Heartland AEA Digital Learning News

Happy February! This month is packed with reasons to celebrate and learn—from Valentine's Day and Black History Month to International Friendship Month and Library Lover’s Month. Heartland's Library Consultant, Alicia Patten, curated a fantastic selection of digital resources available for free through Heartland AEA to help address these topics. We encourage you to dive into these resources with your students.

We're excited that Heartland AEA's Digital Learning Team has been able to bring Micro Summits to a number of area districts, each event tailored to meet the unique needs of its educators. These personalized edtech learning experiences have received fantastic feedback, and with a handful more planned, we're looking to extend this opportunity. Your school could be next on our list! Hosting a Micro Summit is a great way to provide targeted professional development for your educators, right in your own school.

What is a Micro Summit? It’s a face-to-face event tailored specifically for your school's needs. A Heartland AEA Digital Learning Consultant will work closely with you to design a Micro Summit that fits your schedule, covers topics you select, and is held at your location. This personalized approach ensures that your educators receive relevant, impactful professional learning in the most convenient setting possible.

Topics at our Micro Summits can cover a wide range of interests, including:

• Digital Resource Discovery: Explore tools that elevate student engagement and learning outcomes.
• Standards and Edtech Integration: Learn how to seamlessly incorporate technology to help students grasp core concepts.
• Professional Development: Join sessions that foster connections and share innovative teaching strategies.
• Best Practices in Digital Learning: Dive into methods supporting Universal Constructs, authentic and blended learning, and Universal Design for Learning.

Don't miss out on this chance to customize a learning experience for your educators. We're here to support you every step of the way! Check out the Micro Summit Flyer or reach out to your regional Digital Learning Consultant for more information.

We are offering another section of our technology course for administrators. This course is a great opportunity for leaders to become more comfortable with technology, while considering ways to leverage EdTech to improve teaching and learning. This section will be held at Heartland's Johnston office on February 14th and February 28th.

👇 Click the button for more information!

Join us for the next course in our Heart of Innovation Learning Series, Transforming Your Teaching with Universal Design for Learning!

Unleash the potential of every learner in your classroom with this Universal Design for Learning (UDL) workshop! Dive into the three guidelines – Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression – with interactive modules that are planned using the UDL guidelines, practical examples, and a live webinar hosted by UDL expert Jennifer Pusateri on April 9th from 3:00-4:00. We will also learn how artificial intelligence (AI) can help you plan for UDL instruction. Equip yourself with tools to design accessible lessons and unlock the potential of every student in your classroom!

By incorporating AI tools throughout the course, learners will get an engaging and interactive experience while encouraging them to reflect on how technology can support UDL planning implementation in their own classrooms.

Matt Miller recently shared ideas for upgrading teaching and learning with AI in his Ditch that Textbook email newsletter. Matt's suggestions inlcude:

1. Do a lesson design deep dive.
2. Create analogies to help students understand.
3. Level up with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge.
4. Identify potential student struggles.
   
5. Synthesize education research.
   
6. Critique / grade / debate the bot.
   
7. Use “Frankenbot” to scaffold writing.
   
8. Do a “text adventure” with class content.
   
9. Create “pause points” with a YouTube link.
   
10. Add interest with AI-generated images.

Matt's resource document discusses each of these suggestions in more detail and includes sample prompts, tips, and resources to go along with each.

Our team of five consultants serves the 8 regions of Heartland Area Education Agency and designs and delivers the Heart of Innovation Summer Summit and Webinar Series. We are ready to deliver professional learning focused on effective digital learning and technology integration. Please reach out if we can design learning just right for you!

Email: haeatech@heartlandaea.org
Website: https://www.heartlandaea.org/educators/cia/digital-learning/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/heartlandaeainnovativeeducators/