This year at ISTELive, Visual Sound convened a round table discussion on tech implementation and training. Representatives from three school districts, The School District of Philadelphia, Prince George County Public Schools and the District of Columbia Public Schools, took part in an inspiring conversation surrounding teacher professional development, collaboration and ideas-sharing, and EdTech implementation and support.
This was a first for the districts to come together and collaborate on ways they’ve ensured tech is being selected, implemented and educated on properly. This ‘meeting of the minds’ is an incredible testament to the importance of collaboration to better student experiences.
As proud partners of Visual Sound, SMART was delighted to be a part of this discussion. We’ve seen the impact that these districts have made for their educators and students first hand.
SMART Technologies Chief Commercial Officer, Jeff Lowe, shared his top three impressions on this collaborative group.
“The first thing I see is the emphasis on supporting teachers. Our teachers are actively making students' lives better with more meaningful lessons and learning experiences. You can really tell that, consistently, across the board. The second one is commitment to training and PD. We’ve witnessed the benefits of the training programs coming out of these districts and it’s some of the best PD programs we've seen throughout the world. And then the third one is the leadership of conviction. To make it in the classroom, it takes determination, and is a heck of a lot of hard work.”
The School District of Philadelphia recently embarked on a technology transformation, utilizing SMART Boards and Lumio, and has helped to empower the districts of Prince George and DC to build their own training and implementation programs. Part of their investment included evaluating their current EdTech with the EdTech Assessment Tool. Hundreds of district leaders trust the EdTech Assessment Tool to provide guidance on what's working and next steps for planning and implementation. Learn more about the tool and start your assessment today:
Michelle Harris from The District of Philadelphia speaks on the Make + Take training model that The District of Philadelphia designed in partnership with SMART. Learn more about the partnership between SMART and Visual Sound and the success that Make + Take has brought to The District of Philadelphia here: