Welcome to "Ask the Tech Coach," a podcast for Instructional Coaches and Technology Integration Specialists.
In this episode of “Ask the Tech Coach,” Jeff and Nick discuss how a school district can set a vision for digital learning in the classrooms and how you can start that conversation with your administrative team and instructional coaching department.
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Question of the Week
Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.
This week’s question is:
Question Topic: How can we get the entire school district on the same page when it comes to defining what digital learning looks like in the classroom?
Weekly Topic
Developing a Shared Vision and GoalsHow do you create a shared vision?Asking … “what’s the purpose?”Where is the target?What is the objective?What do we want our staff to get out of the training … and why?How can we provide the training and experiences to get staff able to meet the goals
Who is included in this conversation?SuperintendentCabinetDistrict / Building LeadersTeachersStudentsParents / Community Members
Ways to ask the important questionsGoogle FormConversationsQuick Survey’sWhat has or is working well?Have your goals/objectives been meet?
Using the Summertime to ask questions of district leadersMap out and Diagram a full year programHow do you build a catalogue to support the goals and objectives of the district and building leaders
Prioritizing Professional Learning in and out of your districtCreating a Professional Development Yearly OverviewSend out a document to the staff so they are on the same pageHere are the goals that we are looking to progress
Create a catalogue of professional learning opportunitiesInternalMeeting SpeakersConsultants
ExternalConferencesEdCampsThriveSageHealth Organizations / Hospitals often run sessions
Using a Newsletter to support professional LearningWork with your building administrators to put professional development information in THEIR newsletters
Creating a digital learning evaluation method that is flexible yet effectiveHave a variety of evaluation methods … not just the mid-year and end of year evaluationsKeep evaluation more informal and collegial so that it’s not a “gotcha”
Using a Staff Survey (Self-Assessment) to allow teachers to share what they know and what they would like to learn during the yearUse some type of “artifact creation” when it comes to digital learning so that teachers can showcase what they are learning throughout the professional development processAt the end of the day, the teacher is going to have to show that they know how to use the tool or that they understand the concept.Allow for feedback and professional conversations around the topic and concept that is backed up by Instructional CoachesCreate an online discussion board so that staff members can collaborate and learn from each other
Providing constant support for students, teachers, and community membersCreating a Student led “genius bar” or Tech TeamInvite the students to run their own professional learning sessions for teachers (Students teaching teachers)How to use specific appsHow to create projects that students already love doing and share it with more teachersStudents teaching Board of Education members how to use Google Apps (sharing, formatting, etc)
Protecting student privacy and promoting digital safetyDigital Citizenship: Create a unified and tiered curriculum that supports the knowledge of but, also includes resources to support parents so that they are understanding what students are learning in school.Create a Dashboard in a Google Site that has a spreadsheet of all of the district used tools so that parents know what programs are holding content about their students.Include the privacy policyInclude the paid/free statusInclude how to remove student information if parents are not interested in having student information available.
Working together with parents so students learn both in and out of the classroomParent NightsShort formSingle subject events
Parent UniversityBuild a curriculum of learning that follows a theme
Embracing and Celebrating the Impact Digital Learning has on students, teachers, and community.Share the “wins” of staff and studentsSuccess breeds successIf people see that it’s working for others, they might believe they can do it too
Post in newsletters, and (maybe) social media examples of what is happening in the classroom and share it with othersGet your staff to present their win’s to other staff membersAsk “how does this information get back to the students and their successes?”
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