Today's #ThrowbackThursday brings us to a post I wrote about Community Intermediate School 339 in Bronx, New York. What I like about this post is watching where an innovative staff from 2008 is today. The principal became a leader in integrating Google into education practice. You can watch this for more on that. He then assumed a leadership position helping other schools set the stage for the environment today's staff and students need for success. Many of the staff at that school also moved on to other environments where they were able to share and spread innovative practices.
Written: April 20, 2008
Topic: Setting the foundation for a successful tech-integrated school.
Who might be interested: Anyone interested in seeing how to develop leaders in ed tech innovation.
Favorite excerpt: "C.I.S. 339 has spent a lot of time this year ensuring teachers are comfortable with embedding technology tools into their work. The more they are embedded in the day to day of how they do business, the easier it becomes for teachers to make connections as to how they can enhance student learning with technology."
Post:
CIS 339 Brings Professional Learning Communities Into The 21st Century
I'm always on the lookout for schools that are effectively putting smart teaching and learning 2.0 practices in place. CIS 339 is one of those schools that has become a pioneer in embedding 21st Century tools into the way they do business to enhance education. To start, as leadership expert Michael Fullan says, you need to get the right people in the right seats on the bus.
The school’s committed leader, Jason Levy did just that by hiring Dan Ackerman, a former technology coach, as his assistant principal. Because of his background, Dan was prepared to support this effort. He also put Christina Jenkins in place as a full-time technology coach who among other accomplishments put a strong online infrastructure in place in addition to providing ongoing coaching and PD support. Additionally he retained Patrick Wagner an ed tech consultant. He also purchased a 21st Century literacy and social studies curriculum from Teaching Matters that includes onsite support from staff developers to support the program. Finally, he worked to secure teachers that were enthusiastic about using 21st Century tools in the classroom and excited to be teaching in a school where every teacher had a laptop, projector and internet access to support instruction.
Read the rest at: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/cis-339-does-21st-century-professional.html
Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.
Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.
