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Tech leaders have full day of professional training
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September 14, 2020Monica Maldonado, Director of Technology for Office of Catholic Schools, held a training session for 20 technology teachers from every campus in the Diocese of Corpus Christi at St. Patrick’s Our Lady of Knock Hall on Sept 3. According to Maldonado, technology teachers serve as subject teachers and train other teachers to become more tech-savvy.
The day’s topics included “Google Meets Logistics and Best Practices” and “Video Creation, Application and Best Practices.”
Teachers have already prepared their classrooms for social distancing, and many students have gone back in person, but some parents are hesitant to send their children back to the school during this pandemic. “It’s really important that we go on,” Maldonado said. “We can’t just say the learning stops – our parents paid for that learning. Our students love to be with us, and we’ve got to make sure that the show goes on.”
Maldonado describes what teachers are learning as blended teaching. It refers to a mostly traditional face-to-face course and incorporates a few class sessions’ worth of online instruction. Many of the students have been using Chromebooks for Google classrooms for a few years now. The Sept 3 instruction has prepared teachers for continued learning.
Hybrid learning combines face-to-face and online teaching into one combined experience. Approximately half of the class sessions are on-campus, while the other half have students working online. It refers to education that is balanced between the two formats. Some schools are not quite prepared enough for this, but that’s what future learning will be heading for now.
According to Principal Evelyn Burton, from St. Patrick School, the hybrid method makes it more difficult for teachers to teach, “but our teachers are wonderful, and they’re willing to do it. Parents have the option to be able to see what’s best for their child, ultimately creating a safer environment for the whole community,” she said.
“The teacher will be teaching two platforms of teaching at once, in the classroom, and facilitating a digital component as well, whether it’s live streaming, videotaping, or uploading assignments. These teachers are amazing,” Burton said.
Eighth-grade teacher, Ricardo Bazan from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy, said the session reinforced what he already knew. “We’ve been using Google Classroom for years. It’s a good tool.”
Kinder teacher and technology instructor, Theresa Mendez from Most Precious Blood, said the session was beneficial, adding, “Some of the children can maneuver it (the Chromebooks) pretty well by themselves.”
Principal Lilly Samaniego from Saints Cyril and Methodius says she uses Zoom for parent conferences and Google Meet for students. Right now, she is filling in for a teacher that is out. She said, “Teachers have to be smarter, work harder and longer, but they are blessed to have the teachers they do have.”All photos by Mary Cottingham | STC