Impact Final Product

Problem of Practice:

  • My social studies teachers do not utilize online instruction. Additionally, they rely on printing a forest of trees.
  • My goal was to get at least two of my social studies teachers to utilize Canvas for at least 2 instructional lessons.
  • I chose this problem because all teachers, regardless of age, need to become proficient in digital dissemination of information because that's the way student's learn.

Teacher voice:

  • Mr. Dickerson helped me tremendously in my conversion from paper/pencil to Canvas and digital assessments.--Alexander Denham

Canvas Data and Link to Canvas Lesson:

Photos of students engaged in content:

  • I am not an 'action photo kind of guy'. Neither are my teachers.
Canvas Training tutorials. If you missed my Canvas training on December 12th, please review the documents below and schedule a personal training with me. Remember, the expectation is that you will use Canvas for at least two assignments this semester.

Canvas training tutorials used in instructing teachers:

Canvas Settings Canvas Pages Canvas Modules Canvas Quizzes

Reflection:

I provided a Canvas training for the Social Studies PLC. Two members were absent. I looped back with both of them to make sure they understood Canvas basics. At the end of the training session the teachers were supposed to create at least two assignments. Four teachers completed that task. Two did not. I asked an administrator to reinforce the expectations, however, the teachers still did not complete the Canvas assignment.

I feel that I've provided all the support necessary for teachers to complete the task. I've also encouraged, chided, and even cajoled them to meet expectations. Unfortunately, that is all I can do. I lack the power to enforce their compliance. I can only ask administrators to reinforce my requests.

The hardest part of implementing this plan is motivating the few teachers who don't care about changing their use of technology. These teachers are close to retirement and have no incentive or desire to change their habits.

My next steps are to encourage the young teachers to put peer pressure on the older teachers to encourage them to change. Additionally, I will drop by the older teachers classrooms and do everything I can to have them 'dip their toes in the technology water'.

Other individuals can replicated my steps using the information provided in this product.


Self-Assessment:

  • After training, re-looping, and re-engagement, the biggest motivator for teacher improvement was to drop by a teacher's room and shadow them while they utilize digital instruction. Additionally, teacher's improved when they imported another teacher's lesson. This decreased the barrier to change.