COpilot | COpilot

Avis Paul

Avis Paul is currently a 5th- 8th grade technology teacher who works for the Roaring Fork School District in beautiful Basalt, Colorado. Having spent 10 years teaching middle school literacy, social studies, and technology, Avis believes that school needs to be fun and engaging! She does all that she can to ensure that her technology classes are engaging, enjoyable, and full of enthusiastic students. Fortunately, the technology that is available to middle school students is able to be adapted to almost all situations to make classroom learning enjoyable. Today’s students need to be knowledgeable about current technology and have a creative mind to blend technology with new ideas, so that they can flourish in the society that they will be graduating into. Avis also has an interest in inquiry and curiosity in the classroom. She believes that the more voice and choice students have, the more they will be excited about the learning that is taking place in the classroom. Avis’s classes are currently working on multiple projects including paper rocketry, robotics, digital storytelling, and designing accurate models of suspension bridges in the school’s makerspace.

Avis is a Level 2 Google Certified Educator and considers herself to be a lifelong learner. She takes every opportunity to attend professional development events both as a student and as a presenter. Recently, she has attended the Innovative Education Colorado conference in Keystone, Colorado and Google’s EdTechTeam Aspen Summit. Avis has been a presenter for three years running at the Roaring Fork Valley Ed Tech Summit.

Avis holds a BA in English Literature, a BS in Broadcast News, and a MA in Curriculum and Instruction, all from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Become a COpilot class facilitator!

Are you wondering what that little paper airplane on some facilitator photos means? Are you interested in teaching other teachers content and strategies that actually work? Do you want to be a leader in your Association? Would you like to make some extra money?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, then you should definitely consider becoming a COpilot class facilitator. The best part about facilitating classes to other educators on COpilot is learning with people from all over Colorado who are just like you. Every COpilot class gives you and other educators a chance to learn instructional and leadership strategies that truly make a difference in students' lives!

Facilitating classes on COpilot can definitely be intimidating, but the good news is that CEA supports you every step of the way. The process to become a facilitator, set up a class, and get to teaching is actually pretty easy. Just take a look at this short list:

Contact Casey Kilpatrick, the Director of Learning Services at the Colorado Education Association, and express your interest in facilitating a class.
Casey will arrange a time to meet with you via Zoom to discuss what you'd like to teach. We are always looking for new classes, so no topic is really out of bounds!
After the meeting, you'll need to fill out a syllabus so CEA can get the class approved for credit (we'll give you a template).
Once Casey receives the completed syllabus, he'll arrange another meeting to set up your class shell and walk you through the COpilot Learning Management System (LMS).
You'll then have the chance to build your class and get feedback from CEA about the process.
Once your class finishes, CEA will pay you for the number of students who completed your class (for more information about payment rates, please contact Casey Kilpatrick at CEA)

That's really all there is to it. CEA will take care of all the technical support, marketing, credit approval, evaluations, and other questions that come up. All you really need to do is work with amazing educators on a topic that fits your passions.

Now...what about that paper airplane?

Facilitators who earn that airplane means they are WINGS certified. All of those awesome Colorado educators have taken a rigorous, 30-hour, two graduate credit class all about online learning and facilitation. WINGS certified facilitators make more money per student who completes a class and have special recognition across the Association. To become a WINGS certified facilitator, you first must facilitate a class at the base level. You then need to complete the WINGS COpilot Proficiency Program that is offered every spring. Please contact Casey Kilpatrick at CEA for more information.