Module 1.3 - School-Based Professional Learning Communities

 School-Based Professional Learning Communities

Participating in school-based learning communities can help educators set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. (ISTE Standards for Educators 1a, 1b).

world.pngIPLC Focus on Educational Technology

Instructional Professional Learning Communities are part of the teaming structures outlined in the Canyons School District academic framework. According to the framework, IPLCs use data to:

  1. Design instructional adjustments needed to ensure success for all students
  2. Plan for increasing the intensity of core scaffolds to address social emotional needs of students as needed
  3. Refer students for consideration of more intensive standardized interventions as need arises

Grade level and content area teams meet together regularly to review data and plan ways in which they can better provide instruction and plan engaging learning activities to increase student achievement. Educational technology tools and pedagogy can and should play an important role in these collaborative meetings. As IPLCs meet, they should discuss how educational technology can help them achieve all three IPLC purposes and set goals for improvement. IPLCs should consider:

  1. How can we use educational technology to support the instruction we design and to help ensure success for all students? How can educational technology be used to enhance our teaching and student learning?
  2. What educational technology tools can help us scaffold to address the social emotional needs of our students?
  3. How can educational technology help us efficiently collect and analyze data to guide us as we consider more intensive, standardized interventions?

At your next IPLC, take some time to discuss appropriate technology use and to consider how you might use appropriate ed tech tools to better meet teacher and student goals. If you are using ed tech tools, is it possible to do so more effectively or to use the tools in more innovative ways that allow students more opportunity to engage in deeper DOK levels. Go through your curriculum standards and review your learning intentions. Purposefully plan which tools, strategies, and resources will best support learning. Below is a brief list of tools you might consider:

Ed Tech Tools for Improving Data Collection & Analysis Ed Tech Tools for Improving Instruction & Increasing Student Engagement Ed Tech Tools for
Deep and Innovative Student Learning
Nearpod Links to an external site. Nearpod Links to an external site. G Suite Links to an external site.
Quizizz Links to an external site. G Suite Links to an external site. Utah's Online Library Links to an external site.
Canvas Piktochart Links to an external site. iMovie Links to an external site.
Data Dashboard Links to an external site. Google Expeditions Links to an external site. Adobe Spark Links to an external site.
G Suite Links to an external site. Flipgrid Links to an external site. Google Sites Links to an external site.
Kahoot Links to an external site. Plickers Links to an external site. Tinkercad Links to an external site.