Innovation takes on different forms and depends on each person's perspective. It can be defined as the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods. In education, highly effective teaching does not necessarily require a teacher to be innovative. However, to grow in a world that is heavily influenced by technology, innovation is a key to maintaining highly effective schools. In other words, innovation is required to create change.
I asked teachers three survey questions:1. Describe an innovative way that you have seen technology used in your building.
2. What limits innovations in this District?
3. What can we do with professional development to foster innovation in this District?
Surveys often have some type of bias, whether intended or not. Here, when the questions were posted last fall, the idea was to provide an opportunity for discussion on how we could work together to continue to grow and develop instruction for our students using technology.
Here are responses to the first question:
| At the K-2 level, I see technology used as an engaging instructional strategy. We have a math program called Mega Math that is a resource from our Math Expressions series. Included in Mega Math is a wide variety of games that can be differentiated for student use. Students are motivated to play the games, and they are designed as skill practice that aligns with our instruction. |
| I have seen other teachers use Skype in their classrooms to connect with a student traveling overseas. |
| Students who are using Pow Tunes, iMovies , Garageband, and Keynote. |
| Using computers to program little robots. |
| I have seen the ALEKS program primarily in Math 7 and Math 8 courses throughout the current academic calendar. However, I have read on Canvas the ways teachers are using technology in their classrooms. Students are often times required to look up primary sources to learn about different topics and to write paper on their findings. |
| I am not sure of what others are doing with technology. We discuss what we do at our level. We use youtube a lot for science and math songs and short age appropriate videos. We use the smartboard for our social studies lessons with Scholastic. |
| I think the biggest way technology has changed the building is how we use Google documents etc. to share everything now. |
| I have seen a teacher use cards similar to QR codes and scan students holding up the cards with her phone to check the students' answers. She instantly had feedback on how many students got the question right. Sorry, I don't remember the name of this program. |
| Second grade students are learning computer coding skills in computer lab. |
| Used to track what students are doing/how they are doing at the moment they are doing a task on their computers. |
| The most prominent way is the online classroom platforms (Canvas; Google Classrooms; etc.). I have seen students use technology through a variety student generated projects and presentations. Communication is streamlined with the use of technology in the building and there is a much freer and quicker exchange of information. |
| I have seen students learning how to code robots and use 3D printing technology. |
| It was fun to see the students programing the robots used in Mrs. Schade's room. |
| Kahoot. I had never seen that used before. |
| GarageBand is used to record and play excerpts from songs at various tempos, allowing students to practice playing their recorder parts slowly at first and then faster as they become more comfortable with the piece. |
| I used Garageband to allow students to create an original composition. |
| During first grade PLCf, Allison Peace introduced us to the OSMOS app and materials. These can be used during intervention time. |
| One innovative way technology has been used at Davis is through Google Presentations. A social studies teacher has her students learn about the various US Regions and then they become experts on a topic. Together they work in groups to create a Google Presentation. Each member is in charge of contributing to the presentation and a certain number of slides. The great thing about Google Presentations is it allows each member to work on the same document all at the same time. Additionally, each group member can view the work of others instantly! |
| A classroom teacher recently used skyping to communicate with a previous student who now lives in another country. Students have started using code.org lessons. |
| During first grade PLC, Allison Pease introduced us to the OSMOS app and materials. This can be used during intervention time. We will be getting these for use during our intervention time. |
| During 1st grade PLC Allison Pease introduced us to the OSMOS app and materials. We will be getting these to use during intervention time. |
| A classroom teacher recently skyped with her class and a previous student in another country. Our second graders are doing "code.org" lessons. |
| I have used virtual business for restaurant management, sports and entertainment, and on-line workbooks. |
| Making Meaning presented as Keynotes instead of just from teacher lead discussion. |
| I feel that the use of technology in our building is acceptable. We all utilize our smart boards constantly and I never want to teach without one again! Teachers are always connecting lessons with youtube and adding depth to what we can't "show" the kids in our rooms. I have seen teacher Facetime with students/parents that are in other parts of the country or across the ocean! |
