Teacher Academy Wrap-Up

The EC3 Teacher Academy drew to a close on Tuesday afternoon. Thirteen teachers, one campus librarian, and three campus administrators participated in this four-day workshop focused on collaborative, engaging, hands-on, instructional activities with the iPad. During these lively sessions, expert consultants Lisa Johnson and Dr. Julie Smithey shared a vast array of resources that can be used to successfully implement iPads into the curriculum. Participants dove right in and started exploring these tools to see how best they could be used with students.

Martha Kizer and Kara Fujimoto from Oak Crest Intermediate collaborate on a project.

I had a front row seat to view all the action!

Some of the amazing products I witnessed included using Quizlet to create vocabulary flash cards; developing visual math story problems by creating a scene in My Play Home Lite, taking a screen shot, opening it in iPen, and writing the problem; using SnapGuide to create step-by-step tutorials; producing a narrative of the Battle of the Alamo using PuppetPals, MadLips, and iMovie; and using ScribblePress to create class books. The possibilities were endless and too many to mention!

I can't wait to see what these amazing educators will do with iPads in the classroom!

EC3 Teacher Academy Takes Off!

Day one of the EC³ Teacher Academy took place on Wednesday, June 13th in the Technology Classroom at the ECISD Technology Department building. 

Our featured presenter Lisa Johnson, an Instructional Technology Specialist with Northeast ISD, author of the TechChef4u blog, cohost of the Blogtalk Radio series Appy Hours 4 U, and co-author of the iBook "Hot Apps 4 Hots" facilitated a dynamic session attended by twelve of our EC³ Teachers.

Lisa opened the day with an engaging presentation that highlighted topics such as:

• Where do you find apps? 
• Restrictions and Cautionary apps
• What happens on iPads, stays on iPads (Digital Citizenship issues that should be covered with students who share iDevices)
• iBuild iPad Lesson templates
• iBuild iPad QR codes

The morning's session ended with a showcase of productivity apps that had all participants buzzing.

After lunch, our teachers formed collaborative groups and got down to the work of applying the knowledge they had gained from the morning's session to analyze their CSCOPE curriculum and select an objective for which they could begin to develop a lesson integrating iPads.

The day closed with a session in which the teachers "shared out" with the rest of the group regarding their chosen objective and their plans for the lesson. Their enthusiasm was contagious! I'm looking forward to what Day 2 brings!