Johnson City Schools hosted their fourth-annual Tech and Innovation Academy on Tuesday at Science Hill High School. More than 300 Johnson City Schools’ teachers took the opportunity to learn about different technology tools that enhance the learning that happens in their classrooms.
“Today was about empowering Johnson City Schools’ teachers to use the technology for the betterment of their students,” Lake Ridge teacher Jamie Wampler said. “That can take many different forms, for many different people, but we want to make sure that our teachers are comfortable using the technology that they have.”
Wampler is a member of the third cohort of Johnson City Teacher Tech Leaders, who were responsible for planning and executing the Tech and Innovation Academy. Teacher tech leaders also serve as an added level of support for instructional technology tools in their schools.
The Tech and Innovation Academy featured over 50 sessions that allowed teachers to fine-tune their tech skills and pick up new skills and ideas that they can implement in their classrooms.
“Every tool that we are sharing today is something that Johnson City Schools has invested in, so we make sure that the presentations are really high quality and that they represent initiatives that we are using across the district,” Supervisor of Secondary and Instructional Technology Dr. David Timbs said. “These aren’t sit-and-get tools, they are tools that engage students and help them be creative. Our main purpose, with everything we do, is to empower our teachers to provide students with the academic rigor they require to be successful.”
Tina Faust, who recently joined the district as an Instructional Design Coach after years of service as a College, Career and Technical Education Consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education and Instructional Technology Specialist for Hawkins County, said she enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the different technologies that teachers in Johnson City Schools use.
“I thought it was really great and I enjoyed the fact that there were levels in the sessions for each teacher,” Faust said. “There was a large variety of sessions to choose from and no matter whether you were a beginner or advanced, there were sessions where you could learn new things.”
To see some of the things that happened throughout the day search #JCSTechDay on Twitter.
