So Much Fun!!!
Check out the video I created that captures Teacher Academies, Coding Camps, and the Professional Learning Experience!
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Professional Learning Tips – by Dr. Harapnuik
- Learning requires repetition and lots of input/feedback – most learners find looking at an idea or issue from a variety of perspectives useful. Reading and re-reading the book or article, watching a video, reading a blog post, reading an additional article, discussing the ideas with their colleagues, friends, and the instructor all contribute to the learning process.
- Learning takes time and effort – genuine learning requires effort and perseverance. Moving beyond knowing the name or label of something to actual knowledge takes a lot of effort and time. But once a learner takes ownership of an idea and makes it their own by applying that idea to their own context they can then apply this new knowledge in a variety of contexts.
Because we give our learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities and we are not simply asking learners to regurgitate information on an exam or in a document. The significant learning environment that we provide must be extremely rich and point to a very wide assortment of learning opportunities and resources.
In addition to the, required readings, the videos and related materials, I regularly point to additional ideas and resources in announcements as the learning progresses. I will occasionally add links to posts or other articles in our meetings or discussion forums. Rather than ask our learners to wait for these additional resources to be made available through announcements the following pages will point to a variety of resources that can help you make those meaningful connections.
Why not just include these resources in the supplemental reading section of the instructional modules or add them to the existing structure. More isn’t always better and not everyone may need or even want to go deeper so they may not need these additional resources. Our learning environments have been very well designed and we do have enough information and resources. The additional information and tips that I will be pointing to will help those learners who just want another perspective to help them “really get their head around the ideas” or as I would prefer to state – take full ownership and go as deep as they like. For the most part, I won’t be adding new information but will simply be pointing to similar or related information that will be presented from a different perspective. I will also be pointing to many of my personal struggles or insights that I have gained over the years which may also help learners to identify with the fact that their professor also has struggled with “getting his head around” many of the same ideas.
Please note that this is a work in progress.
Community Education Initiative Testimonials
Tara Bordeaux – Austin ISD, 2018 Texas State Teacher of the Year
https://www.tarabordeaux.com/post/wrapping-it-all-up – really great post – check out how she wraps everything up….excerpt below
“Working with Lamar University’s Center for Educational Innovation and Digital Learning department has been a really wonderful experience. The teachings of Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik and Dr. Tilisa Thibodeaux completely exceeded my expectations. Their work on COVA + CSLE is remarkable and highly recommended. The whole team is fantastic. Special shout-out to Tammy Comeaux for always being on her A-game, and to George Saltzman for being so supportive of all the teachers.”
Medina Willis – Austin ISD
https://willistratedlearning.weebly.com/wrapping-it-all-up.html – another great post about learning…..excerpt below
“In the past 10 months I’ve accomplished so many goals that I’d never planned. Coding was for “smart people”, not me. The Apple CEI and Lamar courses have reminded me what it feels like to be a kid and explore without being told “NO, Stop that”. It’s reminded me to never stop growing and being my uniquely quirky self. I made a video for my overall reflection. I hope you enjoy!”
Contessa Lake – Elgin ISD
https://contessalake.wordpress.com/final-reflection-blog/….excerpt below
“The overall experience that I have with this program has been overwhelmingly helpful. As a new teacher, I was overwhelmed at the start of this program, but I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to participate. I feel that this allowed me to grow as a teacher and assisted me in my teachings as a first-year teacher.
I was able to learn about growth mindset and how it plays a huge role in a students ability to complete work. I learned that it is up to me to help encourage this mindset in students by focusing on praising in the process of task. My innovation plan has helped guided me in completing my lessons. This plan has giving me an idea of where I want to head in my teaching. As a new teacher, this was a great tool to have. This program has giving me the opportunity to get in touch with other technology teachers like myself. I have learned so much from the veteran teachers around me. This program allowed me to be able to reach out to the professionals that teach what I teach and can help guide me in how to teach certain things. I also renewed my values in teaching authentic and student centered lessons. I have always believed that students learn best when a lesson is authentic and when they take charge of their learning. I also enjoyed taking the time to reflect on my own lessons. This was the most helpful because it allowed me to take the time to reflect on my own teachings.
I have completely enjoyed the opportunity to complete this program. It helped me grow as a new teacher and an allowed me to reflect on my year. The information that I have learned in this program is information I will continue to use to grow myself as an educator.”
Sandra Negro – Elgin ISD
https://sandradnegro.wordpress.com/wrapping-it-all-up/
“Being part of the Community Education Initiative has been an incredible educational experience for me. The cohort from my district formed a team that we call “Code Squad”.
“In January, all members of the Code Squad gave our innovation plan pitch to the principals from each campus as well as the Assistant Superintendent of Academics and School Improvement. This was a joint pitch with each level taking turns. After the pitch we offered a question and answer session. That went so well that the principal of our newest school, an intermediate school, made the decision to require students take a technology course on his campus. This is not something that was previously considered.”
Tashia Mossman – Leander ISD
https://tashiamossman.wixsite.com/tmossman/wrapping-it-all-up
“The past year has been one of the most refreshing of my educational career in so many ways, most of which have come directly from my participation in the Apple/Lamar Coding Initiative. From the very first informational meeting in April 2019, I felt energized in a way that I had not felt in years of teaching. The passion the representatives from Apple and Lamar had was infectious. As they shared all that we could and would accomplish over the course of the next year, I thought to myself many times, “Yes! THIS is what I’ve been looking for!”
