#jsdinnovates April 2021

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I LOVE signing yearbooks

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  Each year as I finish teaching, I have a group of (sometimes surprising) students who want me to sign their yearbooks. In the busy end of year bustle, they slowly walk to my desk and ask me to add my signature along those of their friends. It’s endearing, and I always consider it the highest of compliments. For each student, I stop what I am doing and focus on that student, for those moments. I think of what I can tell them, if this is the last time I am able to interact. Almost always, I want to tell the student how wonderful I think he is. Or how smart she is. Or how impressed and thankful I am for the effort he has put into the class. I keep the entries small. No more than a paragraph, and then I let the ink dry and close the book. This year, as I signed yearbooks, I realized that I had a yearbook entry in mind for each of my 164 students. Had they asked, I could have easily encapsulated my celebrations, my advice, and my gratitude, into an entry for each. That is, I believe...
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I submitted my first micro-credential today

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During my ten years as a classroom teacher, I kept a bright orange poster on display that asked two critical questions: Do you know it? Can you show it? Part of my new job as Innovation Specialist includes rethinking professional development for our school district. At the forefront of this conversation is that of micro-credentials; the platform being offered by Digital Promise is most interesting to me because it allows teachers to show what they know in a public way. In February, as I was preparing to apply for my new job, I started exploring. I signed up for an account at Bloomboard and tagged credentials of interest. I started a few. And then stopped. I was overwhelmed. I doubted myself. I ran out of time. I originally read the details of each micro-credential and felt confident that I could demonstrate my proficiency. Then I became scared. Today, my office is quiet. Most of the staff has gone to a conference. This morning, I sat down at my computer and completed the three m...
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Becoming a Teacher Leader With Micro-credentials

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Becoming a Teacher-Leader With Micro-credentials As a classroom teacher, I have always kept a bright orange poster on display that asks students two critical questions: Do you know it? Can you show it? If a student can answer a resounding YES to both questions, that student is able to make progress as a learner. To KNOW the concept is important, but the two questions are fundamentally linked; it’s just as important to SHOW what you know. Educators have the “know-how” to be effective, but sometimes in the day-to-day shuffle the “show-how” gets lost. Many professional learning opportunities give teachers the chance to add to their bank of knowledge, but don’t encourage teachers to put what they know into action. This is why Digital Promise micro-credentials excite me.  In 2016, I began exploring micro-credentials as a professional learning option for our district. I wondered if perhaps micro-credentials could be the answer to some of our realities: a disil...
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