I haven't had an opportunity to take part in professional development away from school much at all the past few years. And while the professional development I've received has been directly related to our school initiatives, it has been difficult to relate it to the excitement I want in my classroom.
So ... when our IT lead came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to participate in the Google Lesson Plan Jam, I was skeptical, but said, "yes!" I was worried about the expectations ... but decided to go with the flow.
The first great part of the day was the environment. Oh my, the Google offices in Austin are awesome! Schools should be designed in similar ways. Food and drink need to be close by! Furniture must be comfy! Lighting, ergonomic tables, open spaces, windows ... really nice!
Second great part of the day was the people! There were about 30 teachers, specialists, Google lead learners, and more there! Rafranz Davis was my assigned "lead" learner! What fun it was to talk math with her. My partner, Kimberly, shared her insights in middle school math. I loved hearing what she was working on and how she wanted to challenge her students. While we had different curriculum we could talk commonalities in math, and share resources!
Last, it was great to spend quality time working on lesson plans. The vibe around the room was energetic ... deep ... intelligent ... and oh my ... so many great ideas for applying tech tools in tranformative ways. I loved the Demo Slam ... decided we could apply that technique in the classroom! Loved sharing out our lesson plans ... Lesson plans will be available on our GEG Texas Lesson Plan Jam website soon! Can't wait to teach the plan I wrote!
I'm grateful for the day, dreaming of the next opportunity!
Enjoy your day! I'm jealous ... would love to participate again and again!
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