Thursday, April 21, 2011

Iowa 1:! (#i11i)

Yesterday part of the TQP Team (Dan, Mary and I) traveled to Des Moines for the second annual 1:1 Conference. By my understanding last year there were approximately 600 in attendance. This year, over 1300! What volumes this speaks for the spread of momentum of using personal/mobile computing devices in education. This is also one of the reasons for the TQP Team to be on the scene.One of our Partnership Districts, CAL, is already a 1:1 school. The district brought each and every faculty member to the conference yesterday! Two districts: West Fork and Midland are both getting geared up to begin in the 2012-13 school year.

Another reason to attend is how will Higher Ed address the challenge of preparing teachers to enter into the teaching profession with the skills to teach in a 1:1 or Next Generation classroom? Several UNI faculty and staff were on hand to listen to feedback in one of the sessions.

What did I glean from the sessions I attended:?

1) There is a lot of excitement about 1:1
2) Not everybody is on the same page for what using mobile technology can mean in the classroom
3) Not everybody models the possibilities in their sessions to be able to gain new skills/awareness

Specific ideas that I can apply in the work of the TQP grant:

  • Engage in a Community of Practice/PLC around using mobile devices in education settings
  • Model the use of technology in ways that leads to effective instruction and increases learner achievement
  • Take advantage of the Online Repository
  • Embrace that the new ecology of learning is no longer about consumption but rather production
I enjoyed my first event and hope to venture there again. It was fun to network with some new folks and to also run into some I haven't seen in years (Steve Bruder, Deb Nagle and Joan Redalen). My interactions with those at the booths were entertaining and engaging (and I hope I win something in addition to the fun yo-yo). It was also a new experience to attend a conference where each person was to create their own name tag. Thankfully for me I have a great computer technology specialist that prepared one for me complete with QR codes! How cool is that?


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

TQP Progress

On April 11 the TQP Collaborative Team convened for the first time. This group is charged with taking the information gathered by the Research Team and determining a "definition" of effective teaching that can be used by the Assessment Team to determine measurable methods of expressing effectiveness.

The Collaborative Team was facilitated by Elaine Bright-Smith of Drake University. She opened the meeting asking us to interact with people around the room in talking about a variety of questions . . . such as which teacher first challenged you?(Mrs. Schlicting with 4th grade spelling) Which teacher do you consider a mentor? (John Poock) What is the premier quality of an effective teacher (passion for kids and teaching/learning)

We were also treated with watching an interview of the National Teacher of the Year, Sarah Brown-Wessling, answering questions around teacher effectiveness. She is truly an eloquent speaker! Three of the things that she considers characteristics of effective teaching are passion, intentionality and deconstruction.

The day ended with a brief overview of the research document that is still under revision. Each member is asked to read and reflect on the 100 page document and be ready for the next meeting on May 4.


On April 18 the TQP Advisory Board met for the second time. The anniversary date for the TQP funding was April 5th. This group is to meet twice a year so we are on track.

Kevin Feldman presided at the meeting.
Mary Beth Schroeder Fracek offered an overview of the grant.
I offered a summary piece of reflective feedback from participant comments from the December meeting.
Jay Pennington offered an update on the RFP for the technology platform.
Mary Herring and Nadene Davidson offered a summary of the Research Team work and the Evolution of the Model of Qualities of Effective Teaching Continuum
Several DE employees talked about grant supported summer projects
The Teacher Effectiveness Interview of Sarah Brown-Wessling was shown.

The day ended with an opportunity to offer ideas or questions about the day and the upcoming process as we begin year two of the five year process.