Benjamin Brazeau

Technology is a tool, and like any other when used effectively can make life easier.  I am passionate about the use of technology to enhance my lessons, however technology won't make a bad lesson a good one.  Teachers who are reluctant to use technology have taught some of the greatest lessons I have ever witnessed.  Technology will only enhance the experience of the lesson, and it should be used as a supplement to making the lesson great, and not the focus of the lesson.  
 
I believe technology can be a game changer in education and there are a multitude of ways we can effectively infuse technology into the learning environment. This page is dedicated to the technology resources I have created or have found valuable enough to share with others to  enhance the classroom setting and create an engaging classroom  activities.
 
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
In my current role as a Instructional Technology Coordinator working in four buildings, it can be challenging to provide the resources and training for all staff in a timely manner that meets their schedules and mine. I have used Schoology to create self-paced learning modules that can be accessed during in person sessions, or on demand. These rescues assisted our teachers and staff in the implementation of Apple devices, Schoology LMS, Microsoft Office, and supporting instructional practice. 

Additional resources have been developed and shared on our Digital Learning Hub website to provide staff with an easy to navigate platform to continue their learning journey. We have also introduced Webinars on the use of AI in Education, Assessment practices and more to engage staff in conversation around instructional practice and how technology can support student learning. 

Instructional Technology Specialist
I have created a site to provide staff with technology resources, as well as ideas about how to integrate the technology into their classroom. This is not aimed at replacing coaching sessions, but a way to spark conversation and initiate curiosity that will lead to increased technology integration and student engagement. I created this site techventuregb to provide staff with resources to support their efforts to infuse technology into their learning activities. 

ELL and BILINGUAL
I have been fortunate to work with ELL and Bilingual teachers and their students. Through this partnership we have been able to create technology infused lessons that allow students to engage in content in meaningful ways. Many of the activities were designed to allow students to work on language acquisition skills through the creation of audio video projects. These projects have been shared with ELL and Bilingual departments and we have been able to present at professional development trainings for ELL and Special education teachers in the district. Here is the site Student Voice.
 
STUDENT VOICE
In the last few years I started to blog as a way to reflect on my practices, and share what my students have been able to accomplish. I am passionate about the use of alternative assessments and incorporating student voice into the work that they produce. One example of a post that summarizes my vision for technology integration and exemplifies my passion for eliciting student voice is "51 Ways to Incorporate Student Voice". This post is born from years of technology integration and refining my vision on teaching and learning. 


TEACHING ADULT LEARNERS
I have ben fortunate to have the opportunity to work with UWGB to teach two courses, Digital Age Teaching and Learning and Collaborating and Communicating with Google Tools. Both courses focus on the integration of technology to enhance teaching practices. When designing the Collaborating and Communicating course I  wanted to provide differentiated, or personalized tasks for participants. I created this site TechVenture to assist in that endeavor. I was able to create various modules for learning that participants could choose the ones that fit their learning needs. 


Blogging for Learning
Several years ago I began writing an educational blog to help me reflect on my teaching practices and serve as a repository of the things my students had done. I never expected to have a lot of people read the posts I write as that wasn't my original intention. I needed a place to reflect and share my learning publicly so I could hold myself accountable. If I was sharing my positive moments, I was also expected to share those times when I failed. FAIL = First Attempt In Learning, and I have had a lot of those moments. If others can learn from the things I share then we are moving forward together. My blog can be found here. gg.gg/tttblog
 

A current project I am working on is to create training modules for our staff. I must admit it is in the very early stages of development and I wouldn't even consider it BETA ready yet. I have worked on Google Certification training modules, done SimpleK12 trainings and believe creating personalized professional development trainings can be valuable to staff to increase their technology competencies and integration.  PersonalizedPD site. My hope is to bring the concept of my UWGB course into this personalized PD training system.