My fellow 6th grade teachers and I have been assigned a tech coach. What should we expect?

A couple of months ago, one of the participants in a discussion on LinkedIn described teaching vs. training vs. coaching:

A teacher teaches you what a fish is (conceptual knowledge).
A trainer trains you how to fish (technical skills).
A coach motivates you to fish (empowerment).

What can you expect?  A great time!!  A technology coach is someone who shares his/her enthusiasm for technology and inspires you to use it creatively with your students.  He doesn’t teach you how to use a computer or do your lesson plans, but will help you revitalize your teaching ... and will revitalize you!

Let’s take a concrete example:  Perhaps you are teaching about the American Revolution.  In the past you might have had the students use the Internet to research Valley Forge and write a term paper, importing a map and a pen/ink drawing of the encampment…maybe create a PowerPoint presentation.

NOW with the encouragement and expertise of your tech coach, you could have the students write a daily blog about the soldiers’ activities in the camp, the hardships they are enduring and their commitment to freedom.  They could add Vlogs, interview each other on camera, and post their reports. The camp doctor could give daily updates. Other students might research fife and drum music, record marches, have the music play in the background during the interviews.  The students would still be doing the same research, but they would be reporting it in a new and more interactive way.  Posting the blog on the school’s Website will allow parents to learn what’s going on in the classroom, and share the fun with family and friends across the country. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing that “your kids” will remember the content as if they had lived through the Valley Forge experience themselves!

Of course, using technology creatively comes with a price … you have to get out of your box and be willing to try new things, take risks, give up some extra time to learn the new skills and develop new lesson plans.  But once you start using technology creatively, you will never go back to the old research-write-a-report mode!

Take advantage of your coach – don’t let this opportunity be the fish that got away!

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