ISEDCoach - a brand new chat for International School Tech coaches or integrators. We will be starting our very first chat on the 22nd of March. Our first topic is Come and join the discussion as we define ourselves as a community and decide on topics for future chats. Follow #isedcoach on Twitter.
A1: Being a better listener. This year I've tried to take more of a step back to understand the problems thoroughly before I offer suggestions. #isedcoach
A1: I think one of the biggest challenges I have had is transitioning from teaching kids to teaching adults. Getting adults to pay attention is often harder sometimes haha #isedcoach
A2: Trying your best to stay neutral. Offer help, not criticism, say yes as often as you can, and most importantly ask about people's lives outside of work to build trust and connections #isedcoach
A2 #ISEdCoach it is also important as a coach that you don’t have a policing role, you need to be there to support staff not reinforce rules or monitor people
Yeah exactly....how do you manage to keep that trust? So that when you walk in the room it's always positive? I try to be as smiley as possible haha #isedcoach
Agreed. We are not in supervisory positions #isedcoach It is sometimes tricky to navigate that when you witness some instructional practices that might be a bit “cringy"
Q3: Coaches often have information, updates, or cool ideas to share with staff. What tip would you offer to other coaches on the best approach to sharing. #ISEdCoach
A3: meet them at their level. Providing a variety of PD opps at various times throughout the week, sending email newsletters with mailchimp, and just trying to help one on one whenever I can. I used to do a blog but it didn't get any views so I adjusted my approach! #isedcoach
A3 #isedcoach I have a weekly staff blog with hints and tips which gets put into our daily notices every day for the week. I also blog lots and lots and spend heaps of time in the staffroom talking to people
A3: I use twitter a lot to get ideas out there. I tag teachers I think will find something useful. Of course just one strategy since not everyone uses Twitter #isedcoach
That's one thing I could never get staff to read...a blog. Now that I send weekly emails though I need a place to catalog all my information. Might be heading back to a blog approach next year #ISEdCoach
A3 #isedcoach I have a weekly staff blog with hints and tips which gets put into our daily notices every day for the week. I also blog lots and lots and spend heaps of time in the staffroom talking to people
I have tried a few different formats. I usually favor landing it in their school email inbox which is where teachers “exist” most often. Plus Twitter being problematic in China is a tough nut #ISEdCoach
A3: I agree that Twitter is the fastest way to share information to individual teachers but it's hard when not everyone is on board. Hopefully that will change as they see the benefits #isedcoach
A3: I use twitter a lot to get ideas out there. I tag teachers I think will find something useful. Of course just one strategy since not everyone uses Twitter #isedcoach
A3 find out what people are using online to connect and access with ease. This varies from country to country and peeps personal preference. Knowing your audience is key. #isedcoach
Q3: Coaches often have information, updates, or cool ideas to share with staff. What tip would you offer to other coaches on the best approach to sharing. #ISEdCoach
A4: I know I always say this one but I love @mailchimp for attractive emails. If you're going to share information then it should look visually appealing. I also LOVE Padlet for keeping all my stuff in one place. I have about 30 different ones for things I collect #isedcoach
A4 #ISEdCoach youcanbookme is great for my bookings, they can get to my booking form via our splash page, via my site or it is also linked on every email I sent (in the signature)
A4: I also use Chrome extensions to keep myself organized. OneNote has a great one where you can use a web clipper to add things directly into a Notebook. Also the Padlet Chrome extension is a life saver #isedcoach
Q4. Tool top tool tip - simple device related ones always get a huge ooooooooooh from the room. IPad camera qr code reader is awesome. Plus anything that shares multiple devices to the screen. Kids love seeing themselves & their work in large digital format! #isedcoach
I am finding emails get “lost” or pushed to the bottom on pile..tried a Google Calendar which Ts subscribe too - attached is the session overview #ISEdCoach
A4: working at a school that uses Apple products has spoiled me. I use Airdrop all the time to share resources. I also uses Apple TV to display things from multiple devices quickly #isedcoach
Honestly…and I am sheepish to admit it. #Office365 has helped keep shared docs and meeting notes in easy to find places across teams this year. #isedcoach#Seesaw also helps make my job easier in that it works so well and is so intuitive.
A3: #isedcoach I recommend a multifaceted approach that is personalised. e.g. for some, a F2F chat; for others, a tweet; generally, a blog post; others, an email tailored to content which is personally relevant to them.
A5: I like to mix it up with games, teacher choice, and lots of food. We do a TTT (teachers teaching teachers) here and get everyone involved #isedcoach
A5: I have also taken the “bad” staff meeting dates-the one right be fore a vacation or times when the staff have low bandwidth for a meeting. On these dates we do a wine, dine and design, or a playdate around apps with food and drink #isedcoach
A5 get them moving and doing alot. Allow a lot of time for chat about how they can apply to their own environment and situation. Teach a few sneaky tools and tips as you go. Aim for a wow and reel them in. #isedcoach
A2: Get to know people without worrying too much about connecting that to technology (or whatever you are coaching them). Get to know them because people are interesting, not because you’re being strategic and will pounce with the latest app. Be human about it #ISEdCoach
A5 Circle the room and engage f2f so you can discover and discuss the problems as they come up. Use it as an opportunity to learn yourself so that you can connect to your audience about them as well as model failure and problem solving tech. #isedcoach
A5 adults are not so different from kids when they learn, but one difference is they want to know the WHY. Why is it important for them to learn something. Making sure that is clear is #1 #isedcoach
A6 I have just joined the twittersphere and it has been a revelation for all kinds of awesome ideas. Was even able to follow along with the singapore conference! #ISEdCoach
Yes #pubPDAsia has been an awesome way to connect and share. It also helped some newbie Twitter users to see the benefit for professional/personal learning #isedcoach
A6. Twitter #natch! My pln is awesome and motivates me daily. I read a lot too. My coaching experience is still in its infancy so I am constantly talking notes of conversations and ideas and goal setting my own path in coaching. #isedcoach
Sometimes people ask me the difference between Pinterest and Twitter and I can even begin to explain. I often say that Pinterest is static and Twitter is alive! #isedcoach
A6 having a school hashtag is a great way to see what is going on around school. I am always looking at #aisgz to see what is happening with my colleagues in upper school #isedcoach
Pinterest is a curation tool. but you can also discover content on it. Twitter is more firehose and you need some curation tools to hold onto things #ISEdCoach
