I get questions daily about alignment work and the Iowa Core. I love this, of course, being the "alignment guy." One of our running mantras about alignment work is that "it isn't just an event, it's a process." Quality alignment work is ongoing. To support district, AEA, and Department of Education staff, we have been busily developing a wide range of tools and resources. I hope to blog about many of these resources and time goes on. Below are some links to resources, as well as a brief description. Click on the purple links to visit the resources.
The Iowa Curriculum Alignment Toolkit: Otherwise known as the I-CAT, this web-based tool allows teachers to quickly record what they taught over the course of the school and how it relates to the Iowa Core. The I-CAT also allows teachers and administrators to generate reports that can be used to help districts work on improving equity in opportunity to learn for all students. This work is the focus of Iowa Core implementation Outcome #4. The I-CAT is free (that's right, $0) for districts to use. Staff at every AEA have been trained on how to provide districts with I-CAT support.
Heartland AEA 11 Alignment Website: Heartland has developed a website to provide Iowa educators with access to tools and information on alignment research and best practices. Included are opportunities to Skype, collaborate online using Adobe Connect Pro, and participate in discussion groups, just to name a few features. Although some information is Heartland-specific, most of the information is applicable and usable for any educator in Iowa.
Check these out and let me know what you think!
Brad Niebling
Heartland AEA 11 Alignment Specialist
No comments:
Post a Comment