A new kind of teachers institute day in Libertyville

Libertyville High School District 128 took a new approach to teachers institute day Monday, using its own faculty and staff to teach new technology and instruction techniques.

Nearly 300 teachers and support staff members attended D128 EdX Professional Development Day at Vernon Hills High School. The event included three 50-minute sessions of classes on topics such as Smartphone photography, Mexican folk dance, and hints for working on Google Calendar.

"There is a movement in educational professional development called 'ed camps,' which is teachers coming together and creating their sessions by demand and topics that interest them," said Joe O'Brien, assistant principal at Vernon Hills High School. "This is teacher-driven. The idea is how do you take a professional day and make it as meaningful as possible for as many people as possible."

Unlike a more traditional institute day, the D128 Education Expo provided staffers with an extensive menu of sessions, all presented by colleagues. Other topics included The Great Homework Debate, Blended Learning: Creating a Student-Centered Classroom, and Passion Projects: A Framework for Project Based Learning.

"I love the way we get to know our colleagues this way, in a different light and being able to teach something to them that they probably didn't know that you were able to do," Spanish teacher Sarai Nieto said after dancing to Mexican folk songs.

The day appeared to be a great success as teachers filled the classrooms.

"You hear first that you have to come school on Presidents Day and everyone is kind of like 'What the heck?' but seeing the buzz and making it this grass-roots day, I think it has been positively received," said Amanda Carroll, one of the tech coaches for the program.