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James D Turnage

Educator & Lifelong Learner

“Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event.” – Heidi-Hayes Jacobs

My Learning Networks

CodeHS is a coding platform that I am utilizing for my AP Computer Science Class. The professional learning community aspect of it is built within the platform itself. I have utilized the teacher forums area to discuss certain problems with the code. This is where I also discovered an outstanding lesson on growth mindset that I taught at the beginning of the school year. Teachers can create their own custom content, which I have been able to pull together to create my own exams. I have even created a unique practice problem and have shared it with the CodeHS community. CodeHS also participates in introductory programming activities, such as Hour of Code. I would like to be able to contribute more to the community as there is always a need for new exercises and projects.

Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS). This school year, My school district adopted Canvas as the official LMS for all employees to use. The Canvas rollout has officially begun across the district, so everyone in the district is very new. This brought forth the perfect opportunity to get involved with the online canvas professional learning community. The Canvas community has several groups to join, where each focus on a specific category for utilizing Canvas. Additionally, Canvas awards badges as you provide enough contribution to the learning community. I love getting “achievements” and this is something that the district is invested in, so I intend to begin joining several groups and becoming an active contributor to the community. I feel that this community is highly valuable, because it will allow me to gain even greater technical expertise with Canvas so that I can contribute to the improvement of my campus by creating Canvas-focused professional development.

I joined this program because it came recommended by my principal. He informed me that this was a great community that offered legal protection, state and national advocacy, good social events, resources to assist with me becoming a better educator, and a host of other smaller benefits. I fondly remember a specific quote from several of my master’s courses in my master’s program at Lamar; “If you become a principal, it’s not a matter of if you get sued, it’s a matter of when”. This simply reiterates my necessity to ensure I have some form of legal protection. I have been impressed with the quality of communication that I receive regularly via email. I have only attended one sessions that has been hosted locally and I have not attended the ATPE yearly summit, but perhaps one day, I can plan to participate more in these in-person events to further my networks as an educational leader.

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