A member of GothamSchools’ founding team, Kelly Vaughan returned to the classroom in 2009 — but she never abandoned the digital frontier.
Now, to augment her full schedule as a middle school science teacher at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, Vaughan has applied to join a new program being offered by the nonprofit New Visions for Public Schools. The Digital Teacher Corps connects educators who are interested in digital learning with mentors who can help them design and implement technology-based “hacks” to solve problems in their classrooms.
Applicants to the Digital Teachers Corps are uploading short videos to YouPD, a months-old New Visions project that aims to serve as a YouTube for teachers. Throughout the year, New Visions will use YouPD to share developments within the Digital Teachers Corps, said Hsing Wei, New Visions’ senior innovation officer.
“Our philosophy is to be transparent and try to share out as much to the community as possible,” Wei said.
Vaughan’s application proposes the “Global Weather Protection Agency,” a game to teach students about abstract weather concepts. Applications from other teachers suggest using graphic novels to teach English as a Second Language students andpreparing videos to differentiate test preparation review.
New Visions will select six teachers to receive training and mentorship throughout the year, along with a $3,000 stipend. Applications are due Monday.