"It will soon be our one-stop-shop for everything professional learning."
TAMMY MORRIS
Professional Learning Support
HOW IT STARTED
Initially, Douglas County only used MobileMind for Google Certification training. Tammy Morris, Professional Learning Support, and Ginny Dixon, Instructional Technology Specialist, quickly recognized that the self-paced MobileMind for Google micro-courses was the answer to getting their staff Google certified. "We loved the platform for Google certifications and had a lot of good responses from it," Tammy explained. However, Douglas needed MobileMind’s self-paced model for other training like instructional strategies, best practices, and compliance. The two also recognized that the badging system and leaderboards provided their learners with friendly competition and motivated learners to seek out professional learning opportunities on their own.
"Once we learned all of the things we could do with MobileMind, it opened up so many opportunities for us."
TAMMY MORRIS
WHY DOUGLAS EXPANDED
Douglas County teachers are not required to complete a specific number of PLUs yearly as they have previously. This left the district in a new yet not-so-unique situation of creating professional learning opportunities engaging enough to motivate teachers and staff to put their professional learning journey into their own hands. Tammy explained, "MobileMind will open up more independence for our learners." Ginny shared that the learning hub will help her address diverse learning styles by allowing for self-paced professional learning, "Many professional learning opportunities for the basic use of our districts' instructional technology tools can be self-paced and independent, which is where MobileMind comes in." Above all else, micro-courses were what ultimately led the district to expand their use. "The short courses that they can complete when they have the time are appealing to our learners," Tammy explained.
"We want to empower our teachers to build their best practices and instructional strategies. MobileMind is going to be that one-stop-shop for all the needs that we have."
TAMMY MORRIS
A NEW WAY
Douglas County went from using MobileMind only for Google training for a portion of their teachers to district-wide for all teachers and staff. Douglas leaders now plan on leveraging the learning hub for all PL initiatives. It's essential for the district to give their learners a choice and voice in their professional learning journey.
“The ability to advertise our event appeals to me. This will get us out of the paper signups and certificates business.”
TAMMY MORRIS
Key Douglas County Numbers
Numbers represent activity before September 9, 2022
498
digital badges earned
1,727
micro-courses completed
1,827
hours spent in MobileMind