Original Contribution

After completing my CI 549 Teacher Leadership course in February 2013, I took the initiative to begin a professional learning community in my building.  After speaking with 4 other teachers who also felt as I did, that there was, at the time, a disconnect between content area teachers as well as miscommunication between the middle school and high school teachers about what students should learn versus what they were learning, we decided to work together to create an online space to gather with our professional peers to discuss our personal learning as well as sharing resources to provide quality learning experiences for our students.  We conducted a needs assessment and several surveys to check the climate of the staff on various issues, including technology use.  We have set up a group on Edmodo where we are learning and sharing together.  

In the meantime, my principal approached me to become the building Technology Liaison.  This extracurricular position was created in all of the buildings in our district to have a staff person in place to help the district IT staff manage professional development and other technology concerns in each building.  In this role, I feel its important that, as a group, our staff have a central communications hub for reflective learning.  Although, I have been very busy with teaching and learning myself,  I began a monthly e-newsletter called the "Professional Learning and Teaching News" (PLTN), that I share with our staff.

In the PLTN, I focus on one topic and write a short article on that topic.  The rest of the newsletter focuses on professional development opportunities in the building, district and online for the staff.  Topics I've covered in previous newsletters have included "The Connected Professional", with a focus on creating a PLN using Twitter, and "Alternative Learning Environments", focusing on the Flipped Classroom.

Attached are issue numbers 1, 2, and 3 of this series of newsletters.  As I am new to the process of disminating information of this nature, each issue shows the progression of what people want to see in the newsletter. (I always get emails telling me what is liked, not liked and/or should be added).