoach

ESSA defines high-quality professional development using these criteria:

• Sustained
• Intensive
• Collaborative
• Job-Embedded
• Data-Driven
• Classroom-Focused

These are essential components of running any type of meaningful PD. Building a PLN (professional learning community) with meaning will need to offer the chance for teachers to actually improve their skills and abilities in a meaningful platform for THEM and THEIR students. While these experiences should be intensive they should also be mindful of the waxing and waning intensity of classroom teacher life. For example, we've learned the last two weeks of a semester are a zero participation zone for PD. Also, Mondays should be reconsidered for key participation. A PLC that focuses on all of the resources, tools, and initiatives with Infohio would be both meaningful and rich experience for teachers. A focus would be chosen by the teachers themselves, whether to improve literacy, writing skills, or something more specific like quality research. Participation could be made through our LMS, Canvas, and live as well. Offering these synchronous and asynchronous option (through discussion boards, chat, etc.) will make participation more likely and certainly more convenient. As an Innovation Specialist, I can support teacher's application of the goals and initiatives in their own classroom between meetings or in lieu of one.

As a technology integration specialist, my job is to help put resources in the hands of our teachers.  My colleague and I have been working on doing this both online and in person this school year.  Teachers can take advantage of individual or group coaching on various tools.  This is significant because our district has never had these positions before and we have a tremendous opportunity to help support all of our PK-12 teachers in the best way that makes sense for the age level and content area they teach.  We will continue to offer our PD and coaching opportunities in person during PLC time, on PD days as well as through our tech integration website and even Google Classroom.  Our teachers are motivated to utilize the new technology that our district has invested in.  With the tools and resources offered by INFOhio, teachers will be able to access resources they may not have been able to do so before.  Covid forced teachers to think outside the box, so to speak, and most teachers are eager to keep learning new ways to reach students while continuing to provide high-quality texts and activities.  When it comes to PD, I see myself more as a facilitator than the sole leader.  Teachers are natural leaders.  The best professional development often comes from other teachers.  My role will be to guide the learning and provide space for collaboration and discussion.  Resources themselves can be a valuable takeaway from professional learning, but I've found that discussions about actual experience with the resources can be valuable as well.  Teachers can try things out and then make recommendations or provide feedback on their experiences.  Our teachers have been well-trained in best practices and receive quality literacy and math coaching.  Teachers need to know where to access high-quality, developmentally appropriate resources to support instructional practices.  As mentioned earlier, we have a technology integration site where we can post information about resources.  We can also use surveys to ask for feedback from teachers on what they need.  We are present in each building and regularly visit classrooms.  To encourage participation, we can offer completion badges, and contact hours toward CEUs, feature innovative teachers and practices in our newsletters, and continually ask for teacher input and feedback on how we can best support them.  Flexible delivery is key to supporting teachers across PK-12.  By offering asynchonous and self-paced tutorials as well as help sessions and coaching time during the school day, we can best accomodate a variety of schedules.  We also record all PD sessions so teachers and staff can catch up or rewatch as often as necessary.  

We are trying to solve how to provide access to library media resources when they have been transitioned into College and Career Centers in schools.  The opportunity to have high-quality resources that are aligned to state standards for students.  The core audience are the teachers and administrators in school buildings.  Users will participate in group activities or projects as well as through independent learning.  Gaining access to district approved resources that support limited budgets will be valuable to many teachers and administrators.  Teachers will be motivated to participate because they will receive VPD’s for participation, which will be beneficial for reaching goals.  This will help to inspire teachers to be their own leaders and create a space to help newer teachers gain access to the same information.  Collaboration will build a deeper value for learning from one another.  Technology access is available for each student because they are 1:1 with devices.  This will help with research on IWonder, Bookflix and Worldbook.  Scheduling times during planning periods and afterschool will be optimal for getting the best engagement from teachers with busy schedules.  Also, online meetings and collaborations are helpful with keeping learners engaged. 