Jose Moreno – Spring Branch ISD
https://josemoreno29.wixsite.com/dvmuls
“The club continue receiving new members and we continue working hard to prepare the apps showcases and projects for the family night during the month of May, 2020. I continue developing my growth mindset with the Techies club and through the Concepts of Educational Technology” of Lamar University. I learned with Dr. Tilisa Thibodeaux, Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik and Mike Yakubovsky the most important knowledge of constructivism, connectivism, and cognitivism theories; the effectiveness of developing a growth mindset on learners; and the importance to create an authentic learning environment. Not only for my students, but also for myself and my family as well. This amazing experience with Lamar University allowed me to reflect about my beliefs on traditional education. I felt free to express on the ePortfolio my point of view about our education system regarding students from disadvantage communities and the importance of digital learning education to help cut the poverty cycle.”
Tiffany Fondal – Stafford MSD
https://tfondal.wordpress.com/wrap-it-up/
“Let’s move into the other powerful force in this program, Lamar University! Dr. Thibodeaux, Dr. Harapnuik, Mrs. Comeaux, and Mrs. Thompson have been instrumental in this journey. I think I was little naive and clueless because of my novice years in education but with their support I was able to verbalize and support my point of view about education. They guided me, provided support and always showed interest in my opinion, even with only 1 year of a teaching background. Can I mention one thing…. I BUILT A WEBSITE from scratch. I, Tiffany Fondal, built a website. The Lamar University team taught me to brand myself, be unique but do the research! Because of this program, I will be researching other opportunities to add to my learning journey. I want to continue to learn, I want to continue to teach others. Lamar University connected me with other educators that think like me, for that, I am forever grateful. I have friends that I can have positive, engaging conversations about education. We are not talking about changing education, we are changing education every day.”
Terrance Stills – Fort Bend ISD
https://terrancestills.weebly.com/blogs
“Being part of this program was an eye opener. Not only was I teaching a course designed for Apple coding, I was learning what was necessary to have a successful class for online instruction. I didn’t realize that until well into the program. Then the shutdown due to COVID-19 happened and the entire world was thrusted into an online environment. I have to say that I was so far ahead of my colleagues. My problem was that I had 7 preps and had to prepare for every one of them. I got it done and getting everything for the program done. It has been a task but a rewarding one to say the least.”
Amber Byars – Stafford MSD
https://abyars.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/my-amazing-experience/
“I have had such an amazing experience going through this program! You know starting off I was excited but extremely nervous about what I was getting myself into when I heard about this. However, I would have regretted my decision if I would have chosen not to sign up for this……….
The other night we had our final zoom meeting with everyone from the program. These meetings have been a highlight each week. I am going to miss these meetings a lot. It was almost as if it was a sense of family. We had established a relationship, a community. It was a safe place to share, learn, and just listen to others who were going through the same experience. Our cohort lead Karen was amazing.”
Jesus Zepeda – Stafford MS
https://jzepeda228.wixsite.com/jzepeda/wrap-up
“As I looked for my co-worker, I listened to a very excited man and wondered to myself, what did I get myself into? Best decision of my life. Then Dr. Tilisa Thibodeaux, Lamar University Professor, came on stage and told us we were going to do an eportfolio and create a website, and I don’t know what else…….
Dr. Tilisa Thibodeaux, Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik, Mrs. Tammy Comeaux, and Mr. Mike Yakubovsky were from Lamar University and were cheering us on. They have been great motivators in our learning of what was next. They guided me, providing support, and always showed interest in my opinion and were a listening ear to our vents. We were supported in creating our own website that was a timeline in our learning. I built my own website and feel really proud about it. It is mine and they always told us this. Of course they guided and gave input to our thoughts and processes. During our online learning, we had to create our Growth Mindset. I loved it because I was able to learn and apply not only what I thought but I was able to change the mentality of other teachers while we instructed our students. The believe that I can do it, and if I can’t “YET” can’t do it YET! This Growth Mindset has allowed me to think outside the box and will use it more often in my future classroom. Mr. Zepeda will not be stuck in that past mindset but will continue to strive to make a positive environment in the classroom and everything that is placed in front of me. If I can do it, YOU CAN TOO!…..
Yet what made me even more dedicated to the program was the fact that Dr. Thibodeaux and Mrs. Comeaux were there from the beginning to the end to cheer us on! It was awesome to see them there supporting us in what we had created so far. They had driven hours to support our innovation proposals and innovation plans. They cheered for our presentations and were so happy to see what kind of educators we had become. This increased my mindset about how further I could go.
I am almost over with this program and have nothing but great memories. I have met amazing people, educators, and students of technology. We have shared great moments and brought an ear to the conversations. We have stressed and we have conquered! I would have never expected that in one year I had opened many doors than the 20 years I felt trapped. In the end, nothing could have brought great relationships with other educators and a bond that will never be forgotten. Thank you for every experience and all the support!”
Dr. Cynthia Maye – Fort Bend ISD
https://cynthiamaye.wordpress.com/wrapping-it-up-the-journey-that-never-ends-may-15-blog/
“This year when I had the opportunity to participate in the Apple Collaboration with Lamar University and Houston Community College, I thought: Finally someone gets me and understand what I am trying to do in my classroom. I always felt all students can learn but they learn in different ways. Our students want to be successful. They want to be better. I find that when I tutor students and I let them drive the train, they learn more. This year started with selection and then we had the information briefing. I was so hyped and I was in disbelief that I was starting to embark on something that has been a goal of mine for years.”