| Msny teachers use technology to do their attendance and calendar. |
| A classroom teacher recently skyped with a previous student in another country. Students have also started using code.org lessons. |
| Students walked around building taking photos of pushes or pulls. These photos were then used to sort under headings for "Push" and "Pull". |
| To be honest I only know what is going on in my classroom or those who teach the same grade and subject as mine. We do not get time or an opportunity to share amongst our colleagues what we are doing in our classrooms. |
| A classroom teacher recently skyped with
a previous student in another country. Students have also started using code.org lessons. |
| During 1st grade PLC, Allison Pease shared the OSMOS materials. Â These can be used during our intervention time. |
| Students creating iMovies and slideshow presentations to share their learning. |
| I think the use of Finch robots in technology class is innovative and something completely different than what students normally get to do. |
| Kids collecting data to then prepare a student lead lesson. Then preparing a presentation to their peers with activities and questions. |
| Honestly, I don't get a chance to see other teacher's classrooms and we don't share that at our PD, so I only know what I have done in my classroom or possibly other teachers close to me. |
| I have seen that in 7th grade science, Josh Ellis will introduce topics and have links built into the document for the students to go to read articles and information about subtopics. Â Students aren't search all over the place for information that might not be reliable. |
| We are infusing technology in CTE courses all of the time: CADD, CIM, CNC, etc. |
| Our building uses 1 to 1 laptops. We share docs, have online courses, we use Canvas, Google Classroom and I use a smartboard to engage my learners. |
| I have seen many presentations created on GarageBand, imovie, etc. that back in the day would have just been a janky poster hanging on the hallway. |
| The problem is that I don't know what "innovative" means here. People have students make powerpoints, or write papers on google docs, or graph functions, or Skype with people in China, or make movies of their work. All of these are cool things. Are they "innovative"? Not really. They have all been done before, and most of them don't fundamentally change how we educate students. Which is fine - fundamental change is actually not needed right now. We are slowing making modifications that are slowly working, and that is usually how things change. This desire for constant "innovation" is unhealthy, I think. |
| Innovative ways technology has been used in the Ag Ed Department is by using the Hydroponic system, lab quests to test water quality, imovie, iphoto, google.doc, google.spreadsheets, etc... |
| Music notation, audio recordings, presentations and projects. |
| Students are beginning to use a drone for various projects in classes. |
| Preparing for assessments. Collecting data for labs. |
| Bill Gruman has been a great help to me. He has been in my room several times this year, helping me understand the technology and how to set up different labs to use more technology. He is a great asset to our district and I am very thankful he has been helping me out. |
| Google Classroom |
| I was doing an 'old-school' review with my students using white boards and markers. Bill gave me the idea to use an online software that does the same thing, but is more engaging to the students. Great idea!!! |
| I have seen teachers have students do amazing presentations, Art Projects using computers, blogs, etc. |
| I'm not sure about innovative ways I've seen technology used, but I've heard of interesting things being done with technology. I heard about an Econ class Skyping with an Econ professor in another country. Students have participated in Hour of Code online. |
| The economics class skyped with a professor in china. |
| In both the varsity and concert choirs, Roger Henderson has given students a musical theatre task to research a musical and do an innovative presentation about the musical that incorporates the research. Several students have consulted me on this project and I have been impressed with their ideas and work. The project is fairly wide-open which allows students to experiment and incorporate a variety of technology options in a very creative way. |
| One teacher had her interior design students use a computer program to redecorate her hallway. |
| In the past I would see a lot of projects that revolved around utilizing pen, paper, tagboard, markers, etc. It has been nice to see a lot of projects created that utilize technology tools such as iMovie, YouTube, GarageBand, and more. The unfortunate part is that some people want to buck everything and still glue macaroni to construction paper - fun times! |
| Use of blogs to get student responses. |
| I really haven't since we don't really get to share what we do with others, maybe Canvas/Schoology |
| I believe that there are great examples, but I don't know where I would have learned about them. I don't believe that the teachers have ever been asked to actually "share" with the staff community how they are using technology and what the find really functional and engaging for students. |
| The new $3,000 Drone purchased by our district, however, I have not seen any implementation of it yet. |
| My physics students used Vernier sensors to make sure the tennis racket stringer was properly adjusted. |