My goal is to provide professional development to the teaching staff at my school so that they can better utilize digital tools and resources in their classrooms, and empower their students to engage in their own learning. I envision participants completing both self-paced tasks and collaborative activities that allow them to create lessons and explore resources that they can use immediately in their instruction. By giving teachers an opportunity to create things they can use right away in their classes, they would be motivated to participate. As a library media specialist who works with all staff at my school, I would love to be the leader of this community. I could fill this role collaboratively with team/department leaders. I envision teachers learning about and creating resources that they can use in their classrooms right away. They would be encouraged to share resources that they create with the group. I would focus on using high-quality resources that are standards-based, provide differentiation support, and align to multiple subject areas and grade levels. Technology could be used to facilitate communication when we are not able to meet in person as a group. It could also allow teachers to complete tasks in a self-paced manner on thier own timeline. Members would be encouraged to participate because they can earn CEUs, as well as gaining many new lessons and resources that they can incorporate in their classes. Engagement would be sustained thorugh the use of varied activities that blend online and in person experiences, self-paced and collaboratve experiences, and creative opportunities to build and implement new lessons throughout the course of participants' daily work. I would need to provide meaningful feedback and opportunity for reflection in order to support participants in acheiving thier goals. Again, allowing for a flexible schedule and variety of activities, as well as job-embedded tasks, will encourage teachers to commit.

This is my first year in my role as a technology integration specialist for my school district. When I started in this position, a major part of my job was to help teachers learn about new technology, but also better understand and utilize the tools already available to them. My colleague and I are doing this in a few different ways. We want to make sure that all of our teachers can be reached and will be able to engage with the professional development we provide.To do this, we have provided professional development opportunities during PLC sessions, PD days, through videos and posts on our website and YouTube channel, and through different challenges that we have assigned through Google Classroom. Our audience for these training sessions are teachers, support staff, administrators, and others who work with our students on a daily basis. A value of our district is to create lifelong learners, from our students to our teachers to our district administrators, we want everyone in our district to be open and willing to learn new things. We want to provide our district with tools to help everyone involved  become lifelong learners. To do this, we need to provide engaging professional development, timely support, and new ideas to try. At the beginning of the school year, we gave a Skills and Needs Assessment to determine the areas of need and interest our teachers had. Just as we need to provide relevant and engaging materials for students, we need to do the same during professional development. This vision of creating a community of  lifelong learners is not possible without leaders in the schools promoting this to teachers and students. We have different leadership roles, such as department heads, but many teachers who are passionate about a certain topic become natural leaders, and help those around them. Valuable resources will always be a need and want for our teachers. Providing high quality resources for teachers is a large part of my role as a technology integration specialist. Resources from INFOhio, Google, and many other sources are vital in providing our students with the best education possible. Earlier this year, the tech integration team took an inventory of all the different tools and websites our teachers are using in their classrooms. We are planning on putting these resources through a rubric we created to see if they meet the needs of our district, or if our limited funds would be better used elsewhere. When we find resources that are helpful, developmentally appropriate, and are high quality, we share them with our teachers through our website, our newsletter, and in professional development sessions. When we provide trainings or offer modules on new tools, teachers can always earn CEUs. We understand that teachers have limited time to complete “extra” trainings, so we want to offer PD opportunities that can be completed when the teacher has time. We are always available to teachers for any questions they may have, and are in all of our schools twice a week to go into classrooms and offer support. We want to provide PD and support in many different ways so that teachers can access them at their own pace and when they have time.

