Projects

As I end this week and look back at some of the projects I have been working on, I am noticing a trend - they all depend on technology for community, collaboration, and engagement. Whether its building out middle and high school curriculum for a new digital learning lab at a local museum, curating a summer’s worth of professional learning opportunities for teachers (yes, I am thinking ahead), or planning and facilitating conversations with K12 educators around student engagement, project-based learning and STEM - all of this work depends on selecting and using the best technology available for the project. 

Like other folks, I am craving a time when the pendulum can swing back to a better balance of in-person-contact accompanied by the intentional use of technology. However, thanks to two pieces of technology news this week, I don’t need to wait for that to happen in order to do better work. 

​So, here’s the news…

• Known for putting teachers at the center of the iterative process, Google for Education announced upcoming updates to many of the Google tools and resources used in K12 education. I have started digging into this...will be testing the updates...and rolling out a series of engaging workshops for educators around the changes and updates this spring and summer. 
• The next piece of news is a game-changer and comes as close to physical in-person contact as possible in the video-conferencing world. Although there is still a place for Zoom, Webex, and Google Meet with respect to meetings, webinars, classes, and workshops; a new tech tool -  InSpace - belongs in a video-conferencing league of its own. This technology will allow for better work in K12 education, now...and in the future. So, how do I plan on using it in my work? I am currently building out a series of workshops for educators using InSpace to facilitate better professional development experiences. Think sticky notes, poster paper, and Sharpies for virtual professional development sessions. Stay tuned for a series of PK-12 PD options coming soon using InSpace, and please feel free to reach out if you would like to work together on some ideas of your own!

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