Earlier this year, the Ed Tech Office sent out a brief survey to get the opinions of teachers across the school regarding what and when they wanted to learn about leveraging educational technology with students and with their colleagues. With 73 responses across the school, here’s a quick summary of the results:

Timing

Not surprisingly, considering how active teachers are in supporting students, planning classes and running activities, the best time for in-school learning opportunities is during our existing Wednesday meeting time.

However, when looking at what other times could work, prep periods during the day and time after school seems to be popular choices.

Topics of Interest

It is not surprising that working with Office 365, particularly with students, and using iPads in the classroom are high on the priority list. I suspect, though I haven’t broken apart the data too much, that there is a divide between ES teachers (iPads) and MS/HS teachers (Office 365) based on what is age-appropriate for their students.

It’s great to see the wide variety of interests that our students have when it comes to supporting them in teaching and learning in the classroom. Again, Office 365 and iPads dominate the responses, but it is clear that we are thinking way beyond the tools themselves and more on the possibilities that these tools (and the associated skills and mindset) afford.

What Next?

Based on the results of this survey, it is clear that we will need to revamp our in-school learning system, Small Bytes. Starting soon, instead of only happening throughout the day, the Ed Tech Facilitators will offer sessions after school so that teachers who are available and who have expressed this preference can have their needs met. There is also upcoming Professional Development days (TTT) in November where we can learn from and with one another.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the revamp of Small Bytes!