CoachProject

SeptemberNovember2015

Week1September14
Downloadingapps

Activities
Downloadingapps
Google
Createusernames/passwords

Evidence
Googledrive
GoogleDoc
GoogleSlide

Summary:Forthefirstmeeting,Ineededtomakesurethattheappsthatwewouldneedwere
ontheiriPads.WedownloadedGoogleDrive,Doc,andSlides.Wehiredtwoprimaryteachers
thisyearandtheyjustreceivedtheirteacheriPad.TheiriPadsdidnothaveGoogleapps
preloadedontotheiriPads.
Reflection:Ilearnedfromthementoringprojectthatnotallteachershavethesameappsloaded
ontheiriPads.Soforthefirstmeeting,Iwantedtomakesuretheyhadtheappsbeforewemove
forward.Likethementoringproject,teachershadissueswiththeirGoogleaccounts,suchas,
usernameandpassword.Oneteacherhadherowngmailaccount,butneverusedherschool
gmailaccount.Anotherteacherdidnothaveagmailaccountandhadtocreateone.Iknew
thesecanbeeasilyoverlookedsoImadesuretheseissuesdonthinderusfrommovingforward
inthefollowingweek.
Week29/21
Wordprocessing
Pages

Activities
Create/openfile
Typecontent
Savefile
Changefontsize,type,bullets,tables
Insertimages
Insertvideo
Hyperlink

Evidence
Afilewithatleast
twosentences,an
image,andavideo.

Summary:Thisweek,weworkedonPages,aniOSappusedfortypingdocuments.Thisisa
preloadedappfromourdistrict.Weworkedonstartingadocumentandtypingafewsentences.
After,weworkedonchangingfontsizeandfont,andcreatingbulletsandtables.Laterwe

workedoninsertingimagesandvideoontheirdocumenttotransformtheirfiletoamultimedia
file.TeacherswilltakeapictureandvideowiththeiriPadandinsertthemintothedocument.I
didnotgetachancetoteachthemhowtohyperlink.Weranoutoftime.
Reflection:Theteacherswereexcitedtobeabletochangefontsizeandtype.Theyplayedwith
itforawhiletheygotthejestofit.Tocreatebullets,Isuggestedthattheytypethecontent
withoutthebulletsuntilitwascompletelydone,thentheywouldgobacktosettheindentations.
Thatwasmucheasierthantocreatetheirindentationastheyweretyping.Teachersalsohadfun
takingpicturesandvideoswiththeiriPad.Afewteachershadtroublepluckingthephotolens
coveroff,butafterafewtrieswassuccessful.Later,Idemonstratedhowtoinsertpicturesand
videos.Theyhadfunwiththat.Afterchoosingapicturefromtheirlibrary,theyinsertedtheir
photosontheirdocumentandevenadjustedthesizeofthephoto.Theywereexcitedaboutthat.
Inaddition,theyeveninsertedvideoontheirdocument.Weranoutoftimesowedidnotgeta
chancetotryhyperlinking.Iwilltryitnextweek.Teacherswereamazedtoseewhattheyhad
doneonthefirstdayof"school."Someteachersevenwonderedwhyourschoolisnotproviding
thistrainingforthem.Butbecausethesehavenotusedtheircomputerforanythingelsebutto
takeattendance,theymissedoutontheopportunitiestolearntheseskillsoverthesummer.Our
schooldistrictdidoffertheseclasses,butteachersneededtoregisteronline,whichwasprobably
somethingtheydidknowhowtodo.
Week39/28
Spreadsheet
Numbers

Activities
Createtablesandcharts

Evidence
Createandcompare
dataofclassroom's
favoritethemeparks.

Summary:Thisweek,weworkedonNumbers,aniOSappusedforcreatingspreadsheets.
Thisisapreloadedappfromourdistrict.Weworkedoncreatingadataofstudents'favorite

themeparks.Priortothismeeting,Iaskedtheteacherstotakeasimpletallyoftheirstudents'
favoritethemeparksandtoshareitforthismeeting.Duringourmeeting,Idemonstratedhowto
createachartwithalistofteacher's'namesononecolumnandthenumberofstudentwiththeir
favoritethemeparkonthenextcolumn.ThenIgrabbedalltheircontentandcreatedapiegraph
andabargraph.
Reflection:Theteachersfeltthiswasadifficultactivitytodo.Theylikedthedifferentgraphs
thatweregeneratedandwereimpressedtoseeitdonesoeasily.Similarly,Ifeltthiswasa
difficultapplicationtoteach.Ihadsomedifficultycomingupwithideastocreatebargraphs
andpiecharts.IthinkI'vebeenteachingpreschoolandkindergartenwaytoolong!
Nevertheless,teacherswereabletomaneuverthechartsaroundtheirdataandcreateavisual
representationoftheirdata.
Week410/5
Presentation
Keynote

