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| A Shout Out to Hector, Arkansas |
| posted by: Jill | August 10, 2011, 02:27 PM |
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Last week involved a trip down to Arkansas for a Differentiated Instruction training in Russellville for teachers in Hector School District. We were lucky enough to hold the training at an Arkansas Tech University facility, Lakepoint Conference Center, on the banks of Lake Dardanelle. And, as usual, I was more than happy to have some real Arkansas BBQ provided by Fat Daddy's. Pulled pork is delicious, and the sides...well, I digress. The training was quite successful with comments like "So much more than I expected," and "Relevant; necessary. " It is very invigorating to go into training, talk with teachers, and realize once again just how much they care about education. I also enjoy seeing that, as the training progresses comments such as "[This training is a] validation of some of my teaching styles, techniques, methods" come to light. Most teachers differentiate in some manner throughout the year. Of course, all teachers are at different points on the differentiated instruction spectrum, but that is the excitement of it all for me. They are on the spectrum they just need a few more tools or direction using a few more tools to help them move along on their journey. Hector teachers are no different. One aspect of the training which very much interested me was Hector's quite recent acquisition of Google Chromebooks. They are going 1:1 with the books. This is an adventurous task and most of the teachers seem quite willing to learn what they need to learn to use the Chromebooks in their classroom effectively. And the optimism of the administration and specialists was contagious and necessary, as well. I couldn't help but share with them Google apps which are available to them and other interactive technology websites such as PollEverywhere, Dropbox, Evernote, Kahn Academy, Edmodo and the like. Kudos to Hector for their forward thinking regarding technology and student-centered learning. And may I recommend to them the Digital Learning Now website regarding technology and our students. It was a pleasure and honor to interact with the teachers of Hector, Arkansas. And I look forward to working with them again in the fall on a webinar/Skype session. Here's to teachers who work to be student-centric with a 21st century focus.
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