Tag: Professional development

Curriculum Mapping Part III

Our trainers are asked frequently if we have a curriculum map linking Digital Technologies to other curriculum areas, across age groups and levels. The answer is yes, but not for you! Curriculum Mapping needs to be aligned with school wide strategy, values, community and more. There is no one size fits all. In order to create a meaningful, useful, relevant map that serves your learners many things must be considered. This blog series explores how you can do just that.

Curriculum Mapping Blog Part II

Our trainers are asked frequently if we have a curriculum map linking Digital Technologies to other curriculum areas, across age groups and levels. The answer is yes, but not for you! Curriculum Mapping needs to be aligned with school wide strategy, values, community and more. There is no one size fits all. In order to create a meaningful, useful, relevant map that serves your learners many things must be considered. This blog series explores how you can do just that.

3 steps to developing a PD plan that actually works

If you are organising the learning for your staff, you know that it is near impossible to organise anything that pleases everyone!
Let’s take a step back and look at WHY you are organising profession learning opportunities for your staff…

Three ways to empower your students with Google Workspace

I always get so excited when I’m visiting schools and see teachers using technology in ways that EMPOWERS students and completely TRANSFORM learning! The tools they use to do this are varied but many of them are right there, within G Suite!

Here are three areas where you can use familiar tools in G Suite (and a few other free online tools) to empower the students in your classes!

It’s about respect

I feel incredibly privileged to be able to do what I do – but sometimes, just sometimes – it frustrates the heck out of me! And everytime I get this feeling, when I stop and analyse it, I realise what’s frustrating me always comes back to one word, respect. Or more often – lack of!
Why is that? Read on to find out more.

Blogger for Teacher Appraisal

Using Google Blogger is not only a great way to reflect on your practice but it also offers an efficient way to align samples of your practice with the Teaching Standards. I have seen many teacher blogs which are done on Google Slides or Sites but the awesome thing about Blogger is that you can label your evidence with the Teaching Standards.

Know what you don’t know – Four strategies to help you take control of change

In education it seems change is the only constant. Schools are rapidly integrating new ways of teaching and learning in order to make the most of new technologies and innovative ideas. It is difficult for school leaders and teachers to stay perfectly in tune with best practice and emerging trends and as several teachers have told me this last week, ‘We just don’t know what we don’t know!’.

Why Doing One Thing is a Good Thing

What is potentially the most common phrase ever spoken by teachers?
“I’m just so busy! There’s never enough time.”
And they would be right. It can be a frantic job. That’s why doing just one thing might be just what is needed. Read on to see what I mean.

A Message about Learning from Stephen Hawking

When was the last time you reflected on the suite of tools that you are using? Are you a Google user or are you a Microsoft user? Or are you taking the best from each?
It was wise words from Stephen Hawking that made me rethink my approach.

technology PD more effective

Four ways schools can make their technology PD more effective

Many schools will require their teachers to undertake technology PD this year. However, most of them will probably see little change in the quantity and quality of technology integration after the PD. Why? Because the common ‘tick-off’ or ‘kick-off’ approach to professional development is not effective. Here are four ways that schools can break free of this approach and make their professional development programs better.

Professional development

Term 1 2018 Professional Development For Teachers In NZ

In this short blog post, we outline some of the professional development events we have planned for New Zealand teachers. We have STEAM / Digital Technologies training, Google Certifications and more. Check out all the details as well as ways you can request expert professional development for your school.