Coaching with Kinders

This school year, I had the pleasure of working with three kindergarten classes and their teachers. I was amazed by the talents of these five-year-olds!

Attention Teachers of Students Grades 5-12!

Here is an opportunity to share with your students- from the Michigan Council of Women in Technology!

Leaving Dearborn: A Tribute to Heroes, Visionaries, Friends, and Students

It is with bittersweet emotion that I announce my departure from the Dearborn Schools. On May 2, 2023, I will be joining the team at Wayne RESA as the Learning, Innovation, and Technology Consultant. Dearborn has been my home for 23 years as a teacher and technology...

GPT-Proof Writing Prompts

Here are some examples of ELA (English Language Arts) prompts that are designed to be GPT-proof: Write an original short story about a character who experiences a major life change, such as moving to a new city, starting a new job, or going through a personal crisis....

What do the Technology Coaches do?

Like most other districts across the country, the Dearborn Schools employs Technology Coaches to support teachers, students, and administrators. But what exactly do they do?

Giving Audio Feedback on Student Work + Tips

“Hundreds of studies of feedback have been published and reviews of these studies routinely conclude that feedback is the most important or nearly the most important variable affecting the amount and quality of student learning.”

Among my favorite things about educational technology is that it can help teachers give more effective feedback. One way to do that is using audio feedback.

Resources to Start the New Semester

As we get started with a new semester, here are a few resources and reminders to help you get started on the right foot.

Encountering AI in Student Writing

There’s a lot of buzz lately about AI in writing. How do we counter this phenomenon? What should we definitely not do? And can we actually work with it?

Before You Hit Send

Some additional thoughts on email if you’re an educator…

Email for Teachers

One of our most useful tools and, sometimes, one of our greatest sources of torment is email. When things go well, it can be our greatest ally in communicating effectively with students, parents, and colleagues. However, it can also be a source of tremendous stress if...

Stayin’ Alive Center

Check out the Tech Coaches’ Podcast
ArchiTECHs of Learning

Our latest blog posts…

Streamlining Specials in Schoology

Streamlining Specials in Schoology

One way classroom teachers can help students and parents navigate Schoology is by including a folder of links to special area teachers’ courses within their own course. If done properly, students will never have to leave the classroom teacher’s Schoology course to visit another teacher’s course.

Some More Practical and Fun Zoom Tips

Some More Practical and Fun Zoom Tips

Here are a few more tips you may not know about that may help make yours and your students' lives easier (and maybe less stressful) as you continue to make your way through the year with Zoom. 1. Split Screen (Chromebook) You can use these buttons on a Chromebook to...

Preparing Sub Plans in Schoology

Preparing Sub Plans in Schoology

Considering the nature of the situation in which we find ourselves at the present time, it would be wise to prepare a couple days of emergency sub plans in your Schoology course. One way to do this is to create a folder that will forever sit at the bottom of your...

Sharing Your Rubrics in Schoology

Sharing Your Rubrics in Schoology

Well-made rubrics can be a valuable means of communicating student expectations and giving standardized feedback on student work. Just as importantly, they can be an essential tool in supporting a viable curriculum when shared among teachers in a PLC. Fortunately,...

You’ve Got Company!

You’ve Got Company!

Did you know that you can enable a sound notification in Zoom that lets you know when someone has entered or left your meeting, or if someone is in your waiting room? Well you can!

Student Engagement Hacks in Schoology

Student Engagement Hacks in Schoology

As you have already found, there are many avenues teachers can take within Schoology to engage students in the learning process. Schoology has assembled a crowd-sourced publication with 27 strategies for engaging students further. Before you get too excited, know that...

Increase the Visual Appeal of your Schoology Page

Increase the Visual Appeal of your Schoology Page

There are several ways to make your Schoology Course page more aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. You can find many of these methods with a quick Google or YouTube search. The video below shows one teacher's method for doing this. If you view the video on...

Make Your Remote Learning Norms Clear

Make Your Remote Learning Norms Clear

With all of our new tools and despite the fact that efforts have been made to simplify things for students, parents, and teachers, there are still a gazillion combinations of ways to do things within each of these tools. Students approach our classes, wondering: Where...

Zoom Tip: Turn OFF Private Chat

Zoom Tip: Turn OFF Private Chat

One way to help maintain focus in your Zoom classroom is to disable private chats within Zoom. You can set this for all of your Zoom meetings. Here's how: In your Zoom Dashboard: Click Settings.Click In Meeting (Basic).Make sure the Private Chat setting is OFF (gray,...

Reminder!  The Tech Coaches are Here for YOU!

Reminder! The Tech Coaches are Here for YOU!

Bob and Amy are available for virtual Tech Coach meetings! To set up an appointment with either Bob or Amy, click on the appropriate button located at the top of the Tech Coach homepage. After selecting your choice of meeting times, you will receive a calendar...

girl logs into Chromebook with student number written on card

Technology for Lifelong Learning

As technology increases exponentially, learners in the 21st century have the opportunity to go far beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom.  The available technology provided by the Dearborn Schools allows students to interact in the digital community, collaborate with peers, and engage with the world from their seats in our classrooms.  The possibilities for learning know no boundaries online.  Learn how to help students become lifelong learners in the digital community.

Our Goal

The goal of instructional technology coaches is to help teachers become effective at using technology to provide the most technology-rich, positive learning environments possible.  To this end, we believe effective teachers…

  1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.
  2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments.
  3. Model digital age work and learning.
  4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility.
  5. Engage in professional growth and leadership.

from Standards for Teachers.

collage of students working on Moodle

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