For 20+years whenever someone asked what I did it was easy to answer -“I’m a teacher.” No explanation needed. Now my job as an instructional technology specialist often takes a bit more explanation. Maybe this picture can help. Tonight Gordon and I leave for ISTE13 – the annual conference of The International Society for Technology in Education in San Antonio. 11000+ attendees. Iʻm excited yet nervous as Iʻll be presenting sessions with leaders of the edtech coaching world. Iʻm also guiding a group of teachers from KES on their first trip to ISTE as they prepare for our newly approved 1:1 project. I am so very grateful to Kamehameha Schools for proving me an amazing team and environment. I have grown so much these past 5 years. Next post will be from San Antonio. Imua!!

Happy New Year!

One of my goals this year centers around improving my skills as an Instructional Technology Specialist/Tech Coach.  All too often schools roll out technology and for whatever reason, provide little to no professional development for integration of the tools into the curriculum.  Using a laptop or iPad for personal use is very different than knowing how to use it effectively with students.  Thankfully the Kamehameha Schools does acknowledge the need for ongoing training and support.  I am incredibly blessed to serve on a wonderful team of instructional technology specialists (coaches) that is always looking for new and innovative ways to support our teachers.

Technology now allows us to expand our resource pool beyond our island boundaries and connect with tech coaches all over the world.  This summer and fall I worked with a group of talented tech coaches on the mainland to launch an ISTE SIG for Coaches.  ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education and a SIG is a Special Interest Group.  It was formally launched in December 2012.  We launched this SIG to be a resource for those that support teachers with integrating technology into their curriculum.  We are planning coaching webinars beginning in late January 2013 and will post resources on our wiki.

In June I will be participating in a panel discussion on coaching for educational transformation with yet another group of amazing tech coaches at the 2013 ISTE Convention in San Antonio Texas. I can’t wait to share all that I learn at the conference with my team, my teachers and SIG members.

For those who may ask, “What is a tech coach?”  I have a brief article for you to read.   As I find new articles related to this topic I’ll post them here.  You can follow this strand by clicking on the Coaching link in the menu bar.  Check back soon for more information and tech tips and tricks.

Aloha and may 2013 bring joy and peace to us all.