![]() Students may only just be back at school but for me, the school year began at the end of July. Actually no, new teacher orientation began for us back in June, when we added all new faculty to a new teacher bootcamp, giving them the option to start digging around in our most frequently used systems. As a team, one of our goals is to empower users, that means developing systems and processes that allow them to help themselves. The bootcamp is housed in our LMS, Schoology, and was put together by the cross river tech team 2 years ago, with updates and revisions made in the Spring. It’s a bit of a labor of love, particularly when interfaces change so frequently. Actually, scratch that, it’s a labor of love and an endless source of frustration. In previous years, teachers have then had a face to face session for one hour in a conference room at a hotel on The Bund. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great hotel but not the ideal environment when you have a bunch of jet lagged, punch drunk adults who just want to walk around and enjoy the view. This year, we upgraded the process for our newbies with a 3 hour session hosted at each campus. In addition to being able to hand out laptops, connect to wifi, and change passwords more efficiently, we were able to host short (20- 30minute) mini sessions around major systems:
![]() I ran the Schoolgy session and in addition to orienting them to the bootcamp, because let’s face it, uprooting your entire life doesn’t leave a huge amount of time available, I created a sandbox in which they could practice their skills by completing a series of challenges. For us, as a Tech Team, it was a long, tiring day as we started at one campus in the morning then piled into a car for the sprint across the city to present on the other campus, all done against the clock. The payoff came a couple of days later when one of our new elementary teachers found me and gave me a big thumbs up- she needed to print a receipt for her flight and was able to do it independently using the ‘how to’ guides posted in the bootcamp.
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Last year, a colleague and he asked me how long I thought it would be before a position like mine (Technology Instructional Coach) became obsolete. It’s a bold question and I took a minute to ponder it. After all, different schools have different coaching models- some have curriculum specific coaches, some have general instructional coaches. Schools also define coaching differently. While the term ‘Coach’ is increasingly attached to my role across International Schools, the job itself often demands the wearing of a consultant’s hat, where I am the expert or mentor dispensing knowledge as the designated ‘expert’ in the field. I’ve always seen my role as being in service of learning. When working in IB schools I worked closely with curriculum and school leaders to define the type of learning we wanted to see in the classroom. We collaborated to develop inservice training and PD opportunities, we promoted non IB related PD that we felt aligned with our values, modeled the type of learning experiences we wanted to see in classrooms and partnered with teachers to develop their skill set- coteaching, mini lessons, covered lessons so they could go and observe in another classroom, we even tag teamed some planning meetings to present an idea. My depth of feeling was such that when I took a school-wide leadership position, I insisted on my successors being ‘housed’ with the curriculum coordinators and, sure enough, they played an active role in developing the type of learning experiences we felt were aligned with our educational philosophy. Over time, I played many different coaching roles- consultant, mentor, remediator, as well as coach as defined by this graphic from the CfBT Education Trust and researchers from Newcastle University: So, back to my colleague's original question. I’ve often said that my job is to do myself out of the job I was hired for; in recent years that has been related to system implementation or even the implementation of 1:1 programs. In so doing, I get to uncover the next problem worth solving. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always maintenance to be done- faculty changes often reset the playing field where PD and teacher Tech skills are concerned. I believe school’s implement coaching models because they see it as being an essential component in furthering professional practice and transforming student learning. As a Tech Coach, what I do is in service of learning and by undertaking the broader tasks associated with being a coach- engaging in dialogue that supports deep reflection and results in improved professional practice; defining goals, identifying and implementing pedagogical strategies, co planning and co teaching, planning and leading Professional Development, and organizing learning walks and lesson studies. As a result, another door opens into teacher mindsets, routines, and practices that will help me to better understand where a teacher is on their own learning journey, and, by changing hats sometimes from coach to consultant, help them directly in more effectively integrating digital skills in an authentic manner and support them as they seek to truly embrace classroom innovation. My understanding of who I am as a coach continues to evolve and I believe it is inextricably linked to the reason schools go all in with Technology, 1:1 programs, robotics and MakerSpaces in the first place. I clearly have more reading and reflecting to do, and will be starting here, with the ‘Coaching for Teaching report from CfBT Education Trust: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/cflat/files/coaching-for-teaching.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3dmE5_WzBvaT6bjtW2gmzYPiIyVzaZjyOWI8aWgIHd-uv1snjfe-F4Pqg
This past week, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Kim Cofino (@mscofino) of the ‘Coach Better’ Podcast. Kim is legendary in Ed Tech circles. A former Tech Coach herself, she now focuses full time on helping other people to ‘Coach Better’ through her company Eduro Learning. My friend and colleague Jordan Benedict (@JordanGBenedict) put us in contact. Jordan is a data geek, in the way Simon Pegg talks about being a geek: Jordan’s passion for data stories and making data conversations relevant, meaningful and most importantly accessible for all is really changing the way I think about data. He loves data so much, that he blogs over at Visualize Your Learning and has given a couple of Learning 2 talks. I equal parts loved and hated Jordan to putting my name forward- hated because putting a spotlight of any sort on myself is not something I aspire to (a shock for some, I’m sure as I have a tendency for the dramatic and love theatre) and loved because it was a level of validation that I didn’t realize I needed; a peer looked at what I was doing and felt there was value in my having a platform in which to share my story with the world. I have to say, I really enjoyed the conversation. Kim is super easy to talk to and let’s face it, I can rattle on about most subjects without too much difficulty. Kim shared some questions beforehand as a starting point and while some allowed for a ‘canned’ response, I was surprised by some of my takeaways as they had not stood out to me before:
In all honesty, I felt so energized by the reflective nature of the conversation that I would love to do it all again next year. The end of the year timing means that I’m now visualizing potential goals or actions that I want to set up and implement in 2019-20. This is the power of coaching. For 20 minutes, an hour it’s all about you, about sharing, reflecting and considering what is important to you and what’s next. Thanks Kim for an awesome learning experience!
