Welcome to the first Tech Matters Newsletter for the 2024 - 2025 academic year! We have had several new faces join COEHS, so this edition will focus on reintroducing some of the services that KATE offers to the faculty and staff in our college, with an emphasis on the EdTech Explorers Program.

When I first started, Jennifer referred to KATE as IT² because our office supports both teaching with technology and the technology itself. The branch of KATE that is frequently talked about is our support related to classroom tech, computers, tech support for events, etc. However, KATE also provides support and professional development surrounding EdTech pedagogy. This is the branch of KATE that I am responsible for. KATE provides EdTech professional development and support internally for COEHS faculty (with a focus on the EPP), staff, and students, as well as externally for PK-12 teachers. While our primary external audience is Kentucky, we also have participants across the United States and internationally.

Because we serve both an internal and external audience, we've developed distinct branding to help differentiate between the two groups:

• EdTech Explorers
  This is the umbrella under which KATE packages all of the professional development and support for COEHS. Everything KATE offers to the college -- from badge courses and First Friday events, to the points and door sashes -- falls under this branding. If you are new to the college, or EdTech Explorers, please click the website link below to learn more about the Explorer Levels, the PD Menu, which lists all the ways you can participate in the Explorers program, and more!
• #eduKATE Community
  This branding is used for all external professional development for PK-12 teachers. The #eduKATE Community and EdTech Explorers share similar content and resources, but EdTech Explorers was specifically designed for COEHS and includes in-person engagement opportunities.

COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS

• Tech Matters Newsletter
  KATE sends out this newsletter at least once a month. It includes information related to EdTech Explorers and other EdTech updates that are beneficial to you.
• #eduKATE Google Group
  This Google Group serves as the PLN (Professional Learning Network) for the #eduKATE Community. It is a ListServ that easily allows communication with external participants and provides a space for questions and resource sharing. This is the main area that EdTech Explorers and the #eduKATE Community overlap. I would love for you to join and contribute to this group! Click here to join.

I hope you will engage with EdTech Explorers this year! I'm looking forward to the opportunity to partner with you.

Rebecca

We are kicking off YEAR 2 of EdTech Explorers! Let's make this the year you "level-up" your EdTech skills and knowledge! As Year 2 begins, here are a few important changes and updates you need to know:

• NEW POINTS MENU: We are rolling out a NEW points menu called the EdTech Explorers PD Menu. It has been redesigned to align with the ISTE Educator standards. While there is a stronger focus on activities for faculty, we want to emphasize that everyone is welcome to participate in anything offered by KATE!
  
  
• POINTS AND LEVELS RESET: All points and levels restarted as of June 1st. If you did any work over the summer, it will count towards this year's points. Year 2 will run from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025.
  
  
• KEEP YOUR SASHES AND BADGES: Make sure to KEEP your sashes and badges. You'll continue to add toyour sash in Year 2!
  
  
• GET ON THE LEADERBOARD: For every task you complete from the EdTech Explorers PD Menu, you earn points. As you accumulate points, you'll advance through 4 different levels of mastery. Check out the Mario Leaderboard on the 3rd floor to see who in COEHS is leveling up their EdTech Knowledge! I will also be sharing a digital leaderboard monthly that will showcase the top 5 overall point earners, and the top 5 point earners for the month.
  
  
• NO MORE PRIZES: We will not be doing "prizes" this year. While we love prizes and think they are lots of fun, based on the Year 1 feedback survey data, the majority of respondents said the prizes did not meaningfully impact their desire to participate.

First Friday events are times organized by KATE to help you engage with the COEHS learning community about EdTech. These events target the ISTE Educators standards (2.1) Learner and (2.4) Collaborator. We try to schedule them on the "first" Friday of the month, but sometimes they just happen on a Friday!

We hope you'll attend as many as you can!

⏰ Time Commitment: Flexible (Come & Go Event)

🏆 Points: 50 Points (Earn by coming & engaging in a discussion)

WHAT ARE EDTECH OFFICE HOURS?
Even though I have an open-door policy, I sometimes feel that people worry they are bothering me or interrupting my work if they want to ask a question or brainstorm together.

To help bridge this gap, I will be setting up open office hours in the brand-NEW faculty/staff lounge (AL300). Once a week, I will be in the lounge for 2 - 3 hours. During this time, you won't be "interrupting" anything -- my sole purpose is to be available for whatever EdTech support you need. I will alternate the times and days of the week to make sure this opportunity to available to everyone (hopefully)! I will also send out an email out the day of to remind you about office hours.

SEPTEMBER OFFICE HOURS

I will be piloting this in September in lieu of a First Friday event. Here are the dates and times that I am planning for September:

• Wednesday, September 4 (10 AM - 12 PM)
• Friday, September 13 (9 AM - 11 PM)
• Wednesday, September 18 (1 PM -3 PM)
• Monday, September 23 (2 PM - 4 PM)

📆 Date: Friday, October 4th (9am - 11am)

⏰ Time Commitment: 1-2 hours (If you need to leave partway through, that's okay!)

