Very recently, I was given an opportunity of a lifetime.  Go around and help teachers use technology in their classrooms.  Title: Educational Technology Coach.  Even though I'm not a fan of the word "coach" to describe a supporter of teachers, I'm rolling with it.  

With that being said, there are plenty of approaches that I could take as a new educational technology coach for the district.  My goals are to keep myself humble and honest, work hard for every teacher in the district and, above all else, improve the opportunities for student success.

I hope I always put students above everything else.  Just today, I had the chance to walk around my former campus (I had been there all of 4 months) and it was such a breath of fresh air.  After being in the office for my first week, this was certainly refreshing.  It wasn't so much the air.  It was only a few miles north of my office, so I was still inhaling the conglomerate smog of the Los Angeles and San Bernardino basins.  No, it was the kids.  It was such a relieving moment walking around and seeing teenagers interact with each other, themselves, and their environment.  I hope I always miss the kids like I do today.

I hope I always miss the classroom.  It may have been a mistake, but one of the first things that I did when getting to my old site was walking into the classroom that my students poured into for four months.  It didn't bring tears, but it certainly made me reflect (heck, it's why I'm writing this right now).  Much like a movie flashback, I immediately recalled students coming in with every different story and reaction I could imagine.  From making the soccer team to wondering what the agenda was to asking to go to the bathroom, it was powerful to stand in room 203 and allow that to sink in.  I hope I always have that feeling of wanting my own classroom again.

I hope I always help teachers celebrate the small victories.  Even from the onset of technology integration, it has been fun to help teachers get accustomed to using tech their way at their pace.  This was so true today.  My partner and I walked around my former site and introduced ourselves to the staff and asked if there were any burning tech questions that could get answered on the spot.  Many people passed, some asked when we were getting Doceri or better speakers, but a few asked some rewarding questions.  How can I use Doctopus?  Woohoo!  Can you help me set up my Remind101 account?  Sure thing!  How can I use the iPad for a math classroom?  This is when I get REALLY excited.  It didn't matter what the question was; there were plenty of teachers who were willing and ready to ask for support.  As time goes on, I hope that I will always cherish those small conversations and victories along the way.

I hope I always remember that there is something to learn.  Here I am, district tech coach, one of the guys who can come and help you with anything you need for tech integration in your classroom.  And then, it happens... I don't know the answer to a question.  The weird part?  I enjoyed it.  "I'll look into it and get back to you before the end of the week" has never been a more pleasant response.  This new role will force me to push my knowledge of technology along with good pedagogy.  I don't want to leave a classroom knowing that I could've done more.  Hopefully my mindset will always be that my knowledge of technology, and good teaching strategies in general, will forever be in its infancy.

I hope I always love what I do.  This goes without saying, but it's a way to keep myself honest.  If this job becomes a burden on my family, I'm out.  If this job, no matter when, isn't about making students' lives and educational experiences better, I'm out.  Some folks have made comments about how this is a great job because there are no papers to grade, discipline to deal with, or bells to concern myself with.  To be honest, I didn't mind grading because my most recent years were filled with assigning meaningful tasks.  I didn't grade papers that I wasn't prepared for.  We all have "that kid", but I didn't have discipline issues.  The bells didn't bother me; in fact, I enjoyed the structure.  I didn't get away from any aspect of teaching.  I hope I always love walking in and helping teachers help their students.

Happy Fishing

Think back to the last time you were told about a new restaurant and how you needed to go check it out.  Your connection has told you that it was sure to be tasty, but you still weren't too sure.  It's pretty hard to live up to the expectations that grammy and Aunt Erin have set the bar to in terms of food quality, presentation, and overall feel-goodness (sure, it's a word).  This weekend, Matt Vaudrey and I had just that task.

To start with, any time you can get within arm's reach of Matt Vaudrey, enjoy it.  He's funny, insightful, and above all else, personable beyond belief.  OK, I'm done complimenting him for now.

Our theme for the day was La Cucina Matematica, and if you want the links, feel free to go HERE.  

Appetizers:

The premise was to start the attendees with something tasty to whet the appetite.  At the very beginning of the day, we had pitchers of water at each table.  Even before introducing ourselves, we had the teachers in attendance estimate how many cups it would take to fill the pitcher.  They didn't even know who we were, and we were already putting them to work.  This could've either been disastrous or served as a springboard for the rest of the day.

Following the answer and introductions, we jumped right into the appetizers for the day.  Thanks to the amazing people in the MTBoS (Math Twitter Blogosphere - don't yell at me about the name), there are tons of free kickstarters for any math classroom out there.  Our job was to merely expose the teachers to each and get them excited about incorporating something into their classroom.  For our appetizers, go HERE.

Entrees:

Looking for a delightful and hearty meal that your students can chew on?  How about a delicious entree full of vitamins, nutrients, and common core Standards for Mathematical Practice?  During this segment of the day, we went through some of our favorite performance tasks and 3-Act math that students can do while being tricked into completing math.  Whether it was Barbie Zipline, the famous Mullet Ratio, or many of our other favorites, the members of the audience were chomping at the bit for more ways to engage their students.  Our hope is that we didn't disappoint, and you can check them out HERE.

Side Dishes:

Any good meal has side dishes that accompany the flavor and essence that the main dish is attempting to bring out.  During this section of the day, our goal was to show teachers that it's more than just the lesson that makes the content pop.  Whether it is the integration of technology, costumes, musical cues, going outside, or simply adding hype, the need to pair a delicious lesson with a succulent side is pertinent. You can check out the side dishes HERE.

Dessert:

What good is a meal if you can't top it off with some dessert?  This is the way that teachers find out how sweet the lesson really was, so we wanted to give them some options that break the norm.  The big one is the Choose Your Own Assessment and you can read more about it HERE.  One of the big points of emphasis was student choice and letting a student choose his/her strength to prove mastery.  It was incredible when one teacher raised her hand and commented about how she never realized that she was being unfairly judgmental about getting student products that weren't in their wheelhouse.  For our other dessert choices, go HERE.

Take-Out Menu:

To wrap things up, we talked about Twitter and how effective it has been for the improvement of our teaching and the support that it provides.  Seriously, all of you (math or not), thank you for being there for me whenever I need it.  For our Take-Out Menu, go HERE.

Following the training, we offered an opportunity to go over some of the tech tips that we were using to make the presentation or some of our lessons.  How did you do that video thingy?  Where did you get that image?  All of that fun stuff.  One of the best conversations that I overheard was a guy asking for help with using Desmos.  Yes, Matt and I are members of the Desmos Fan Club.

All in all, it was extremely exhausting.  The planning, the time, the effort, the working around each other's schedules, the thinking about how to make it a day where people walk away with something meaningful, was a lot of stress.  However, when we finished, I felt like a chef who had just endured rush hour at one of the best restaurants in Maricopa County.  We are looking forward to bringing our meals to any district hungry enough to have us. 

If you're interested, please let us know!

Happy Fishing (and eating)