Activities
Insertslides
Inserttext
Insertimages
Insertvideos

Evidence
Createakeynote
presentationwith
text,images,and
video.

Summary:Thisweek,weworkedonKeynote,aniOSappusedforcreatingpresentations.This
isapreloadedappfromourdistrict.Thisweek,weworkedoncreatingakeynotepresentation
forOpenHouse.Idemonstratedcreatingafewslides,addingtextwithboldheadings,increase
anddecreasefontsize,andaddingimages.First,Istartedoutwithaddingslidesforthe
introduction,whichincludedthewords,"WelcometoOpenHouse,"thenameoftheteacher,and
thedate,wheretheyneededtoaddtext.Onthefollowingpages,Idemonstratedtothemhowto
addimages.Iwantedthemtoaddofstudentsoftheirstudentsworking.Afterwards,I
demonstratedhowtoaddsmallvideosoftheirstudentsworkingonaproject.

Reflection:TeachersOneoftheteachersmadeacommentstatingthatItsgettingharder
everyweek.However,theywereimpressedtoseethattheywereabletousecreatea
presentationwithKeynote.Theyquestionedwhytheywouldeverneedtousethisapp.They
soondiscoveredthattheirstudents,notthemselves,wouldusethisapptocreatedigital
presentations,theywerefinallyexcited.
Week510/12
Presentation
Keynote

Activities
Transitions

Evidence

Summary:Thisweek,weworkedonKeynoteagain.Ifelttheteachersneededalittlebitmore
timeexploringthepossibilitieswiththisapp,soIgavethemmoretimetoaddormakeeditsto
whattheystarted.Weworkedonaddingtransitionstotheirkeynotepresentation.
Reflection:Teachersappreciatedthefactthattheyhadextratimetolearnthisapp.They
wantedtobeableknowhowtoteachitwelltotheirstudents,andmoreimportantly,knowhow
totroubleshootshouldissuesarise.TheydidseemmorecomfortableusingKeynotethesecond
weekaround.
Week610/19
Internet

Activities
Pinterest
YouTube
TeacherTube
LibraryofCongress
NASA
TheNationalScienceDigital
Library

Evidence
Findatleastonegood
resourcefromeachone
ofthesitestheylike.

Summary:Thisweekweworkedonshowingteacherssomevaluableresourcestheycanuseto
supplementtheirlessons.MostteachersalreadyknowhowtoaccessYouTubefromtheiriPad
andthatisit.Sothisweek,IshowedthemPinterest,LibraryofCongress,NASAandThe

NationalScienceDigitalLibrary.Thesesiteshavemanyresourcestosupplementalltheir
lessonsandactivities.
Reflection:Someoftheteachersalreadyhadalotofresourcesandknowledgetosupplement
theirlessons.Eventhoughtheyappreciatedthevastamountofresourcesoutincyberspace,they
felttheydidntneedanymorestuff.Iguessforyoungerteachers(17years)likemyself,all
theseresourcescomeinreallyhandy.TheteacherswereimpressedwithNASAsDistance
LearningNetworkthemostbecausetheyhaveneverseenthatdoneineducation.Itriedtoset
themupsothattheycangetintouchwithoneoftheireducatorsandteachalessonthrough
SKYPE.Babysteps.
Week710/26
Digitalliteracy

Activities
CommonSenseMediadigital
citizenshipactivities
Digitalliteracy

Evidence
Teach2lessonson
digitalcitizenship

Summary:Thisweek,wefocusedonsettingastandardfordigitalcitizenship.Ourschooluses
CommonSenseMedia.orgforallitslessonsandactivitiesbecauseitisengagingandinformative.
Idemonstratedtotheteachershowtoworkthroughthewebsitetofindtheselessonsand
activitiesaccordingthegradetheyteach.Teachershadtoteach10lessonstoensurethatour
childrenarereadyfortheiriPads.Inaddition,Idiscussedtheimportanceofdigitalliteracy.In
themiddleofthedigitalage,noteverythingweseeonthesitesaresafeortrue.Forchildren,
theymaynothavetheskillstodecipherbetweengoodandbad,andthusneedtobeeducatedin
digitalliteracy.Adultsalikealsoneedtolearnthiscomponentasitappliestodigitalcitizenship.
Reflection:Teachersfeltpressedfortimetoteachallthelessonsfordigitalcitizenship.Even
thoughCommonSenseMediaprovidesmanywonderfullessonsandactivities,theywantedto
streamlinethelessons.Ialsodidntrealizetherewouldbeawholecurriculumondigital

citizenship.Somuchsothatyoucanactuallyearnacertificationindigitalcitizenship!Aftermy
10lessons,IwillmeetalltheircriteriasandwillhavebecomeaCertifiedEducatorindigital
citizenship.
Week811/2
CollaborationTools

Activities
Googleforeducation
o Drive
o Forms

Evidence
CreateaGoogle
accountandcreatea
parentsurveyon
GoogleForm

Summary:Thisweek,wefocusedoncreatingaGoogleaccountandlearninghowtomakea
simplequestionnaire,aparentsurvey.IdemonstratedhowtocreateandretrievetheirGoogle
account.Aftertheiraccountswerecreated,IdemonstratedhowtocreateaGoogleDocfileand
savetheirfileautomaticallyonGoogleDrive.SinceIdidntwanttoconfusethemtoomuch,I
brieflydemonstratedtheshareandsynchronousfeatures.Wewillgooverthatfeaturemorein
depthnextweek.Afterwards,IdemonstratedhowtocreateaGoogleForms.Teacherscanuse
thisapptocreatetestsandevengradedwithFlubaroo.Teachersjustcreatedasimpleparent
surveythattheycansendouttotheirparents.
Reflection:Fromthementoringproject,Ilearnedthatdownloadingappscanbealongprocess,
especiallywhenpasswordscomeintoplay.Someteachersdidntremembertheirpasswordsand
hadtocreatenewonesandsoforth.So,forthisproject,Idecidedtoreservesometimeforthese
troubleshootingissues.
Week911/9
CollaborationTools

Activities
Googleforeducation
o Drive
o Forms
o Doc

Evidence
CreateGoogleDoc
andshare

Summary:Thisweek,wefocusedmoreoncreatingaGoogleDocsfile,sharingit,and
demonstratingworkingcollaboratively.BeforewestartedonGoogleDoc,IreviewedDriveand
Forms.IexpectedteacherstohavebeenabletounderstandanduseDriveandForms.Butbefore
movingahead,Iwantedtomakesuretheywerecomfortablewithlastweekslesson.Afterwards,
IdemonstratedGoogleDoc.Mostteachershaveusedawordprocessor.Theonlyfeaturereally
newtothemwassharinganditsabilityworkonthesamefilesynchronously.
Reflection:SincethenextfewlessonsfocusedonGoogleproducts,IfeltIneededteachersto
makesuretheyunderstoodeachlessonbeforemovingforward.So,partofthesessionincluded
reviewfromthepreviousweek.Iknewthesenewteacherswouldbeimpressedwiththesharing
feature,asIwaswhenIlearnedit.Itwasexcitingtoknowthattheteacherssharedthesame
levelofexcitementaboutjustthisfeature.
Week1011/16
CollaborationTools

Activities
Googleforeducation
o Doc
o Slides

Evidence
Createasmall
autobiography
presentation.

Summary:Thisweek,IreviewedGoogleDocfromlastweek.Iremindedteachershowto
signin,locatefiles,createfiles,andshareafiletheirfiletome.Movingforward,I
demonstratedGoogleSlides.IbeganbyshowingoneofthepresentationsIcreatedusingSlides.
IcomparedSlidesaslookingatabook.Abookwithpages(slides),words(text),pictures
(images),andturningpages(transitions).Teacherslearnedtocreate5slides,addtext,change
fontsandsize,addimages,andaddtransitions.
Reflection:Slideswaseasyforteacherstograsp,sinceIhadalreadytaughtKeynoteduring
weeks4and5.However,IthinkteachersrealizeandprefertouseKeynoteinsteadofGoogle
Slides.IthinkKeynotesiseasiertouse,butitdoesnthavecollaborativefeatureslikeGoogle

Slides.Teacherswillhavetodecidewhichonetheywanttheirstudentstouse.Ihopetheyare
comfortableusingandteachingthisand/orKeynotestotheirclasses.

