A roomful of teachers, administrators and staff at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District kicked off an initiative dedicated to transforming classroom instruction on Oct. 3.
Transformation Thursday, which allows teachers, administrators and staff members at HCISD to participate in informative courses on different topics related to technology, held its first session of the year.
The topic for this session was Digital Citizenship, and to share their progress, Vela Middle School Digital Classroom Teacher Ezelina Marroquin and Library Media Specialist Wendy Baggs showcased digital lessons used on campus.
During their presentation, Baggs presented the impact the campus Information Literacy Center (ILC) has had on campus. She attributes this change to the learning environment it facilitates.
“By providing a comfortable, welcoming, collaborative learning environment, students have the opportunity to use technology to research evaluate, and create not only what is required for class, but what they are interested in learning,” said Baggs.
Bringing it back to the classroom, Marroquin discussed what transformation can do for students in her classroom on a daily basis.
“Digital learning, especially the focus on digital citizenship, teaches students responsibility and accountability,” said Marroquin. “These tools are essential for their high school career and truly makes them college ready.”
Roxanna Shimotsu, teacher at Sam Houston Elementary, attended Transformation Thursdays to learn and broaden her knowledge on using technology in the classroom, she said.
“The classroom ideas that were shared were extremely helpful because I was able to find additional resources to empower my confidence in being a digital classroom teacher,” said Shimotsu.
Transformation Thursdays will take place every first and second Thursday of every month at the HCISD Administration Building, located at 407 N. 77 Sunshine Strip. Sessions begin at 4:15 and require registration on Eduphoria. For more information, please contact Kasey Boykin with the HCISD Staff Development Department at 956-430-9765 or email kasey.boykin@hcisd.org