![]() I'll be honest, I haven't always been the biggest fan of AR and VR. I'm not a Scrooge (typing this while watching 'Muppet's Christmas Carol') it's more the case that my experiences with it have been largely linked to the 'big splashy' of a Google Tilt Brush or Google Cardboard, and they have been very cool experiences. Having the opportunity to scribble my name in the air and then crawl around on the floor looking up at what I created was super cool, as was being able to take a managed trip to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The problem with those activities is that they never extended beyond that, even bleeding edge teachers, fully supported by Tech Coaches struggled with it; the effort to set up was not worth the pay off, not when there were simpler ways to achieve what they felt was the same result. My additional issue was that my students were passive, they were physically wandering round a space/ the pyramids but they weren't interacting and they weren't creating. Then, MergeCube came in to my life, and by life I mean Twitter feed. I checked the prices for a cube but they were too expensive ($25 for a piece of plastic?!) and not available in China (actually the bigger challenge). Happily, our technician found a template online, (probably like this one from Jaime Donally) and we put the net together, at which point the fun commenced! We got to grips with the tool using Tiltball, a free App made for use on the MergeCube, before moving on to such apps as Mr. Body, and HoloGlobe. Later this week, we intend to invite our Middle and High School teachers to come and play. It's actually great timing for our HS teachers as the students are all on study leave. We're also exploring the creativity angle with ARMakrApp and CoSpaces.
My original misgivings are being put aside by the potential of AR to facilitate creativity- fingers crossed! ![]() Clearly, I’ve been on a reading kick lately (nearly finished ‘Leaders Eat Last’- loving it!) but it hasn’t all been work related professional reading… and before you ask, it hasn’t been romance novels either! I recently finished Adam Kay’s ‘This is going to hurt.’ A comedian and television writer now, Kay originally trained and worked as a Doctor, and his book is selected diary entries from his 6 years on the wards of the UK’s National Health Service. The entries range from the laugh out loud, to the heartbreaking to the ‘Ugh! Too Much Information.’ I was particularly struck by the descriptions of the hours he worked, missing important events in the lives of his family and friends because there was no one to cover the rota, extending a shift because the locum who was meant to take over had no clue how to respond to emergencies in that particular department. ‘It’s not a profession you go in to to satisfy the dollar signs behind your eyes, whatever the occasional dead- mouthed politician may say. Besides, even if you’re unhappy with your salary, there’s sod all you can do about it. It’s all determined centrally, and rolled out across the entire profession. [...] Nobody joins the NHS looking for plaudits or expecting a gold star or a biscuit every time they do a good job, but you’d think it might be basic psychology (and common sense) to occasionally acknowledge, if not reward, good behavior to get the most out of your staff.’ (Kay, Adam ‘This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor.’ Pg 86 & 88; 2018, Picador.) Kay's reflections on pay and his sentiments put me right back in my classrooms of 10+ years ago; the fact that the wages are so vastly disproportionate to the work (but if you complain, it must be because you aren't prepared to give your all for the children.) That the weekends spent marking and the holidays spent rehearsing productions or (get this) laying new flooring in the classrooms went by uncommented upon and unrecognized in any way that would improve my quality of life. It’s really not about the money, it never was, but when you’re living paycheck to paycheck and your car exhaust is hanging off because you can’t afford to get it fixed until the end of the month, it’s important to recognize that a little more financial recognition would make a little bit of difference to your sense of self worth. In no small way, the teaching situation in the UK led me to my first overseas adventure- in a state (public) school in the USA. If you get chance, and whichever country you’re from, it’s worth picking up Kay’s book. It’s a reminder of the sacrifices that are made by others to ensure that we get the care, and service, we need when we need it. |
About the AuthorPassionate about learning, creativity, innovation and tech. Brit Abroad keen to work with others to make the world a little kinder. Archives
April 2019
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