Ask The Tech Coach

In this episode of "Ask the Tech Coach", Jeff sits down with educator, administrator, and author Jethro Jones to discuss his new book "SchoolX" and share effective ways for Tech Coaches to help their administrators see their goals and visions to their fullest potential. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today! Follow our Podcast and Subscribe https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/teachercast-podcast/ (View All Episodes) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-teachercast-podcast/id546631310?mt=2 (Apple Podcasts) https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLmZlZWRidXJuZXIuY29tL1RlYWNoZXJjYXN0Q2FzdFBvZGNhc3RGZWVk (Google Podcasts) https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/teachercast-podcast/the-teachercast-podcast-network-your-educational-professional?refid=stpr (Stitcher Radio) About our Guest: Jethro Jones Jethro Jones, 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of th

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss reflecting on the past few weeks as the year has begun and how we can use professional development to grow and move forward to continue making it a great year. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!) In Todays Episode, We Discuss Reflection from the first few weeks -  What went well? How can you, a

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss with Dr. Dan Kreiness how Tech Coaches can take simple, yet effective leadership roles in their districts without even being asked by their administrators. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!) 3 Ways to Take On Leadership Roles In Your School District Digital Organization and Efficiency Support - (Jef

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss how Microsoft Teams can be used to organize not just one, but a group of Technology Coaches to unify district communication and create a focused professional development portal for thousands of teachers and students. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!) In Todays Episode, We Discuss What is Microsoft

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss the first things you should be doing and thinking about when being put in a position of leading other Tech Coaches. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!) In Todays Episode, We Discuss How do we start in a new position? What are the best ways to get to know your new staff? What tools do we use to

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss ways to keep organized and get into a consistent routine both personally and digitally as you start a new school year. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!) In Todays Episode, We Discuss Organize your Drive! Have a consistent place to keep notes, dates, etc. Yes, as a tech coach you are still all

In this episode of Ask the Tech Coach, Jeff discusses Augmented Reality with Parker McDonough from https://education.seekxr.com/ (Seek Education). If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today! In This Episode ... Topic 1 - Augmented reality for distance learning With many schools not returning in-person this fall, teachers and parents are looking for innovative ways to educate kids. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/upshot/coronavirus-home-school-parents.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200819&instance_id=21408&nl=the-morning&regi_id=130597689&section_index=3&section_name=idea_of_the_day_how_to_improve_remote_learning&segment_id=36497&te=1&user_id=b28853524fe24b98d1f51b289c52e273 (A New York Times study) launched this week revealed just 1 in 7 parents said their children will not be return

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan welcome Zak Ringelstein to discuss how to incorporate project-based learning in the classroom during this season we are in dealing with Covid and its impact on education. We talk about what PBL looks like in a hybrid situation and making it engaging for students whether face to face or virtual.   If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Cl

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss the Tech Coach Live virtual conference and break down all the action from the big event! If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. Join the TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? The https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (TeacherCast Tech Coaches Network), is a brand new Professional Learning Network designed specifically for Tech Coaches and designed to provide weekly support for all Instructional Coaches. https://www.teachercast.net/TCNForm (Click Here to Join!)   Join the TeacherCast Instructional Coaches Network! Are you a Tech Coach or looking to become one this year? Are you searching for support in your position? Th

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss the Tech Coach Live virtual conference that happens on Saturday, August 15, 2020. They go over the list of sessions that will include numerous panelists with tech coaching experiences. We hope you will join us for the Virtual Conference over on YouTube on our TeacherCast channel. https://youtu.be/D0OgVEaVjRE (https://youtu.be/D0OgVEaVjRE)  Tech Coach Live Sessions Introducing the "NEW" Google Certified Tech Coach Hire me: How to Get Your First Tech Coach Job What Do Tech Coaches Do? Relationship Building: Winning Over Your Staff in those First Faculty Meetings Step Up your Instructional Coaching Data Game First Weeks of School: Interacting With Staff Engaging and Relevant PD Sessions New Teacher Orientation: How much do you give to new teachers … what do you give to new teachers … how do you not overwhelm them? How do we ease teachers into a new school year?

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss our favorite Video Solutions for Tech Coaches and discuss Pro's and Con's for each application. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. In this episode, we discuss: Virtual Meeting Applications episode link to debate episode……. https://meet.google.com/ (Google Meet) Pros Many features are free Easy to use … people are familiar with the platform Connects to Google Classroom Cons Many features might end up being Enterprise overtime Doesn’t have many features that other platforms have https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software (Microsoft Teams) Pros Extremely feature rich “Free” with Microsoft package Connects with additional apps both Office and non-Office https:

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan talk about organizing this school year that is looking more and more different by the day.   If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our http://teachercast.net/contact (Contact Page) and let us know how we can help you today. In this episode, we discuss: What is your school district doing to prepare? Susan talks about the first day of school at one of their campuses as they transition back. What precautions is your school district/buildings taking with returning to school face to face or using a hybrid approach? How does / will your tech coaching day look different? How has planning PD changed? Different approach to PD for teachers and staff Serving families whose children are learning at home through a hybrid/blended model Dealing with conversations in addition to technology in areas such as social/emotional, etc. How a

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Sue sit down with (title) Sandy Paul to discuss what administrators really think about the Tech Coach Position. In this episode, we discuss: Why does a School District need a Tech Coach? What qualifies someone to be a Tech Coach? What do you look for when interviewing Tech Coaches? What does a Tech Coach Resume look like? How do you prepare your staff for having a Coach on staff? How do you prepare your staff for the concept of being “Coached” by another staff member? Why is it important to think of a Tech Coach as “Instructional” rather than IT support? What advice can a Tech Coach take away from today's episode? About our Guest: Presently Director of Information Technology and Operations. Past Senior Instructional Technologist at Rutgers University. Previous Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for the Sayreville Public Schools. I have 22 years of experience as a Director and prio

