Tech Tools on the Tech Coach Blog

I have committed time in the past to making sure that I write a blog post (nearly) every Tuesday. Sometimes I stop, with fear. I could say I'm too busy, but really I'm scared. What if no one reads this stuff anyway? What if I feature a tool that people already know about? What if I brag about a tool and then it doesn't work? Fear - maybe I'll think of a better way to do this that will help everyone! Stalling with fear.

I just finished attending one of the best installments of the Slate Technology Conference in WI Dells that I have ever been to. (Search the hashtag #slate2015 to see what you missed!). Kevin Honeycutt was the opening keynote speaker. He said, "Perfect is the enemy of done. Start!" How true is that? I have stalled myself out with worry and in the meantime, missed out on sharing ideas, tips, tools and technology integration with my teachers!

No more! In fact, I'm going to do you one better. I'm not sure if you've heard, but our high school students spend one class period per day fixing broken Chromebooks at the high school. Yes, you read that right. We have a technology repair workshop in our very own district run by high schoolers. You're probably a teacher, a principal, a secretary, support staff... so I don't have to tell you that kids can be amazing.

Our class is called Student Technology Integration and Innovation, or STII for short and these repair students have certain job duties that rotate each week. Several of them diagnose, troubleshoot and repair broken devices; one enters data in our data warehouse spreadsheet; one is a Quality Control Manger and makes sure that the repair is done correctly in a timely fashion and that the Chromebook is cleaned up and charged to be returned in better condition than it was received. Each week, Ms. Amblang takes a couple of students to the public library to help community members with their technology on Tuesdays. And, two students have Special Operations assignments (aka Special Ops). These tasks vary depending on the needs of the workshop and workflow.

Starting next week, there will be a new position for 1-2 students. They will research, vet, and explain technology tools and techniques that could interest teachers in our district. They will blog about those tools or techniques right here on the Tech Coach blog!

So, stay tuned... because when it comes to my STII students, I like to brag about how amazing they are. And this, this is going to be awesome! You'll see, #mightycardinals, the best is yet to come!