FINALTHOUGHTS

Tome,professionaldevelopmentisonethemostempoweringresourcesforteachers.I
believeitcanenrichtheirteachingexperienceandhelpreachtheirstudents'learningpotential.
Lookingbackontheentireproject,IrealizedhowmuchI'velearnedaboutmyself.
IrealizedthatIliketeachingtoteacherswhoaresincerelyinterestedinlearningtohelp
improvetheircraft.Afterhavingtaughtforsomanyyears,it'sgoodtoknowthatsometeachers
arestilltryingtoimproveprofessionally.ItwasgoodtoseethatIdidn'thaveanynegative
teachers,unlikeinourstaffmeetings,thatwantedtolearn.Irealizedthat,justliketeachingin
Kindergarten,teachinginsmallergroupstoadults,ismuchmoreeffectiveandI'mabletohelp
moreteachersquickly.Ican'timaginehavingtoteachamuchlargergroupandleavingsome
teacherstobemorefrustratedthanever.Alsoimportantisbeingflexible.Justliketeachingto
youngchildren,creatingplanstoteachadultsshouldnotbemuchdifferent.Realistically,it's
bettertooverplanthantounderplan.
IrealizedthatleadingprofessionaldevelopmentisalotmoreworkthanIhadexpected.
Analyzingtheirneeds,planninglessonsandactivities,evaluation,etc...SinceIamteachinga
newgradethisyear,learninghowtoplanandimplementPDsatthesametime,wasabit
overwhelmingforme.Ifeltlikeitwasspreadingmyselfthin.ForPDstobedoneeffectively,
schoolsneedtohireTOSAteachersforthatspecificrole.Lettheteacherwhoteachchildren,
teachchildren.Lettheteacherswhoteachteachers,teachteachers.Ialsorealizethatin
planningforPDsthattherewillbemembersofyouraudiencewhoareslowandresistantto

change.IfeltIhadtobeextrasensitivetothoseindividualsandnotscarethemoffmorethan
theyalreadyare.
Duringthe10weeks,IattributethesefactorstohelpmakethetechPDssuccessful:
a. TeacherslearnedinsmallgroupsSinceIhelpedtheTK,K,and1stgrade
teachersinmyschool,Iwasabletoworkin2smallgroupsofthree.Doingso
enabledmetohelpmonitortheteachers'learningandquicklyhelpmeto
troubleshoot.
b. FewerpeopleIthinkhavingfewerpeopleintheroomandnotbeingina
roomfulofpeersmadeiteasierandtheteacherswerenotasvulnerabletoshare
andcommunicatetheirconcerns.
c. FlexibleIlearnedtobeflexibletoadjusttowhateverissuesorconcernscame
up.
d. SlowerstepsFortheseteachers,Ineededtoslowdownmystepsinmy
explanation.Goingslowerhelpedtheteachersfollowthestepsbetterandallowed
themtoaskquestionsandprogress.
e. ExamplesFormostoftheapplications,IprovidedanexampleofwhatItaught.
Thisallowedtheteacherstoenvisionwhattheycoulddoandwillbedoingduring
oursessions.
LookingbackandthinkingaboutwhatchangesImayimplement,IthinkIwouldallow
moretimefortheteacherstopracticewhattheylearned.IthinkIwouldallowatleast10
minutesfortheteacherstopracticefromlastweek'ssession.Thiswouldallowmetoseewhat

teachersreallydoknow.Inaddition,aftereverylesson,Iwouldallowmoretimeforteachersto
practicethelesson.
ThiscoachprojecthasindeedhelpedmeimprovemycompetencywithISTEC
Standards4Professionaldevelopmentandprogramevaluation.Fromtheconceptionofthe
program,Iconductedneedsassessments,developedatechnologyrelatedprofessionallearning
program,andevaluatedteacherprogress.Ilearnedtoplan,design,andimplementprofessional
developmentfornotjustforthiscoachingproject,butalsoforthetechnologyprojectand
mentoringproject.ThesethreeprojectshavehelpedimprovemycompetencywithISTECoach
Standards4.