Not everybody likes edtech as much as I do. In fact there aren’t that many that do.
My twitter feed leans heavily towards educational technology. I subscribe to blogs geared specifically towards edtech. I often disappear down “google rabbit holes” looking for something and then finding another. New apps, websites or technology are things I find very exciting.
My online life is curated to provide me with a drip, drip, drip of educational technology ideas.
But I understand that not every teacher has the same strange hobbies that I do.
As a technology coach in a school of 130 teachers, I wanted to find a way to provide the same drip of tech knowledge that I find so useful. So….
The idea is simple. A short email automatically sent each Tuesday morning at 6am. This builds an awareness of educational technology and how it can, and is, being used in real classrooms.
The emails are loosely timed to coincide with the stage in the learning cycle. Right now we’re moving in towards the end of the term, so the tech tips are focused on revision and consolidation of knowledge.
The emails always have the “testimonials”. See below for what one of these testimonials looks like.
faces blurred to protect the awesome.
I find these testimonials help so that teachers know that it’s not just the “tech coach” guy saying it’s a great idea. Actual teachers, from our own school, are using the tool or technique and are really enjoying it. I find the testimonials they write are always enlightening as well. They show HOW and WHY they are using the tool in a real educational setting.
After the introduction and the testimonials, comes the video tutorial on how the technology works. It’s always 3 minutes, no longer, as teachers just don’t have that much time. I work really hard to keep these videos short. If you watch the video below, you’ll see what I mean!
It’s PD in small, bite-sized pieces.
If a teacher watches every tech tip tuesday video in a year, that’s:
- 40 new edtech ideas
- 2 hours of video PD
- 1 teacher who’s now on board with technology.
I love your edtech Tuesday idea and might try to find another enthusiastic staff member to start something similar in our school. I especially like the idea that staff would engage with up to 40 new ideas in a year. Thanks for the great idea.