Diary of a Digital Learning Coach

Hi Readers! After being in Everyone Can Code training for the last few days, you could say I am in an Apple state of mind.  Last night, I came across a tweet from Apple in Education about a new lesson experience/template available at appleteacher.apple.com  Check out the video on the tweet to see the lesson in action:   https://twitter.com/AppleEDU/status/912804768057143296  Using Keynote in a project like this would be a great way to kick off Genius Hour, help learners get to know each other at the beginning of the year, or as a visual cue for learners to use during learner led conferences. It was so easy to try - all I did was login to appleteacher.apple.com, download the Keynote template and follow the instructions to customize the slide of my choice using shapes.  Can you guess what I am passionate about? Sometimes the best way to learn is to play and try it out so my challenge to you on this fun Friday is to create your own, tak...

Partnerships are key in education.  I am lucky not only to partner with you, but with the coaching teams on both campuses to support you.  This week, the coaching team I work with at Lee elementary is rolling out our Coaches Corner , where all recent information from the Instructional, GT, ESL and Digital Coaches will be shared.  So as part of that, I wanted to share with you a little about what I do and why I do it! Check out the video below to learn more about me and my role! If there is anything I can do for you, whether you are local or global, just let me know!  I hope this blog becomes a safe space for you to learn and share.  Check out the video below to learn more about some of the features of my blog! How are you partnering with others as part of YOUR role?  Let me know in the comments!

I'm pleased to feature Apple Classroom here on the blog this week!  Let's take a look at it Q/A style! What is Apple Classroom? Click "Watch Apple Classroom Guided Tour" on the link below to see it in action! https://www.apple.com/education/products/#ipad-assistant Are there any special notes about getting Apple Classroom to work? Apple Classroom works best when you are using the most updated version of iOS and Bluetooth is on.  At this time, Apple Classroom does not work with the version of iPad Mini's we have in CISD. How do I get Apple Classroom set up for my class? 1:1 Devices (4th/5th grade) Request it to be set up via Zendesk (see S'more for details) Shared Devices (PreK-3rd grade, special areas) Set up manually (See S'more for details) This S'more below features everything you need to get Apple Classroom ready for your class.  I'd love to help you with a demo for your team, modeling with for your class or answ...

Are you looking for some options to create digital newsletters?  Check out the Google Drawing linked below for some great ideas! https://goo.gl/uvNQTu  Special thanks to Amanda Rogers for this great resource!

I am so excited to be partnering with our awesome Media Specialists more this year! These 2 awesome ladies and their team are TOP NOTCH and they have inspired me to share a few resources for Dot Day (Sept. 15), a celebration of creativity and individuality.   What is Dot Day and how can it be celebrated?  My friend, Cynthia Alaniz ( @utalaniz ), created this S'more that explains it beautifully.  You'll also be able to learn about what she is doing with our campus this week!   I 'm also excited to partner with Melinda Mangum ( @melmangum ) at my other campus.  We will be working with our Breakout EDU kits to try this Dot Day Breakout with our learners! Other Dot Day 2017 Awesomeness My amazing teammate, Amanda Rogers ( @TheEdsaneT ) and our Math Director for the district, Mary Kemper  ( @MrsKemper ) created a global FlipGrid Project for anyone to "Leave their Mark" for Dot Day! Image Credit:  Amanda Rogers and Mary Kemper ...

This week's Teach Me Something Tuesday is dedicated to an awesome educator I get to work with everyday - May Voltz .  She shared www.classroomscreen.com  on Twitter this weekend and I just HAD to try out and now share with you.   Proof that the best PLNs aren't just global...love my local PLN too! Www.classroomscreen.com is an easy to use landing page for classroom information.  You can customize the screen with different widgets including a QR code maker, whiteboard, timer, and more.   Check out this quick "vlog" to learn more about how and why you may want to check this out! What is something YOU have learned recently from your PLN (local or global)?  Share it with me in the comments!

Can we all just pause a second to reflect on how awesome it is to have a 3 day weekend 2 weeks into school starting?  I don't know about you, but I sure needed it after a long week of supporting our tech department, educators and learners with iPad rollout. Image created with the Mematic App While necessary, rolling out iPads has never been my dream.  The logistics tend to overwhelm my perfectionist soul, last minute unknowns keep everyone on their toes and hiccups are inevitable.  Always hard on myself, I worry about the time spent away from classrooms and design work as if I am constantly letting someone down. But as I reflect on my last couple of weeks, I keep coming back to our kids.   Our kids are ready and able to learn using technology that much faster because of the team of dedicated people who helped with iPad rollout. In education, most of us have a small line at the end of our job description: other duties as assigned. Most of the time, we t...