ISTE Standard #1
Change Agent
Coaches inspire educators and leaders to use technology to create equitable and ongoing access to high-quality learning.
ISTE Indicators for Standard 1 1a. Create a shared vision and culture for using technology to learn and accelerate transformation through the coaching process. 1b. Facilitate equitable use of digital learning tools and content that meet the needs of each learner. 1c. Cultivate a supportive coaching culture that encourages educators and leaders to achieve a shared vision and individual goals. 1d. Recognize educators across the organization who use technology effectively to enable high-impact teaching and learning. 1e. Connect leaders, educators, instructional support, technical support, domain experts and solution providers to maximize the potential of technology for learning.
Work Samples
Job Aid: Hour of Code
ISTE Indicators Addressed: 1a
Artifact Description:
This is a visual aid I designed based on coding in the classroom. Its purpose is to encourage more educators to set aside time for coding on a regular basis. I give suggestions for how to implement as well as point educators toward a variety of coding platforms and organizations.
Implementation:
I based this poster on what I did in my own classroom. When I taught 7th Grade Integrated Science, I urged my students to explore coding whenever they finished their in-class assignments or exams and had down time (i.e. as a “sponge activity”). It was a way to expose them to modern technology in a gamified, low pressure way. They enjoyed playing coding games and sharing their experience with each other, as I would often hear them discussing strategies on how to beat levels within the games. Every student had multiple opportunities throughout the year to explore the resources, and they could do so at their own pace. They also had freedom to choose the digital learning tool that best appealed to their interests and needs (whether they were English learners, had an Individualized Education Plan, or had more advanced coding skills). Since then, I have shared my practices with other teachers, including former colleagues who have requested the hyperdoc I created and utilized with my students. That hyperdoc formed the foundation for the poster that is displayed here. In this way, I have informally coached peers on how to transform some of their instructional practices through technology (1a).
Impact:
When my principal and assistant principal visited my classroom, they responded enthusiastically to what I described above. They encouraged me to share with colleagues because my instructional practice exemplified how to work the development of technology skills into the school day. It also complemented another teacher’s initiative that gave our school its first 3D printer, which we hoped would spark interest in a technology that is beginning to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. By leading the way with our own instructional practices, that colleague and I hoped to accelerate transformation (1a) among our peers that would result in a schoolwide embrace of technology. Our ideas contributed to the formation of a student “tech crew” that trained with the IT department in order to help fix Chromebooks and troubleshoot problems in each classroom. With our shared vision (1a) and combined efforts, those students were able to become leaders among their peers and promote a shared, positive culture around the use of technology (1a).
Job Aid: Important Considerations for Creating Instructional Materials
ISTE Indicators Addressed: 1b & 1c
Artifact Description:
I created this poster in order to give a comprehensive yet digestible overview of all the major aspects of instructional design, with my audience being fellow educators who make, modify, or supplement their instructional materials. The four major categories are (visual) design principles, student diversity, learning theory, and software, with details in bullet point format for “scannability.”
Implementation:
Every detail outlined in this poster was crucial to the computer-based drill-and-practice prototype that my fellow graduate students and I built and tested with educators in their classrooms. (That prototype can be found under Standard 4, “Learning Designer.”) In addition, I shared this poster with a former principal who now works for an ed tech company and trains administrators and teachers at school sites. Being that he and I both have a lot of experience at Title I schools, the notes about student diversity were of particular interest. He also appreciated the software considerations since he is training educators on the newly redesigned platform that his employer has released for the 2021-2022 academic year. One of the goals of the professional development sessions that he conducts is to increase equitable use of that platform, i.e. digital learning tool (1b), and the platform is designed to meet the needs of each learner (1b) by customizing reading passages according to their Lexile. The platform also relies heavily on the behavioral approach to learning theory, since the specified outcome is to increase students’ Lexile. My former administrator believes and has witnessed how, with proper training, educators do observe that outcome. He finds my poster relatable because it aligns with his emphasis on promoting a supportive coaching culture for teachers, and through that support, both organizational and individual goals can be achieved (1c). I hope that my poster will help facilitate conversations with more educators and teacher trainers in the coming months and years.
Impact:
I have yet to see the full impact of sharing this poster, as I have not used it to coach other educators directly. I aspire to have more direct interactions and feedback in relation to the poster and its contents in the near future.
Reflection:
Overall, I have been able to partially implement both visual aids in terms of coaching other educators, therefore I am still working toward fully meeting all indicators of Standard 1 "Change Agent." Specifically, I have made progress toward competency with indicators 1a, 1b, and 1c by sharing the above mentioned practices and resources with administrators and colleagues. I plan to continue working toward full competency in 1a, 1b, and 1c by staying focused on integrating digital learning tools and supporting others as they do the same, so that the impact of learning can be maximized and goals can be achieved. I aim to implement 1d and 1e in my future endeavors by designing and developing technology-based learning experiences with and for other educators.