CCISD technology professional receives national honors

Special to Leader-Press

CHICAGO, IL—Facebook may have Mark Zuckerburg as its in-house expert, but Copperas Cove ISD has Danielle Patterson, CCISD Coordinator of Digital Learning, who was recently named the Administrator of the Year by Schoology, which promotes the use of technology in education. Schoology is a learning management system that allows for communication between teacher, student, and parent.
Appearing on the screen very similar to Facebook, Schoology includes attendance records, online gradebook, tests and quizzes, and homework dropboxes. The social media interface facilitates collaboration among a class, a group, or a school. Schoology can be integrated with existing school reporting and information systems and also provides the added security, filters and support that school districts require.
Patterson, who is one of 35,000 administrators using Schoology, said Copperas Cove ISD brought the program to the district three years ago. Since then, Patterson has provided multiple professional development opportunities for teachers, staff, and parents leveraging the use of Schoology. 
“I am very passionate that teachers use Schoology in different capacities of their teaching and learning to encourage 21st century skills in education,” Patterson said. “Teachers are motivated to learn how to personalize learning for students and see the powerful tools in Schoology to assist with their lessons.”
The award, given by Schoology at the company’s annual user conference, honors administrators of the education community who are making a measurable impact in teaching and learning with technology.
“Copperas Cove ISD is supportive from administration, principals, teachers, and parents. I’m blessed to work for an outstanding district,” Patterson said. “The main reason I am passionate about educational technology is the students. They are the reason I do this.
“Teachers can use Schoology in their classrooms to provide digital tests, links to outside sites, and documents that they can have at their fingertips during school or from home,” Patterson said.
Patterson, who is in her third year in the digital learning role but her eleventh year as an educator, produces weekly technology tips for the district, shared through Schoology and Twitter, and worked with teachers to help them with the learning management system. 
“Schoology can be used to blend learning between face-to-face learning and online learning all housed in one location. Teachers and students can track standard mastery during digital assessments and rubrics,” Patterson said. “Schoology provides opportunity for collaboration, critical thinking, differentiation, immediate feedback, and student reflection.”