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SmartEd Boot Camp Success Story
November 19, 2010
DEARBORN, Michigan – Educators from various districts and charter schools gathered in Wayne County, Michigan with one common goal: to improve student learning. Nearly 100 teachers, technology directors, principals, instructional specialists and SMART Board™ enthusiasts attended SmartEd Services’ Professional Development SMART Board Boot Camp at Wayne RESA.
SmartEd Services’ unique boot camp guides SMART Board users through a series of hands-on, tiered lessons. Participants are separated into small groups based on their skill levels. Each group develops a custom lesson applying new SMART Notebook™ skills. Educators say this two-day structure, combined with follow-up instruction, helped them develop techniques that are ready to use in the classroom.
Measurable results and positive feedback from previous SmartEd Services’ Professional Development lead Project Step Up Co-Facilitator Mike Bugenski to bring SmartEd back to Michigan for a second round of boot camp.
“We’re really focused on every student being successful and every teacher having the capacity to meet the needs of all individuals, all learners,” said Bugenski. He was searching for a professional development program to help achieve these goals and SmartEd Services surpassed his expectations.
SmartEd Services’ small group sessions and hands-on approach made the difference for Darlene Schoolmaster, regional support coordinator for the Umbrella Organization. “The teachers, almost to a person, felt that their learning was greatly enhanced by having the opportunity to actually use the SMART Board,” she said.
Enhanced teaching leads to enhanced learning, whether it’s students in a classroom, or educators in a professional development boot camp. Educators at SES Boot Camp in Wayne County have credited quality instructors for improving their own teaching methods, calling them “knowledgeable” and “personable.” Several pointed out that SmartEd’s Professional Development was not what they expected, stating, “This is not your ordinary, every day seminar that we’ve come to in the past.”
Bringing students out of the past and into 21st Century classrooms is an objective that any district can appreciate. Today’s students were raised with technology. As Mr. Bugenski points out, it is up to schools to examine how they are going to help these kids learn. “How do you equip teachers with the opportunities and the tools that they need to really engage kids with learning… and really move ahead?” he asks. SmartEd Services’ Professional Development SMART Board Boot Camp is a tremendous start.
Click here to learn more about customized Professional Development with SmartEd Services.