Wyoming Digital Learning Plan November 2020 Newsletter

Update from the Wyoming Department of Education  |  view online |  website

WYOMING DIGITAL LEARNING PLAN

NOVEMBER 2020


Welcome to the Digital Learning Plan (DLP) monthly newsletter

This newsletter will explore the Wyoming DLP, its goals, and suggested strategies to ensure equitable access to opportunities and success in postsecondary, career, and civic life.


DIGITAL LEARNING PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

Personalized Professional Learning

This month’s initiatives are focused around the DLP Future Ready Framework. The goals of the Personalized Professional Learning gear are:

Personalized Professional Learning Gear
  • Shared Ownership and Responsibility for Professional Growth.
  • 21st Century Skill Set.
  • Diverse Opportunities for Professional Learning Through Technology.
  • Broad-Based, Participative Evaluation.

Indian Education for All Teacher Professional Development

The passage of Wyoming Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards in 2018 galvanized the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Plains Indian Museum and Interpretive Education Division into action. They created a new position, the Native Education Outreach Specialist, who uses the Center’s collections and resources to foster broader understanding and collaboration between educators, Indigenous communities, and center staff. In 2019, Heather Bender was hired for this position. 

Bender has been working with museum curators, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and historians to develop the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Indian Education for All Teacher Professional Development Course, which is now offered through the WDE’s Canvas Instance. Course participants will identify and analyze objects of material culture as well as other primary source materials to develop sound culturally relevant instructional materials to implement Wyoming Indian Education for All Standards.

The Center of the West will link course participants to curated resource materials for use in their classrooms. Through the modules, participants will have access to historians, Indigenous knowledge keepers, museum curators, and museum educators. All participants will be expected to engage in the live stream discussions and activities as well as reflective threaded discussions between modules. 

This resource is free to all teachers and will earn one PTSB credit. Module topics are Object-based Teaching and Learning, Cultural Competencies, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Knowledge of Local Native American Tribal Groups, Sovereignty and Land Rights, and Symbols of Patriotism/Native Americans in the Military. Completing the course will help educators to incorporate the new Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards which they are required to fully implement in the 2021-22 school year.

For more information or to sign-up for the next course mailing list, contact Heather Bender at HeatherB@centerofthewest.org.


Professional Development Opportunities

  • Clever Pandas Program - Free online course designed to help Canvas users take their knowledge to the next level and earn the title of Clever Panda.* 
  • Future Ready Virtual Events - Calendar of free team and individual educator interactive professional learning provided to support districts in overcoming the challenges of ensuring students learn anywhere, anytime.
  • ISTE Certification Training - WDE-sponsored International Society for Technology in Education Certification for Educators training for 100 Wyoming teachers.*
  • Open Educational Resources - Free, open enrollment online course about open education resources; class is available to all Wyoming educators. Check out Open Range Wyoming for open education resources created and vetted by a professional group of Wyoming teachers. In partnership with UWYO and aligned with OER, we would like to highlight the outstanding Learning Actively Mentoring Program (LAMP). LAMP Roadshow.
  • Quality Matters - WDE-sponsored workshops or virtual courses on developing and delivering quality online content available to all Wyoming educators at no cost.*
  • Quality Matters Teaching Online Certificate - Series of seven workshops focused on effective online teaching practices sponsored by the WDE available to all Wyoming educators at no cost.*
  • Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines Course - Free, open enrollment online course about using education technology in the classroom available to all Wyoming educators.*
  • Wyoming Innovations in Learning Annual Conference - All sessions were recorded and session recordings are available through December.*

*Eligible or available for PTSB approved virtual education credit.


Stay Tuned

Next month’s Digital Learning Plan Newsletter will highlight the K-12 Digital Learning Award Winners.

For more information on the Wyoming Digital Learning Plan or the Future Ready Framework, contact Robin Grandpre at 307-777-5315 or robin.grandpre1@wyo.gov