🏆 Points: 50 Points (Earn by coming & engaging in a discussion)

The purpose of this event is to engage with the COEHS learning community in a discussion about Generative AI. Share what you are seeing in your classes, discusse challenges you are running into, and celebrate your successes. Come ask questions, learn about resources, and find community as we navigate this new path together.

📆 Date: Friday, November 1st (9am - 11am)

⏰ Time Commitment: 1-2 hours (If you need to leave partway through, that's okay!)

🏆 Points: 100 points (Earn by reading the research article and attending the event.)

The purpose of this event is to engage with the COEHS learning community in reading, evaluating, and discussing the practical application of an EdTech research article. We will send out an RSVP form closer to the event, which is how you will recieve the article. The RSVP also helps us get a headcount for refreshments!

If you weren't able to make it to the EdTech Wonderland for the FIRST First Friday Event of the semester, WE MISSED YOU! But never fear... You can still access all the amazing resources by clicking the link below. This website will stay live, so don't feel like you have to consume it all in one sitting. Maybe explore a little every Friday morning while you're drinking your coffee!

If you have questions about anything you see, or want to try out some of the ideas, please REACH OUT! The KATE team would love to work with you!

As we discussed at EdTech Wonderland, we can't afford to be ostriches when it comes to Generative AI. You can't teach about or design to address what you don't know. One of the best ways to grow your knowledge about Generative AI and become more comfortable with it is to use it yourself.

I'm going to start including one or two pre-built AI prompts in the newsletter every month. These prompts will either be ones I've built with a COEHS faculty member, or ones I find interesting and hope will be useful to you. I will include a copy of the prompt, the purpose of the prompt (what it is for and why you might want to use it), instructions on how to use it, and a sample output.

Penny Perkins and I collaborated to create a prompt that would allow her students in EDU180 to interact with a Generative AI persona to explore the idea of "educator professional dispositions".

This prompt is designed to have students engage in a conversation with a school principal to better understand professionalism in the teaching profession and explore how school leadership views the role of teachers within a professional context. Click on the attached Google Doc to see a copy of the prompt.

Check back in next time to see how the activity went!

As educators, we can sometimes fall into the rut of simply transferring information to our students. There is SO much content to cover, and lecture is an efficient way to communicate large amounts of information. However, we also need to be thinking about what we are having students DO with the content, or HOW we are asking them to process or engage with it.

I designed this prompt to assist with brainstorming ways to incorporate more active learning opportunities into a lecture-heavy class period. Active learning strategies are particularly useful for the content you don't love to talk about -- let's be honest, we all have one. 😉

Click on the attached Google Doc to see a copy of the modifiable prompt and an example of it in use. I tested this prompt with the syllabus for EDP260, Psychology of Human Development. If you'd like me to try out a prompt for your course, or lesson, just let me know! I'm always looking for authentic use cases!

ISTE just released an updated version of ALL the standards in July. Here's an overview from the ISTE Blog about their new approach to updating the ISTE standards:

New Annual Review Process

• ISTE is shifting from their 9-year update cycle to annual reviews

• This shift is to allow for incremental changes to keep the standards relevant

• Updated versions will always be available on the ISTE website

Focus on AI

• ISTE’s focus is on safe, responsible, and innovative use of AI

• There are no AI-specific indicators; instead, key-AI skills are integrated into the standards

• Standards have been updated with a focus on equity and inclusion to ensure AI benefits all students

Enhanced Digital Citizenship

• Biggest changes occur in the Digital Citizen standard

• Emphasis on ethical online behavior, critical evaluation of digital resources, and digital literacy

• Includes broader aspects such as empathy, well-being, and community building

• Aligns with free Digital Citizenship Lessons

ISTE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP LESSONS

ISTE has also put out free Digital Citizenship lessons for three different grade bands. I haven’t dug into this yet, but if anyone is interested in collaborating on building some resources around these, be sure to let me know!

⏰ Time Commitment: Varies based on prior experience with Google (Plan on approximately an hour per module.) Course runs for the entire semester.

🏆 Points: 200 points

The Google Level 1 Bootcamp is designed to help your PREPARE for the Google Level 1 Certification Exam. If you complete the Bootcamp, KATE has offered to pay for your exam voucher!

To earn a FREE exam voucher, you must complete the following:

1. 10 of the 14 available Knowledge Checks with a score of 80% or higher
2. Summative Assessment with a score of 80% or higher
3. Course Evaluation
   
   

👉 Click here to register. 👈

Registration Deadline: 9/13/2024 - We've extended the deadline!

End of Course: 12/06/2024

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You can also take the certification exam without taking the prep course. The exam is $10. You will earn 200 points and a BADGE when you pass the exam. Email Rebecca your certificate to earn your points.