In a long time was from middle school students. Though, to any teacher that should not be surprising. On Saturday, I had the honor of attending Playdate Austin, modeled off of Jennie Magiera's Playdate concept.
At the event, six playrooms were opened, each focusing on a different concept. The event was both opened and closed by students. And, not only that - breakfast was created by the HS culinary arts crew. Teacher and administrator overseeing was very limited. In fact, several times, I could not sort the "teachers" from the student teachers.
As I walked into each playroom, a student would shake my hand, introduce himself/herself, and introduce his/her teaching spotlight.
When they students first released us to "go learn and have fun" in the playrooms, I felt like a child at recess. It was difficult to know where to start - what I wanted to learn first. So, I decided, to just start at the first room and make my way back. It was in the first room, that I realized, I had not had PD like this in a while. Not only did the students not prepare a full presentation, they were hands-on, they were excited. They immediately went into how the application is and can be used in the classroom. Afterward, the demonstrated the product or strategy and allowed for questions. So, not only was the idea of students presenting unique, but so was how they taught. Between DocOS, eBackpack, and Ask3, I found several tools to share with teachers.
Going into the second room, I was once again greeted and giving one-on-one assistance. I was amazed at the professionalism as well as the diligence the students had in assuring we got one-on-one hands-on training. I walked away ready to use Doceri and with a full understanding of its potential in the classroom.
I continued going to room to room, learning about collaborative teaching tools, flipped classrooms, and gaming.
I left that day, excited and ready to learn. Now, if we can give our students what I was given, there is no wonder how high they could fly.
Who else is ready to implement student PD? I'm in!
At the event, six playrooms were opened, each focusing on a different concept. The event was both opened and closed by students. And, not only that - breakfast was created by the HS culinary arts crew. Teacher and administrator overseeing was very limited. In fact, several times, I could not sort the "teachers" from the student teachers.
As I walked into each playroom, a student would shake my hand, introduce himself/herself, and introduce his/her teaching spotlight.
When they students first released us to "go learn and have fun" in the playrooms, I felt like a child at recess. It was difficult to know where to start - what I wanted to learn first. So, I decided, to just start at the first room and make my way back. It was in the first room, that I realized, I had not had PD like this in a while. Not only did the students not prepare a full presentation, they were hands-on, they were excited. They immediately went into how the application is and can be used in the classroom. Afterward, the demonstrated the product or strategy and allowed for questions. So, not only was the idea of students presenting unique, but so was how they taught. Between DocOS, eBackpack, and Ask3, I found several tools to share with teachers.
Going into the second room, I was once again greeted and giving one-on-one assistance. I was amazed at the professionalism as well as the diligence the students had in assuring we got one-on-one hands-on training. I walked away ready to use Doceri and with a full understanding of its potential in the classroom.
I continued going to room to room, learning about collaborative teaching tools, flipped classrooms, and gaming.
I left that day, excited and ready to learn. Now, if we can give our students what I was given, there is no wonder how high they could fly.
Who else is ready to implement student PD? I'm in!
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