Rebel U 2013: Recap

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This a post in a series about Rebel U 2013.

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This year was our fourth year for Rebel U.  As our district continues to grow and add different technology devices and resources, it is vital that we provide our teachers with relevant professional development that supports the use of technology in their classroom.  Each year, we ask teachers to complete an evaluation at the end of Rebel U.  We use the information gathered from this evaluation to improve weaknesses, continue the areas that were deemed important or positive, and make each event entertaining and filled with relevant learning.

Our theme for this year was "A Day with the Stars".  There are many great things that are happening in our small district, and this year we wanted to celebrate the accomplishments, amazing teachers, and the learning and instruction that takes place everyday.  We understand that each classroom, grade level, subject area, and school look different in our district and as the supporting Technology & Media Department, we try to support the needs of teachers and students to the best of our abilities.  Each teacher (and student) brings a different knowledge base and comfort level when it comes to using and implementing technology and what may work for one classroom, may not be as successful in the classroom across the hall.  Regardless of how it is used, at some point, we had to learn how to use different kinds of technologies.  We wanted to focus on celebrating the successes of technology implementation and be able to share those ideas, resources, and methods with each other.  We heard many comments from teachers about things they learned throughout the day that they couldn't wait to start using in their classroom!

Some of the highlights from this year:

• Schedule: We had a great line up of teacher presenters, administrators, Kent ISD professionals, and GLPS Tech & Media Team members.  To view the agenda as well as session descriptions and presenter handouts, please click here.
• Photo Booth: Back by popular demand, we brought back the photo booth!  We had many teachers stop by during their lunch to have a little fun and a brain break before heading back to their afternoon sessions.  To see pictures from the photo booth, please click here.
• Data: This year we restructured our program a little as well as our evaluation so that it fit with our learning design model.  We were able to capture some great data about the sessions being presented, as well as data about the attendee's opinions of their sessions and the overall day.
• Collaborative Project: As a way for teachers to take what they have learned during the day, the GLPS Tech & Media Team designed a project where all teachers in the district could design a lesson around a central topic - bullying.  The purpose of this project was not only for teachers to have set work time on a professional development day, but to delve further into some of the tools and ideas they learned, collaborate with other teachers in the district, and create an idea or project that they could walk away with to use in their classroom.
  The project centered around a video that was designed and produced by the GLPS Tech & Media Team.  In the video, viewers were posed with the question of, "What are the colors of a bully?" in an attempt to find a cure or remedy for bullying.  With their classrooms, students, and curriculum in mind, teachers were challenged to propose a solution to bullying that also integrates with their curriculum.  To view the video that was made, please click here.  To view more about the project, please check out our project page here.
• Twitter: We had many of our teachers using Twitter throughout the day and sharing what they were learning.  To see what our teachers were tweeting about, please click here.
• Swag Bags: We had some great items donated that we were able give away throughout the day to engage our teachers in their learning experiences throughout the day.
• More Pictures:  We had a lot of great things going on throughout the day!  To see more pictures from our day, please click here.
• What did our teachers think of Rebel U?

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