My library media specialist and I are planning on doing a presentation together, as we have gone through this class together. We are planning on giving our presentation to our English Department teachers and having them complete some activities to help them better understand World Book and iSearch. Our community's purpose is to teach our students new and better ways to help with their research paper project, and eventually use these skills later on as well. The educators will be motivated because it will also help them out with the research unit because our students are constantly needing new ways of doing and finding things throughout infohio because they are coming up with newer and newer topics each year. Resources will also be given to teachers to help our students through a WebQuest that was found. This will also help teach the students how to use World Book and how to research the topic they have chosen. Technology is utilized throughout the entire process as everything is done on our own devices to find the research. This will be an ongoing document as well so that whenever someone finds something new, it could be added to the document so others are able to utilize it as well. Members will participate when they can and when they are preparing for the research paper assignment with their own classes. Sustaining involvement will not be an issue as all our teachers are constantly trying to figure out new ways we can streamline the research paper process for our students. 

I am the school ibrary media specialist in my building.  My goal is to get the staff to utilize InfOhio's resources which helps encourages students to use factual reliable information.  Any staff member can be part of this community since credible information is vital in all academic and lab situations.  Accurate information is so very important in this day and age and we are finding that students are not able to separate factualy based information from opinion.  Our eductors will be able to meet both in person and online. By sharing online teaching resources and pre-made videos, lessons, and webquests, I believe educators will be more apt to participate because resources/materials have already been completed for them.  Many staff members have shared their frustrations with students believing and taking information as fact when the students had not verified either the source or the information.  Educators want students to KNOW HOW to find and verify information before using it.  InfOhio offers not only great resources, but also research techniuqes and questions to help educators guide students in the process of finding good information.  I don't believe sustaining this community will be difficult because educators will see the value and ease of use InfOhio provides.  My goal would be to have a leader in each curriculum area to refer to for questions or I can serve as the main source of information to help. We will provide the online and in person professional development which will then allow participants to customize the topics and items they would like to learn.  I believe educators will buy in to designating time to teaching and learning because the student work turned in will then be more concise and valuable.  

As a technology integration specialist my job is to help teachers, staff, and students effectively use the technology the district has provided.  While this often falls back on the basic use of the iPads, MacBooks, and Viewsonic Displays, it also deals directly with programs and software that have been purchased for teacher/student use.  We are a very large district with a large percentage of staff turnover from year to year, so there are always new teachers to train.  The overall goal is to help teachers understand that the technology isn’t just another thing, but a tool to be leveraged to help increase student engagement, learning, and overall achievement.

The core audience is the teaching staff.  Additionally, classified support staff and students can benefit from having access to training materials as well.  All teachers will need to play an active Rome in the community as we build out our capacity.  I believe an overall “teacher” group will be beneficial where everyone can get the information and training they need on a baseline level. From there, smaller groups can be built out.

Users will participate in face to face PD sessions, remote sessions, and pre-recorded webinar type trainings. Teachers can connect with one another through either an Open Space group that we create, or they could use Parent Square or Google Classroom.  We have several PD days sprinkled throughout each school year and I would love to have mini sessions (before/after school - early release, late arrival days).

Value is subjective, but I’ve often found that some of the easiest hooks to get teachers interesting in participation and technology integration are items that make their daily tasks/teaching lives easier.  Then it moves to how to engage students more, etc.   Overall motivation within our district is rough.  Honestly, one of the best ways to motivate our staff is to offer CEUs.  Our teachers face many challenges throughout each day including period subbing, student discipline, etc.  I’m afraid a “community” will be seen by many as just “another thing.”  It will be important to latch on to those that are typically the “first adopters” and then build out what the community will look like overall.  The community will only be successful if it is driven by the participants.

Leaders should be the two technology integration specialists (including me), technology resource teachers and instructional coaches to start.  Leadership can then be transferred classroom teachers as needed.

Resources are not much of an issue as we have an abundance of technology which can be used for teaching and learning at all levels.

Technology will be leveraged heavily for this initiative. We are a 1:1 district with all students being provided an iPad. Staff members are also provided an iPad and MacBook Air to facilitate instruction.  We have a robust network infrastructure and numerous platforms for communication and collaboration.

