Needing Ideas...

That’s great that you will be able to support teachers!

You’ll receive plenty of great advice here, but a great starting point is connecting with early adopters - who is eager to integrate technology meaningfully? Who might be an ‘adventurer’ or ‘tourist’ in this journey? Understanding their needs and challenges through listening first will help you tailor your support effectively.

Also, keep the focus on student learning - it’s always about the learning! Could students create something to showcase their understanding? Encouraging small steps using the coaching cycle (Inquire, Plan, Act, Reflect) can make the process more manageable. By working closely with these teachers, you’ll hopefully spark ‘buy-in’ from others as well!

Good luck and keep us posted!

I’m just toward the end of my Learning Coach journey, congrats on getting your certificate! One thing that has been emphasized in the Inquire part is to ask the teacher what they would like to accomplish and then create a plan around that. Might you ask teachers to help you build your “menu of options” so they might have buy in on the choices?

Congrats. Definitely the approach of helping them where they are at seems to work. Ask what they’re currently doing and look at ways to take that to the next level. I have also had great success in asking what their biggest issues are and suggesting some ways tech can help solve them.

Congratulations on earning your ALC designation! What an awesome opportunity your principal is giving you and what great support! One trap that is easy to fall into with tech coaching and teachers identifying challenges is that it can be easy for things to fall into the logistics or technical space vs instruction/pedagogy/instructional design. Giving them choice is important so that they can start where they feel comfortable and you will get more buy in as they will feel like you have honored them as individuals. What if you have them come to you with one topic/concept/unit they have coming up and you bring a few project ideas from the Creative Activities for Students/Creative Activities for Early Learners and let them choose one for you to support them with? For example, Tell a Story with Emojis, Animate a Sequence, Reimagine Photos with Markup, or Mix Your Own Song. That takes some of the responsibility off of them in terms of what they need from you and how to use you, and you can support in a variety of ways - brainstorming, planning the lesson, and even co-teaching.

Could you offer “Pop-up PDs” maybe before school (we have PLC time that I am allowed to use for this) where teachers can come for a short, informal PD session, and will leave with at least 1 takeaway that they can implement right away?

I am currently a full time teacher, who also gets a few days a year to use my ALC certification to coach teachers. We have a team of 6 teachers in our district who do this. Feel free to reach out any time! If you click on my profile, my email should be linked there.