With Covid-19 changing education as we know it, educators have had to adapt to a new teaching environment. Administrators have had to scramble to create Learning Management Systems to meet the need of teaching thousands of learners. School districts have had to prepare their students and families for a different kind of life, a life of learning at home. All of this has taught us the value of EdTech coaches.

EdTech Coaches Know What Tech Skills Your Teachers and Students Have

EdTech coaches work closely with teachers, coaching them with their educational technology, all through the school year. The teachers come to them when they have issues and questions. Therefore, the EdTech coaches know whether the teacher is well adept in education technology or not.

The EdTech coach is also privy to whether the student is well-versed in technology since they work closely with the students as well.

The EdTech coaches know how much help the teachers and students will need during this pandemic on distance learning due to these unique insights. Distance learning is all EdTech. They can then offer the necessary support to educators and students alike.

EdTech Coaches Know Which EdTech Tools You Need for What

There are many tools and resources available to educators during this pandemic. Online learning needs these resources and tools, but which ones should the teacher use? If the teacher isn’t familiar with EdTech, she may not know which to choose out of the hundreds available. This is where the EdTech coaches come in. This is another thing that makes them very valuable.

EdTech Coaches Understand Their School District’s Goals

Because EdTech coaches understand their school district’s goals and the teachers’ needs, and because they are in direct and constant contact with the teachers, they make the perfect advocate between the two during this time. They know each obstacle that each side is facing and can work to solve each of these.

EdTech Coaches Are a Crucial Part of the Remote Learning Shift

Lastly, schools cannot easily shift into remote learning without the support of EdTech coaches. Since they know the technical capabilities of the teachers and students and the needs and goals of the district, they can easily identify the best education technology for the schools for each individual situation. They also know where to find the resources and tools necessary to keep the school’s tech side up and running.

How Else Do EdTech Coaches Help?

• EdTech coaches provide digital professional development to teachers as they transition from traditional teaching to online teaching. They also know where teachers can find further free professional development online.
• Many EdTech coaches provide more in-depth coaching, modeling lessons or even co-creating lesson with teachers.
• They support teacher collaboration.
• EdTech coaches communicate any challenges that the teachers are having with the online instruction to the district personnel.
• They help the teachers create engaging activities and lessons.
• They help teachers meet the different needs of each learner.
• EdTech coaches support paraprofessionals, counselors, and other non-teaching staff.
• They help teachers provide their students with social-emotional support.
• Lastly, they help the families in their schools make their home into a better environment for online learning.

EdTech coaches have always been invaluable, but school districts and educators are beginning to see the value of EdTech coaches during this pandemic more than ever.