Encouragement will happen through face to face conversations, department meetings, DLT, BLT, and TBT. Incentives can include a badging system (still to be developed) and CEUs.  Monthly communication to members will be the minimum expectation.  We will likely use Parent Square to accomplish this.

Engagement will hopefully be sustained through showcasing teachers directly.  Since time is such an issue, I believe most activities need to be short and easy to complete or participants may shut down, especially if this is to happen outside of the traditional work day.

Clarifying and modifying the purpose over time should be fairly natural as I want the community to be driven by the participants, not the initial organizers.  The goal is for the community of practice to continue regardless of whether certain members leave the district, etc.

This community cannot be a requirement of the job, so teachers will be able to participate however they are able.  Value to time ratio has to come from conversations and discussions about the true needs teachers have.  I know that teachers often feel left out of the professional development conversation and a community of practice can help flip that.

My goal is to be a better resource regarding INFOhio resources to my teachers.  Commnity of practices are effective, however, I believe that I can be that resource for my teachers through training on the web tools and digital resources.

To provide equitable opportunities to grow as a learner in the least restrictive environment. From the role of a learner to educator, they need to have access to resources that support that kind of learning in their respective classrooms.

The core audience should be based on voluntary participation and whatever may interest the learner.

I would offer 4 different opportunities throughout a school year during PD days, along with one-on-one sessions to reinforce various web tools and digital resources. Teachers will always have the option of what they want to learn, so participation wouldn’t be mandatory. Power Hour once a week where the focus is on a different resource/tool for either elementary or middle/high school, alternating between the grade levels so that there is built-in down time. Then with one-on-one sessions to reinforce what they are using, at a mutually agreed upon date.

Educators have been paid for their time, in the past, but whether I can get approval for this for my INFOhio sessions is still to be determined. They will attend only if they are interested in the resource/tool. Being paid for their time, and earning CEU's is another incentive. 

I would like to think that others will become experts within INFOhio's resources and tools, simply by navigating through it more frequently and we can support each other.

I believe resources have a place to help educators bridge the learning in their classroom. Valuable resources should be shared with peers to support both the teacher and the other students in the various ways they learn.

Resources will help when shared amongst your fellow teachers. Videos for science and history classes, as well as read along feature for many stories and articles. 

I use Google Classroom and Google products to teach them tech skills. I currently have a computer lab, with pc's, that all students learn to use, meanwhile in their regular ed classroom they're using either an iPad or a Chromebook, which makes it difficult to streamline what they learn and use.

I haven't thought about what I can do to encourage participation, but in the past, we used to offer incentive pay IF we chose to stay after school to work on it together, which also can lead to CEU's via INFOhio. Email messages, including forwarding what INFOhio sends out to me to pique their curiosity as to what INFOhio can offer them. I know that I've learned things from those ICYMI updates. 

Engagement is hard to do based off of my plan to alternate workshops focused on elementary, then middle/high school, but if I can open the door to INFOhio, then maybe they will walk through it and continue walking through the other tools/resources own their own and only come to me for help OR even teach me something new.  

I intend to be as flexible with my time as possible. They all will have the opportunity to work with me one-on-one or through small group sessions.

 I am planning on doing a presentation at the begining of the school year. I am planning on giving a presentation to my English Department teachers and then share with the students World Book and iSearch. I hope to teach our students new and better ways to help with their research paper project, and eventually use these skills in the future. The educators will be motivated because it will also help them out with the research unit. Since our students are constantly needing new ways of doing and finding things, I believe, infohio would be a great asset because they are coming up with newer and newer topics each year.  I will also help teach the students how to use World Book and how to research the topic they have chosen. Technology is used throughout the process, so it should be easier to find what they are researching on their own. Sustaining engagement will not be an issue with most of our teachers. They are constantly trying to figure out new ways to help with the students continuing education. 

