Pathways for Professional Educators: Fall 2021

FALL 2021

PATHWAYS FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS

THE BLENDING CORNER Podcasts bring early childhood educators together In the summer of 2021, CMU’s Master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology program (MALDT) encouraged educators from the same district or school to apply in teams to help educators work together to make a change in their district or school. Recent MALDT graduates, Dan Bowen, Lena Oliver, and Ashley Childs are early childhood educators at the magnet school Fremont International Academy, in Battle Creek Michigan, not only answered that call, but this team created a much-needed resource for educators across the state by creating the Blending Corner podcast.

Fremont International Academy is a magnet International Baccalaureate School created through funding by the Kellogg foundation to retain and support students in the Battle Creek area. It opened in 2019 as an early elementary school, adding a grade every year up to fifth grade. Lena, Dan, and Ashley have been with the school since its inception. Currently, Ashley teaches second grade, Lena kindergarten, and Dan is an Innovation Coach at the academy.

When it came time to design their capstone project they reflected on current research, thought about how early childhood educators were prepared to teach with technology in a pandemic, and what would actually be helpful for working teachers who are balancing their dedication to their profession, their students, and their loved ones. Taking design with your user in mind to a whole new level, they realized that they needed to create a resource and a space for practitioners to really dive into the ways that blended learning can be integrated into an early elementary classroom environment.

Why Podcasts? It’s a great form of selfguided PD. Because so much of the PD we get as teachers is heavy, it’s hours long and you almost don’t get much out of it. We wanted to give teachers a resource that is easy to access easy to understand but is also research based.”

—Ashley Childs First, they started with the

podcast format, knowing that it would be accessible for busy teachers who need to fit in professional development wherever they can. Their podcasts contain a mix of interviews and discussions between the three hosts. Episodes 1-4 set the foundation for

PATHWAYS FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS | FALL 2021

Teach Wonder

Podcast for teachers hosted by the Center for Excellence in STEM Education We know that powerful things are happening in education that often go unnoticed or are siloed (within a community). We’re bringing you a space that’s not constrained by distance and scheduling. We’ll combine our 35 years of K - 12 teaching experience with the unique perspectives of our guests to connect you to relevant ideas and experiences. Listen in to motivate your practice, challenge your current pedagogy, and expand your horizons.

Listen on Buzzsprout (login required) or search Teach Wonder wherever you listen to podcasts

what exactly blended learning is, what models exist, what are the benefits and drawbacks, and what does it look like in the elementary classroom. Each episode is accompanied by notes and reflection questions that users can comment on to add to the discussion.

However, making the information accessible is not enough.

If you want to use it, refer to it, and fit it in when it meets both the academic and social emotional needs of young children has something that connects the key ideas and supports implementation is helpful. Thus, beginning with episode five, the team dives deeper into the station rotation model, and many of the episodes are accompanied by an infographic that highlights key ideas.

Future episodes will focus more on deeper dives into the strategies presented. Still, much of the future is also yet to be decided. They haven’t left the heart of their projectexpanding the conversation and collaborating with other early childhood educators who want to talk about possibilities, share experiences, highlight what has helped, and reflect on ways to improve.

Join the conversation

Suggest an interview, or just sit back and listen. Check out their website theblendingcorner.weebly.com and subscribe to their podcast, or listen any other place you get your podcasts, just search the blending corner.

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

DET alum supports edtech coaches with new book Her research told her that flexibility was needed, her experience told her how to do it.

Ashley McBride began her work in the Doctorate in Education Program DET with an interest in improving edtech coaching on a large scale. Through her work in the program, as a former edtech coach herself, and as a director of technology she has learned key insights into the structures that can lift-up teachers and districts when it comes to technology integration.

The role of the edtech coach is not just a one-stop shop for technology how-to’s- it is so much more. They understand that teachers need time to collaborate, apply, and reflect on technology integration. Districts can support the work of an edtech coach by allowing the time and space to build those supportive structures that grow alongside a world that continues to transform. Dr. McBride has recently published a book on edtech coaching entitled “The Edtech Coaching Primer: Supporting Teachers in the Digital Age Classroom”. Since starting the DET program Ashley has risen from a district director of technology to her new position as the Digital Learning Initiative Consultant for North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction.

More than just a conference presentation

Linking ideas across research interests

Recent graduate of our Doctorate in Educational Technology (DET) program, Dr. Tiffany Sutter, presented her dissertation research at the 2021 Annual Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Conference as a full paper entitled “The Convergence of Triple E Framework Components and Michigan Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Affordances”.

Students in the DET are encouraged to share their work with larger communities of scholars, however, participating at a conference is more than that, it is about collaboration and learning from others. Many conferences have shifted to more participatory formats where attendees engage in stakeholder conversations to make positive change in the field.

In preparation for the conference Dr. Sutter and co-author Dr. Kathryn Dirkin reviewed all the papers in their session to identify common themes and connections. “At first, the title of the other presentation in our session put me off slightly,” Sutter said. “I did my best to put aside any pre-conceived notions about the topic and to read through their paper with an open mind.

After presenting my research, it was interesting to consider some of the same ideas from a more critical lens.” The use of a joint question and answer time allowed the linking of many presentations together as attendees and presenters engaged in discussions about perspective and understanding.

Sutter said, “Overall, it was a great experience, and I will consider the ideas presented by others as I move forward in my research.”

Tech Bites: Digitally Enhanced Assessments In our recent edition of the TEPD’s S’More newsletter you will learn about various tech tools to support studentcentered assessment in the classroom. We will feature short quick assessments like Go Formative as well as tools that allow teachers to assess students while they are engaged with the content.

For those wishing to go beyond multiple-choice tests you might want to learn more about Spiral.ac or Flipgrid. Many teachers have integrated Kahoots into their curriculum but have you heard about Mentimeter or Plickers as options for whole-class assessments? If not, you might want to check out the S’More newsletter!

PAYING IT FORWARD

BY OPENING DOORS Learn more about our graduate and online studies at

ehs.cmich.edu/tepd Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning, Design, and Technology Master of Arts (M.A.) in Reading and Literacy (K-12) Doctor of Educational Technology (D.E.T.) Master of Arts in Education (Interdisciplinary)

Google Lens Google Lens is a mobile application (or in the tech world, an image recognition technology) that uses, advanced deep learning to identify images (text or pictures) scanned from your phone’s camera. It locates and produces content related to the scanned image! It integrates with other Google apps such as Google Photo and Google Assistant apps (i.e., Headspace, Homework Manager and AutoVoice).

There is also a “Homework” component of Google Lens, it was created specifically with math skills in mind. Key features are capturing text to phone (copying text to a notes page within a phone), text to computer (within Google docs), text to speech, and translation into different languages! Try it and determine your use for Google Lens!