🎸 Rockstar Recognition ⭐️

Name: Erin Schroeder

Position: 3rd Grade Teacher

School/District: Garner Elementary, Iowa City Schools

Years Served: 15 years

Favorite Tech Moment: My favorite tech moments are when I can witness my students feeling empowered. I love watching students feel they have a CHOICE in how they learn and how they can show their learning.

Tip for Other Educators: One tip (and constant reminder for myself) is that "high tech" and "innovation" doesn't always mean the newest, most fancy option. Sometimes tech and innovation means to listen to your students and meet them where they are at.

Another tip is to embrace the messy and chaotic moments when you're getting your feet wet. Be honest with your students and ask them to help you learn from them while you hope they learn from you.

Colleague Comments: From low-tech to high-tech, Erin engages and inspires her learners. Choice is embedded throughout learning from the ways students can show their thinking to the spaces they choose to work. Collaboration is a staple ingredient in her learning design that not only empowers all learners but fosters the growth of life-long skills.

Know a colleague who deserves some recognition for the incredible work they are doing to support students and staff with technology in a digital learning environment? Consider giving that colleague a "Shout Out!" and help ITEC recognize rockstar Iowa educators!

Learning Recommendation

The Classroom Dichotomy by Jenn Breisacher

Jenn Breisacher’s (@StuCentWorld) new book is all about “finding the center.” She advocates for a delicate balance between providing opportunities and setting boundaries, helping the classroom function at its peak performance. Jenn provides lots of different ways to look at how to maintain the balance in the classroom to find out what works best for both the teacher and the students. Building connections throughout the process is key.

Teachers today have a larger amount of tasks and expectations than ever before. This book looks at how to get the balance right for both the teacher and students in the classroom, finding the center. “By finding the center, teachers can create a classroom culture that is inclusive, dynamic, and supportive for all students leading to greater outcomes for everyone.”

As Jenn puts it: “This book isn’t about problems though; it’s about solutions to those problems. It’s about taking what you already do in the classroom and packaging it in a way that becomes timeless, the epicenter of how we do what we do in the classroom and making it stick.” From looking at where our time is spent, to the student side of behavior and engagement, this book will help you find your center.

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