The community's purpose is to give the teachers some valuable resources that can be used in our classrooms to better our teaching. This is significant because INFOhio can really help us include technology in our teaching in an effective and productive way. The core audience is the content teachers in my school. This group of teachers will be able to work together to generate ideas and lesson plans that can be actively used in our classrooms. I envision getting the teachers on the INFOhio platform and having them work together to utilize the resources. The members of the group will be together in the same room to be able to design lessons together that utilize our resources. The wide variety of resources included will motivate the educators to participate. I think they will be most motivated with the resources that allow students to do safe and productive research, as well as the resources that will help our students read paired texts. The leaders of the community will be the Icoach and technology teacher, but the community will also serve as leaders. The resources will be a means for members to learn from each other. The K-5 resources will mostly align with our community, as we are a 4-6 building. All of these resources will be useful for various members of the community and will be accessible for our students on their iPads. We can use Open Space to fill our communication needs so that we can collaborate and share resources with one another. We will continue the communication through Open Space so that it goes on after the initial meeting. The incentives would be learning new resources that can help and working together to do the best for our students. Members will be encouraged to post on Open Space to keep regular participation. Questions can be posed to help members know what to post about. We will need time to meet together and Open Space for collaboration. The community's purpose will change over time as we decide together what is needed for our students and as the comfort level increases. Expectations can be decided together to make sure they are reasonable.

As a SLMS, my role is to share resources that teachers across the curriculum can access and utilize to support, facilitate, and enrich their classroom instruction. Teachers are the core audience who are nearly always seeking better resources to incorporate into their teaching methods and classroom lessons. In my school district, the best way to connect with teachers is during department meetings and/or during professional development days. This allows in-person instruction and hands-on experience with the resources. The department heads can serve as leaders of the community.

What staff will value about this learning community is the ability to apply what they gain immediately to their instruction. When meeting with individual departments, the focus will be on specific content standards, which makes the instruction more valuable, meaningful, and applicable.

To keep the motivation and movement forward, teaming with the classroom teacher to co-teach classes makes the incorporation of INFOhio resources more comfortable and also builds partnerships in the learning community. Overall, being available, being willing to support and answer questions, and praising teachers for their efforts will help sustain the community.

As an assistant to the librarian, my role is to be familiar and have experience with INFOhio resoources.  With this experience I will be able to support the librarian and the teachers who are learning about what INFOhio offers.,

Our teachers want the scholars to read more books. I believe that BookFlix and Scholastic Literacy Pro would be both wonderful examples of resources I would share with the teachers. They will be able to get the students engaged and motivated to read. By doing this we hope to raise our K-3 literacy scores. The district as a whole has been trying to improve this score for years and a major problem is the lack of motivation to read. This professional will be for all K-5 teachers, which is why I included both resources. I will have a professional development in which the teachers will be meeting at first to see the resource and witness how they can be used. After that initial step, I will include an activity where they will work with their grade-level teams to come up with three areas in their day where they can incorporate these lessons. They will create one lesson plan for one of the areas they chose. They will complete the professional development by bringing back their info and then utilizing their plan in their classroom. Showing the teachers that their is authenticity to their work will keep them more engaged and open to the possibilities of the new programs. 

I am planning on giving my presentation to my K-2 teacher and the other librarians in our district. I will start by having them navigate to BookFlix through INFOhio’s website. Our community’s purpose is to help our students understand their emotions so they can better regulate themselves in and out of school. The educators will be motivated because we as a district put a heavy emphasis on the importance of SEL learning. So having more resources to help us as educators will be motivating.  Some of the resources that will be provided are:

https://www.infohio.org/blog/item/supporting-social-emotional-learning-with-infohio-resources-k-2

https://www.infohio.org/images/ZOO_DOCS/resourcedocs/elp/SocialEmotional.pdf

https://www.infohio.org/blog/item/using-bookflix-to-teach-self-awareness

As we will be using our Chromebooks, INFOhio, and BookFlix technology will be used throughout the PD. Sustaining involvement will come naturally because our staff understands the value in SEL for our students.