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AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH ISTE Kimberly Oser Publisher Jules Denton Senior Associate Publisher Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director JoEllen Lowry • Jeanie Catron • Karrie Welborn Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Art Director Jonathan Schieffer Graphic Designer Caitlyn McGrath • Sarah Glenn • Heather Canale Customer Service Managers Stacy Davis • Jay Watson • Hannah Stefanovich Show Logistics & Distribution John Pechota Sales Floor Manager Marcos Morhaim Senior Account Manager Adrian Chacon • Rich Mariscal Account Managers Tara Neal Director of Operations Enrico Cecchi European Sales EdTech Show Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2017 All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300/Fax: 520.721.6300 European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy www.osercommunicationsgroup.com Lee M. Oser Founder EdTech Show Daily Tuesday, June 27, 2017 4 IMAGINING DATA-DRIVEN REAL-TIME MATH PD In its recent report, Teachers Know Best: Teachers' Views on Professional Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that, "Large majorities of teachers do not believe that profes- sional development is helping them pre- pare for the changing nature of their jobs, including using technology and digital learning tools, analyzing student data to differentiate instruction and implement- ing the Common Core State Standards and other standards." At a time when math teachers have difficulty finding the time and resources to differentiate for each student on a reg- ular basis, administrators are also strug- gling to differentiate professional learn- ing teachers. Just as math educators aspire to guarantee equitable learning outcomes for all students, teacher leaders and administrators must guarantee equi- table and relevant professional learning opportunities for all mathematics teach- ers. In addition to feeling that PD isn't supporting their use of data and digital tools, too many K-8 classroom teachers today feel less comfortable teaching mathematics con- cepts than they should. In addi- tion to minimal formal prepara- tion, many teach- ers may not have felt confident in mathe- matics when they were themselves K-20 students, and their self-image or anxiety as mathematicians can have a negative impact on student achievement (www.pnas.org/content/107/5/1860.full). Say you want to be an elementary school teacher, for example, but are worried about math. Is it great news to learn that you only have to take one college math methods course to follow your dream? QOMO TECHNOLOGY: ZERO DROPOUTS, 100 PERCENT GRADUATION AT TAYLOR COUNTY SCHOOLS By Gary Rembisz, author of Black Feathers in Black Hats Roger Cook is the Superintendent of Taylor County School System in Kentucky. It earned the Distinguished School District Award for the last eight years. His students are in the top 10 per- cent. For the last eight years, they have had zero dropouts and 100 percent grad- uation rates. How do they do it? Cook says that the technology was not there when he made his first years of 100 percent graduation and zero drop outs, but since the QOMO Touch Panels were installed, it has been a big help to them. He said that it helps him communi- cate with his principals and teachers without them taking time to assemble in the Central Office Building. The QOMO system, which consists of touch panels, doc cams and wireless screen sharing, helped him communicate to the voters to pass the Nickle Tax, which was used to construct one building for the kindergarten, ele- mentary and mid- dle school and a separate building for the high school. It allowed the school district to incorporate the best learning technology for these new build- ings. In Cook's schools, students do not have grades, because he believes learn- ing is not by age, but by ability to mas- ter a subject. Some students may master Algebra in eight weeks. Others take Continued on Page 29 Continued on Page 29