Digital teaching and learning are essential to education for success in a changing world. Cache County School District’s team of Digital Teaching and Learning Specialists had the opportunity to present at the 2024 Utah Coalition for Educational Technology Conference, which took place at the Salt Palace Convention Center on March 19th and 20th. 

 

In two presentations, the CCSD team showcased how they assist and elevate education in our district. One presentation focused on how to utilize AI technology in the classroom, and the other was geared toward how technology specialists can build relationships with teachers and help them use available programs and technology effectively. 

 

   

 

Andrew Clark, one of the Digital Teaching and Learning specialists who helped present at the conference, said that the opportunity for the team to present was an indicator of good things happening in the district. “It says that we have the right kind of things going in Cache,” Clark explained. “Other districts are looking at what we’re doing and replicating it. We're providing ideas for other teachers and other districts, and we presented so that they can see all the cool stuff we’re doing here in Cache.” 

 

The Digital Teaching and Learning team focuses on helping teachers utilize technology to improve instruction. Specialists provide training for teachers, covering a variety of topics and programs, including Canvas, Adobe, Canva, and the Google Workspace suite of programs. “This year, the collective amount of time that we've put into helping teachers grow is close to 80 hours,” Clark commented. “Across all schools, we are essentially providing two full weeks' worth of additional training to teachers about maximizing their technology use, that they weren't getting otherwise.”

 

Moving forward, the team desires to help even more teachers in the district learn to optimize the technology and programs available to them and implement their use in the classroom. “Classroom engagement looks different now that we have access to readily available technology,” Clark added. “We just want to make sure that we're having opportunities to work with teachers in Cache and that they're excited. We have professional development days and offer tons of opportunities for technology learning to teachers.”