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan continue the “Tools For Tech Coaches” discussion throughout this month of July. Today we talk about Wakelet and how you can “Catch the Wakelet Wave” as we welcome Bruce Reicher to share his many experiences and how he has used Wakelet for his own productivity, coaching teachers, and with his students. Topics Discussed What is Wakelet and curation? How do you use it for your professional development and for your classroom? What are some interesting ways you have seen Wakelet used? How can students use Wakelet too? My PD Wakelet - http://www.wakelet.com/@reicher (www.wakelet.com/@reicher) My School Wakelet - http://www.wakelet.com/@breicher (www.wakelet.com/@breicher)  PD Google Site - https://sites.google.com/view/brucereicherpd/home (https://sites.google.com/view/brucereicherpd/home) Susan’s Wakelet Collections - https://wakelet.com/@sv314dws (https://wakelet.com/@sv314dws

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan welcome Scott Bricker as we kick off the month of July focusing on Tech Tools for Tech Coaches. Scott will share ways to use Microsoft SWAY to create dynamic presentations as you train teachers and show them best practice tools to use with students. 5 Ways to use Microsoft SWAY in the Classroom Weekly newsletter Flipped Classroom Reimagining curriculum & textbooks Portfolios & Assessment Groupwork & Collaboration About our Guest: Scott Bricker Scott is the Director of Educational Technology at Santa Margarita Catholic High School and is charged with leading the school's Ed Tech Program for its 1650 Students and 115 Teachers. SMCHS is a proud Microsoft Showcase School and Scott is enjoying his 6th year as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE) and his second year as an MIEE Fellow, connections which have all been instrumental in fostering Scott’s passion for gr

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan welcome an awesome panel of tech coaches to discuss using video with training teachers and teaching students. We discussed what we have learned, what our teachers have learned, and ideas for best practices. Topics Discussed What have we learned about creating video to instruct our teachers? What have we learned about creating video to instruct our students? New Teacher Orientation What advice do we have for “newbies?” Camera angle at or a bit above eye level iPhone back camera is higher quality Interesting background helpful Light on your face Stay closer to your audio source. Be sure to look at your camera lens and not at yourself. Put an interesting picture/photo above your camera to focus on to look up at the camera. Amazing New Drawing Tool:  https://www.amazon.com/wacom-tablet/s?k=wacom+tablet (Wacom Tablet) for writing/annotations onto screen Makin

Are you looking forward to a new school year but it is just too early to bring new teachers into the building for training? Learn how to make the best PD decisions today! In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan discuss a variety of ways that school districts can be successful onboarding new teachers before the school gets started! Whether it is physical or virtual, introduce yourself as the coach/trainer via video and send it out prior so they have a name, face, and voice to put together to make them feel more at ease. Physical Training Acknowledge the various levels of background knowledge of the teachers coming in. Think about a self-paced checklist for them to complete where you are not lecturing but having them complete a checklist for proof of knowledge and you are available to answer questions. We call ours “Getting to Know Tech at CASS” - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BEPiEkVFcEigx9ImY8HTC3H3AMu47FoG/view?usp=sharing

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan talk about what summer PD and the summer conference training season will look like as we move forward in planning for a new school year and training teachers.  5 Strategies for Running a Successful Professional Development Bootcamp A lot of what we have been doing in our classrooms over the recent weeks is going to hold over into summer professional development and conference planning as we work to train veteran teachers and newly hired teachers in virtual teaching strategies that can be successfully blended easily into a face to face classroom. Relevancy - How do I determine what my teachers need? Have a vision of what the trainings should accomplish and for whom. Flexibility - What are the advantages of running online trainings? Anytime, Anywhere Differentiated for the teacher giving them choice Can be Self-Paced Teach the idea of Flipped Learning by structuring PD this way

https://sites.google.com/globalgeg.org/globalgeg/ ()In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff welcomes https://twitter.com/mrshowell24 (Stephanie Howell) and https://twitter.com/SummerfordStars?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (Melissa Summerford) on the program to learn about the brand new Google Educator Groups that are designed to help connect educators and provide an amazing professional learning experience for teachers and school districts. Are you looking for a Google Educator Group near you?   Check out all of the great resources on https://edu.google.com/latest-news/communities/?modal_active=none (Google Educator Group website) or learn how you can https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MiGmuAou4EBZiyl7uDHATg-IHdGE1RcKXS7wT0bjykU/preview (start your own chapter today!) Topics Discussed What are Google Educator Groups? What do Google Educator Group meetings look like? How do you build a community? What a

In this episode of “https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/ask-the-tech-coach/ (Ask the Tech Coach),” Jeff and Susan talk about evaluating tech tools, things to consider,  and working with administrators on purchasing needed technology for physical and virtual classrooms. How to Score Your First Tech Coach Position Getting Qualified for the Interview What makes you qualified to become a Tech Coach? Reflect upon and own your strengths; don’t be afraid to tout your knowledge with back information of how your knowledge can help others. Remember just because you are a “tech geek”, it doesn’t always make you a good tech coach. A good tech coach needs to be able to talk the tech talk, but also talk the talk at the level of the teacher/user/beginner, etc. Are EdTech Badges necessary? Should you look to get out of the classroom? Reflection - Know your WHY!  Why are you really wanting a position like this, make sure you have motivation driving you and not burn out or frustration driving you away fr