Participate and share: Interactive session 
Streaming Session
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The overarching purpose of this presentation is for administrators, edtech coaches and technology coordinators to collaboratively learn concrete strategies for developing a successful instructional technology integration in a small, rural district with limited resources.
A major challenge facing this type of implementation is that there may only be one EdTech coach for the entire district, so that person has the potential to be stretched incredibly thin. Through this presentation, attendees will gain an understanding of how they can best leverage their EdTech coach through relationships at all buildings that serve to build teacher capacity in the effective use of technology in the classroom.
Our district is guided by the T3 Framework for Innovation, and participants will see how we moved teachers in our district across this paradigm. One of our overarching goals for the year was to move teachers from the Transitional domain to Transformational. Based on survey results and data collected from walkthroughs, we found that a majority of our staff was using technology in the classroom for Transitional purposes the previous school year. Our goal was to move those teachers into the Transformational domain by developing and empowering them with instructional technology strategies that increased student production and contribution through the use of technology. For those teachers already in the Transformational domain, we provided them with the support they needed to move into the Transcendental domain by equipping them with tools to enable students to design solutions to real-world problems.
Participants will also be exposed to effective methods for employing tech tools in ways that support and enhance the learning targets. Our district focused on providing teachers with PD and small group workshops on instructional strategies that promoted more student choice in how they demonstrated their learning. We trained teachers on how to use sites like Canva, Book Creator (with Adobe Firefly) and Flip so that they could provide these resources to students as options for demonstrating learning. Using WeVideo and USB microphones, teachers facilitated podcasts with students as another method in which students could show content knowledge.
As a district, we embraced the power that AI can have in transforming education, and participants will also learn best practices for utilizing AI in the classroom. The presenter will discuss how the district leveraged AI to make teachers more effective in their practice; through the use of sites like Magic School AI and Diffit, teachers in our district were able to create more inclusive learning environments by differentiating assignments to meet the needs of all learners.
Students in our district also learned how to employ AI in their work in a manner that enhanced learning outcomes. With the use of ChatGPT, students were able to improve as writers and researchers in all content areas; students learned the value of corroborating the information produced by ChatGPT with reliable sources. Students across the district regularly used AI generated art to add multimedia components to their final products.
Finally, participants will hear and learn about how our district used grant money to create makerspaces for all seven elementary schools so that all students would gain relevant STEM experiences in the early grades.
Since the school year is still quite young, we have not collected a ton of data on the effectiveness of this EdTech rollout; we will certainly be collecting more data points as the year progresses so that we can share this information with participants at ISTE. However, as of today (9/19/2023), our district has seen an uptick of over 1,000 users of Canva within the district in the first month of school. This tells us that teachers and students across the district are engaging more with Canva as a way for students to demonstrate their learning.
-Introduction: Superintendent of the Durango School District will speak about her vision for both this new instructional technology specialist position and the plan for technology integration within the district prior to the 2023-2024 school year (5 minutes)
-Challenges: Matt Smith will discuss some of the challenges he encountered when starting in this brand new role for the district (5 minutes).
*Question via Pear Deck: What connections can you make to the challenges that Matt referenced regarding tech integration in his district? What are some challenges unique to your district? (device-based response first, then peer-to-peer) - 5 minutes
-Addressing challenges: Matt will talk about how he established relationships with administrators, coaches and staff so that he could begin building capacity within teachers to employ more instructional technology in their classes (8 minutes).
*Question via Pear Deck: What processes in your district enable EdTech coaches to be able to collaborate with teachers on uses of instructional technology? (5 minutes) (device-based and then peer-to-peer)
-T3 Framework for Innovation: Matt will discuss where the district was at the start of the year on this framework (with examples), and then he will talk about where the district sits currently on this framework (with examples) - 5 minutes
*Question via Pear Deck: Where would you put your school district on the T3 Framework? Please provide reasoning to support your response (device-based and then peer-to-peer) - 5 minutes
-Instructional strategies employed: Matt will discuss the various instructional strategies and ed tech tools used to move teachers from Transitional to Transformational; examples of student work will be provided as well. Jenn will talk about the elementary STEM programs and how that focus has shifted to give every student in the district a chance to engage in STEM activities at school. (14 minutes)
*Question via Pear Deck: which of these strategies are teachers in your district currently using to support learning? Which of them would you like to see employed in your district next school year? - (device-based and then peer-to-peer) 5 minutes
-Conclusion: Matt will provide participants with a summary of takeaways. Participants will be able to respond in one last Pear Deck question about any takeaways they have that are not posted on the slide (3 minutes) - (device-based and then peer-to-peer)
Book: "The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Support Digital Learning" by Adam Juarez and Katherine Goyette
Book: "Disruptive Classroom Technologies: A Framework for Innovation in Education" by Sonny Magana
| Related exhibitors: | Adobe, Book Creator, Microsoft Corporation, SchoolAI, Brisk Teaching, Diffit for Teachers, Sphero |
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