Qualifications Statement for Innovation TOSA

Yesterday, July 24th, John Spencer released his course, Makerspace Master Course, and of I course I enrolled. Currently I am studying books like Empower, Launch, Supporting Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The C.E.R Framework for Talk and Writing, Shift This, and The Innovator’s Mindset.  Recently I was a TIP Grant recipient which allowed me to explore in a 1:1 environment the capabilities educational technology had to offer my students. Last year, 2015-16,  I was a member of the Science Leadership Network for ESD 112. This past spring I branched out further by taking a Code.org class, followed by seeking and achieving a grant to get a class set of Ozobots for my classroom. In fact my students and I teamed up with four other 5th grade classrooms in order to get them started in coding themselves. I also took a fascinating class at the ESD called Renewable Energy: Inquiry and Engineering. As an ad-hoc member of our school Innovation Center committee I have been able to instruct my fellow teachers in the whys and how-to’s of such tools as Hapara, Newsela, and Google Classroom to name a few. After reading, Amplify by Kristin Ziemke and seeing her in person, I personally bought a copy for each member of our IC committee. On almost a daily basis I am able to help my colleagues increase their capacity in small steps on their journey to master the use of educational technology as a tool to personalize the learning for themselves and their charges.

I curate about 20 ezines devoted to various topics in education. I have over 3,000 followers, the bulk of which follow my ezine, Trees:All Things Edtech. A few other ezines I curate are:

• Fruit: All things Makerspaces, Genius Hour, PBL, etc.
• Wings: All Things Coaching
• Helix: All Things CODE
• The River: All Things STEM
• Innovative Classrooms:All Things Innovative in Classrooms
• The 13th Floor: All Things AR & VR

I invite you to follow me on Twitter. My handle is @Kevreadenn. I have about 1,300 followers while following about 1,500.  I also invite you to peruse my recently revamped website/blog, Ripples. I  heartily enjoy sharing in these mediums with fellow educators worldwide. These types of connections keep my practice in a state of constant revision and reflection all the while adhering to the core practices of the teaching-learning cycle.

If I were a teacher that needed coaching from a fellow teacher, what qualities would I be looking for? I would want solid pedagogical knowledge and experience, a zeal for educational technology and the desire to genuinely help me and my learners increase the meaningful use of technology for learning. I would want someone who listens to me, assesses my needs and is dogged in their pursuit to meet the needs of myself and my learners. I believe that I am the person who possesses the qualities my fellow teachers and their students are looking for. I envision myself being there to help remove the barriers my colleagues face as they try to integrate innovation into their learning plans. I foresee it being my job to help teachers and students get from where they are to engaging with such learning tools as PBL, makerspaces, coding, etc , to places they’ve never been; much like Wayne Gretzky skating to where the puck will be.

I believe I am uniquely suited for this position given my years of service in our district coupled with my passion for integrating educational technology. Throughout my years of service I am constantly keeping the goal in sight: increasing the learning opportunities for all, both teacher and student alike. I am an innovative thinker by nature and am eager to share that passion beyond my classroom and school, to schools and classrooms throughout our district.

Education is my last and best career. I have been a farmer, a retail bookstore manager, an insurance agent and an office manager. I began my career in teaching with the idea of equipping myself to help as broad a population as possible,  hence my choice of getting licensed in both general and special education. Immediately upon beginning my student teaching I used the one computer in our classroom to begin to explore how technology could be used to assist all learners. In addition I perceived early on that educational technology could be used in myriad ways to ignite passions, increase engagement, give access to vast storehouses of knowledge, enable differentiation on a scale heretofore unreachable and provide immediate feedback to teacher/learners alike. I greatly desire to continue this journey as an Innovation TOSA working side by side with colleagues and their learners to increase their capabilities in this arena.