“We had Google Workspace before the DLP training and Chromebooks, but there wasn’t a lot of uptake,” Gevaudan says. The DLP training, Gevaudan says, made an difference in when and how teachers used the devices to enhance lessons. In late 2017, Carlynton’s first batch of 180 Chromebooks arrived.
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Or if a teacher is struggling with giving feedback to students, Gevaudan can explain how to use comments and edits in Google Docs. The main takeaway was that every teachers has challenges-we learned how to identify those challenges and work with teachers and our technology to solve them.”įor a teacher seeking new ways to present information in class, Gevaudan can suggest Google Cast, a Chrome extension that allows teachers to share their Chromebook screens with students’ Chromebooks. “We learned how to deal with each type, so there were no surprises. “Some teachers are first in to try technology, and some are last in,” Gevaudan says. Some teachers might be resistant and hesitant to test new ways of adding technology to lessons, while other teachers were early adopters and eager to experiment. Loughren and Gevaudan also learned how to identify where teachers were in their journeys to become digital champions. “Something as simple as writing a teacher a quick note saying ‘you crushed it today’ can help them get out of their comfort zones.” “We talked about the idea of making coaching celebratory and fun,” Loughren says. But what we needed to do was change the culture.”ĭuring the DLP summer workshop, Loughren and Gevaudan learned the value of celebrating and showcasing teacher successes-for example, scheduling regular meetings with teachers to share ideas and show support for their use of technology. “It’s one thing to teach someone how to share a link in Google Classroom. “Much of what Michael and I learned was about changing teachers’ mindsets, as well as their skill sets,” Gevaudan says. They were willing to use technology-and I knew how it can change teaching practices.” But Gevaudan needed guidance in encouraging teachers to become digital champions.īoth Loughren and Gevaudan took part in DLP training. “But for the teachers, I knew it was there. “The anxiety wasn't there for me,” Gevaudan says of the new technology. The goal, Gevaudan explains, was to help teachers become comfortable and confident in using the Chromebooks before the devices showed up in classrooms. However, leaders like Loughren and instructional technology coach Ryan Gevaudan first needed training in coaching teachers to use technology in transformative ways. As part of the program, the school also received Chromebooks. “That made it challenging for students to have access to learning tools.”ĭuring the 2017-2018 school year, the school participated in the Dynamic Learning Project (DLP) to help its teachers get hands-on support in using technology. “We only had a few carts with old laptops,” explains principal Michael Loughren. Technology for teachers was in short supply at Carlynton Junior-Senior High School.