In the world of ESUs and education, you may notice the practice of using acronyms. They’re used in naming groups, projects, processes and products. So several years ago, when a couple of the affiliates under the professional development organization (PDO) merged to form one group “Teaching and Learning with Technology”, the shortened form, TLT, became a new recognized “word” for ESUs.
When we first decided to call the affiliate TLT, I couldn’t help but think of TNT, then dynamite, which by the way are not the same thing, but are similar. However, while checking on this, because I was curious if those words meant the same thing, I was reminded by Google that the informal definition of dynamite is “an extremely impressive or exciting person or thing.” This definition perfectly defines TLT. My word associations of TLT to dynamite lends itself to the perfect adjective of this extremely impressive group doing exciting things!
The exciting and challenging mission of TLT is to connect Nebraska educators with resources, best practices, and emerging technologies that will transform teaching and learning within the classroom. All of the ESUs employ experts in the areas of digital and blended learning, distance education, instructional materials, and technology. These experts collaborate and coordinate statewide in efforts to support districts. TLT also partners with the Nebraska Department of Education and other stakeholders on many of these endeavors.
Recently, ESUCC in partnership with Nebraska Rural Community School Association (NRCSA) launched two websites that support remote learning, one for teachers and one for administrators. Much of the work was coordinated by TLT and includes resources that were curated or created by this dynamite affiliate. Some of those resources reside in the Nebraska OER Commons hub and were created as open educational resources (OER) by Nebraska teachers for Nebraska teachers under a joint project funded by the ESUs and NDE. The Nebraska OER hub, where these and many other great resources are hosted, is another great project that is a coordinated effort by NDE, ESUs and district teachers brought forward by TLT. Check out these dynamite tools and resources for Nebraska educators!
These are just a couple of examples of the impressive work by TLT. When our world was hit by the pandemic in 2020, TLT worked together along with other stakeholders to support districts in remote learning and much has been learned along the way! TLT continues the mission to connect educators to resources and technologies for use in the classroom and welcomes input from our Nebraska educators.
Do you have remote learning resources to share or lessons learned that have helped you during the pandemic?