Why?
Without a process to recommend apps, your teachers will get overwhelmed with all of the options. We’ve learned that a process is essential, and that asking teachers to evaluate high-quality resources needs to include ALL resources – digital and static. This prevents an either/or discussion (either I use digital tools, or I don’t), and gives the school a chance to re-evaluate their funding allocation.
How?
- Work with your teacher leadership team to create a rubric for how to evaluate high-quality resources (digital and static).
- Consider asking students to help test apps and tools as well.
- Look across the current tools used in all school-wide processes and identify places where efficiencies could be created by using a new solution.
Resources:
Read the Improving Ed-Tech Purchasing market study on the Digital Promise blog.
Read “Apps in the Classroom” from Apple.
Check out “Ways to Evaluate Educational Apps” from Learning in Hand.
Why?
The learning coach cannot be the strategy for ongoing technical support; she/he should be the voice and conversation of learning. Other alternatives include in-house IT support, a very clear IT process, and a student leadership team.
How?
- Creating a student leadership team goes a lot further than just providing support; students will help prevent problems by being the eyes and ears on the ground.
- Identify a few students in every class who can learn basic troubleshooting; they can help with issues that teachers might normally call in for support.
- Use a ticketing system and check regularly for common issues that could be prevented.
- Develop a device incident workflow and communicate broadly what steps should be taken when a device isn’t working properly.
Resources:
Watch this video: “Don’t Put Technology in Schools Without Doing This First”, featuring Evanston-Skokie District 65 and Bristol Township School District.
Watch this video: “Student Technology Teams: Meet the Tiger Techs”, featuring Armstrong Middle School.
Read our blog post “Remember that Students are your Best Partners”
Read: “Student-run genius bar: The facilitator’s guide” from ISTE.