Welcome New STEP Teams!!

Today we welcomed 7 of our STEP 2010-2011 schools.  Congratulations to:

Calverton ES

Charles Carroll MS

Croom HS

High Point HS

Patuxent ES

Rockledge ES

Suitland HS

Teams started off the day learning a little bit more about the program expectations.  Whew - there's a lot to do, but the teams seem ready and excited!   Then we moved onto learning about all of the technology standards - for students, teachers, and administrators.  Some of us were so surprised about what students are expected to do, but agree that it's important for us to work toward meeting those standards.

After lunch, teams expressed their creativity as they invented STEP Super Heroes. 

STEP participants were also encouraged to attend Powering Up With Technology Conference in November.  If tthe teams hurry, they may be able to qualify for the group-registration incentive.

www1.pgcps.org/puwt

What is STEP?

Just in case you are new to STEP I'd like to give you a little background...
STEP stands for Sharing Technology with Educators Program. The goal of STEP is to support students achievement and to assist administrators and school-based teams of teachers with integrating technology into instruction. During the first year of the program school based teams of teachers and one administrator received training on using technology for instruction and productivity in the school house. A total of 29 schools participated and over 160 individuals (teachers and administrators) were trained. As part of the program, each participant received a document camera, digital camera and a digital video camera. The training spanned an entire school year and ended with a culminating Gallery Walk held at Bowie State University on June 2nd 2008.

The Training Plan:
Participants were trained how to use all of the equipment listed above. Once everyone got familiar with the equipment teachers learned how to use these tools for instruction. Teachers and Principals learned how to create digital stories using Photostory 3, Windows Moviemaker, iPhoto, and iMovie. Additionally school teams chose one of the following training modules; Kidspiration/Inspiration, Midi Keyboard (hardware was included), Discovery Education Streaming, and Using Internet Resources.
A core group of Instructional Technology Trainers from Regional and Central Offices, trained these teams using the Train-the-Trainer method. Believe me, there was lots of fun to be had by all!

Teachers had the opportunity to use their new equipment in technology integration skills to motivate and teach their students. For our Gallery Walk Ceremony, participants posted their projects to a wiki .

STEP 2008-2009

This year, we have added a Web 2.o focus to the STEP initiative. This year we have added wikis, blogging and podcasting to the program. The Technology Training Team, again including Central Office and Zone office educators are learning and teaching teachers to use 21st Century tools to teach the digital natives in our classrooms. Keep watching this blog to get updates on the progress of our program.

Welcome to STEP

Welcome to STEP 2008-2008! We're going to have a wonderful time training school new to STEP and those who have been accepted into the program for a second year. I'm looking forward to workin with new teachers and meeting those who have chosen to participate in STEP for the first time. I'm sure we'll find lots of cool ways to use technology to meet our instructional goals and most importantly to motivate our students to learn and take their learning into their own hands!