This summer was like one I have never experienced before.  I spent the majority of my June days either receiving PD or presenting and supporting others with their professional learning.  I thought I would share a bit of knowledge from each experience with you!

• June 4, 2018 – Kick-off to the summer edition book study, “The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today” by Michael Lubelfeld and Nick Polyak.  I’ll share an activity from the book such which I got A LOT of feedback on: Check out this blog post, “The Steep ‘Unlearning Curve’” written by Will Richardson in 2007…over 10 years ago!!  As this was written in 2007 have we progressed as leaders to unlearn his list of 10 items he felt we need to unlearn?
• June 5, 2018 – Worked with a Kane County teacher on creating a Google Website.  This educator participated in an online course through Illinois Online Academy, “Google Keep, Forms, Tour Builder, and Chrome Extensions/Apps” and wanted more 1:1 support while creating her website.  We spent the day creating her site from scratch, it was a very fun, productive day! 

• June 6, 2018 – 

  Participated in an online webinar through iNACOL on an introduction to K-12 Competency-Based Education.  While this was a very informative overview of competency-based education, the biggest takeaway for me was this graphic of a tree that shows the connection between personalized learning and competency-based education. 

• June 12, 2018 – I was honored to be invited to West Aurora’s day of professional learning.  West Aurora brought in many familiar names within education including George Curious, Kenneth Williams, LaVonna Roth and many more!  One of the breakouts I was excited to attend was with Principal Baruti Kafele as the presenter. His presentation, “In What Ways Does My Practice INSPIRE Classroom Excellence?” was very thoughtful, one statement that resonated with me was, “We create magic and memories through 

  modeling.”  Are we acting and living our lives as we expect those we teach and influence to?

• June 13, 2018 – Again, I was privileged to be invited to the Fox Valley Reading Council board meeting.  Are you aware of all the resources and events available to us through this amazing organization?  Check out what they are all about here!

• June 19, 2018 – I presented at a Connecting Beyond The Conference webinar for all IARSS staff.  The goal of this session was to highlight innovative presentation technologies. If you aren’t familiar with the following tools check them out: Mentimeter, Padlet, Dotstorming, & ClassHook!  Here is the webinar here for more information!   

• June 21, 2018 – I attended Dr. Sarah Mumm’s Collaborative Leadership Seminar hosted at the Kane County ROE.  Dr. Sarah Mumm was a dynamic presenter who was engaging and provided a lot of hands-on activities.  My favorite activity involved having to put together a mystery object using legos! We each had a role to play (Superintendent, Principal, Teacher, & Coach), this activity involved basically playing a game of telephone where the Superintendent communicated what should be built to the principal then the principal communicated to the coach and the coach worked with the teacher to build what they thought the Superintendent was looking for.  It was a great activity to work on communication, collaboration, and vision. 

• June 25, 2018 – ISTE was in CHICAGO!!  I was so excited to hear that ISTE was in Chicago but unfortunately, due to other commitments I could only attend one day…but I got the most out of my day!  I attended several sessions including: “Shake Up Learning” with Kasey Bell, “Artificial Intelligence Goes to School”, “Creative Approaches to STEAM Learning”, “Canvas Tips and Tricks”, plus spent quite a bit of time in the exhibit hall!  The whole experience was overwhelming and empowering. The most impactful session I walked away from was a discussion about the importance of incorporating a Kinder approach K-12 – The reminder we need projects, passion, play, and peers to succeed in life!

These are just some of the amazing professional learning opportunities I participated in or facilitated throughout June!  This is not including facilitating and supporting over 40 different teachers with their online professional needs this summer!  I have been in my position with the Kane County Regional Office of Education for a year now. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year and am excited about what this upcoming year has in store!

If you want more information about any of the topics please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Katie Algrim – Director of Innovative Professional Learning
(t):630-444-3044
(c):630-675-4447
(e):kalgrim@kaneroe.org