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I rushed to get down to ISTE '19 in Philadelphia this past June excited to learn and network with all the passionate educators in attendance. The first workshop on my list was to see Emily Davis and Brad Currie talk about their new book Tech Request: A Guide for Coaching Educators in the Digital World. Their presentation on Sunday morning was #1 on my must attend list and it did not disappoint.
I don't know about you guys but when I left student teaching in 2008, I was gifted The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher by Harry Wong. When I was hired for my first teaching job, I got another copy at orientation (which was really useful for when I spilled coffee all over the first one). I held onto that book my first year like the holy grail. It helped me to develop procedures and think about how to manage my classroom. Over my ten years in the classroom, I definitely evolved my procedures and management practice, but it was a great jumping off point for me the first year. It was like having a mentor that prepared you for a transition where you weren't sure what to expect. Tech Request is like that: a mentor to help prepare you for the transition out of the classroom when you aren't sure what to expect. So, it would probably be a good idea if someone starts gifting Tech Request to Technology Coaches the same way they gave out The First Days of School.
Here in New Jersey, "Technology Coach" is a broad term which makes the position different in each of the 500+ districts in the state. Tech Request is a great resource for those that end up in any position that requires working with teachers, support staff and district leadership in a coaching or professional development role. It also is a great resource for innovating systemic change in a position that isn't really a leader by title but is by circumstance. Here are my top three takeaways from Tech Request.
#1 Focus on people before you focus on technology.
All people (kids and adults included) have their own knowledge, skills, responsibilities, passions, and motivations. People need to know that you care about them before you make suggestions or have open conversations about their classroom. I'm not the first person to claim relationships are paramount, but if you want to "land recruits" as Emily and Brad say, you really need to "build relational trust, establish confidentiality and provide assistance in a timely fashion."
#2 Keep a log.
This seems obvious but if we're being honest with each other, I don't really have a log (yet). I usually go back through my Google calendar, but that isn't an effective way to think about your impact or the effectiveness of your program. Brad and Emily suggest you can use the log for your own reflection and growth, but also to collect and share data to evaluate the effectiveness of your program. The log should be collecting both "implementation and impact metrics." Not only are you looking at pure numbers of the times you gave assistance, but whether that assistance was effective or not. Looking at the breadth, depth and scope of your work will help you determine where you are being successful and where you can improve.
#3 Don't be afraid to be a leader.
Coaches aren't administrators, which I think is a good thing. However, you don't have to be an administrator to be a leader. Brad and Emily believe coaches are leaders by default and they say coaches "lead from the middle." Coaches can speak from the classroom perspective and often have a broader understanding of the needs of the school or district. Coaches are often the first to learn new technology, encourage others to try it out and assist in creating system-wide change that is researched and logical. It's important as a coach to realize your potential impact and remember what it's like to be on the front lines too.
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