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Digital Coaching

    Digital Coaching with Video and Video Conferencing- Improving Classroom Instruction and Coaching Interactions

    Everyone is looking for ways to enhance teacher instruction and student learning in the classroom as well as use instructional coaching time more effectively and efficiently. Digital coaching with video and video conferencing can help you do just that!

    Additional Resources

    Read More about Digital Coaching

    1. Jim Knight is the ultimate resources in instructional coaching and using video to improve instruction. If you are looking for a quick read, then check out his “3 Steps to Great Coaching“.  While this focuses on the larger task of coaching teachers, his book “Focus on Teaching: Using Video for High-Impact Instruction” can help you specifically target digital coaching. Moreover, his website is chock full of resources and guides, so visit them at Instructional Coaching.
    2. The Center for Educational Policy Research at Harvard has a series of great materials supporting the move towards video coaching in schools. To start, read “Leveraging Video for Learning“. If that is leaves you wanting more, read the series from their Video Observation Toolkit.
    3. The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEnd has put out an article on “Video-Based Peer Coaching” and this quick read may position you to better facilitate teacher PLCs where your teams support each other. 

    Online Forms and Worksheets

    1. Watching Myself: It is hard to watch yourself, but this can help focus a teacher from being critical about themselves and move them to focus on their practices and build skills. 
    2. Watching Students: If you are wanting to guide teachers as they start to watch themselves, then this is a great tool and easily adapted to meet your needs. 
    3. Classroom Coaching Rubric: This is geared towards reflecting on your performance as a coach, but handy nonetheless as you start to have more conversations with teachers. This rubric will make sure you are being as effective as possible.

    Video Conferencing Options

    If you are looking for free and effective tools to get the coaching part of digital coaching done, then try these resources!

    1. Join.Me is a free platform I personally like because it is reliable, has an easy interface, and is free. The startup is super simple and you can email teachers a link for them to join. As a bonus, you can also share screens, which has come in handy numerous times.  Zoom is another easy to launch platform with a friendly UX that many districts are adopting. Check with yours to see if you already have access.
    2. Google Duo and Hangouts are both supported by Google and easy enough to use. Duo can be with a teacher’s cell phone or by downloading. I personally love this for teachers who don’t have a camera on their computers and need to use their cell to conference.
    3. If these three options don’t meet your needs, We Video and Messenger are both easy to get started and can be used with a teacher’s cell phone. If teachers are using the campus WiFi, then neither plan will drag on their personal data plans. 

    Digital Coaching Tips to REMEMBER…

    As you start your journey into Digital Coaching Teachers using Video and Video Conferencing, remember these three things:

    1. Have Purpose. If you are asking teachers to use video and conference with you digitally without purpose, then you’re wasting time. Have a clear cut outcome you want to attain and be purposeful.
    2. Start… Just Start. Your first few attempts at digital will be clunky, fraught with failure, and a little clunky. Just get started… you and your teachers will have to iron out the wrinkles as you go.
    3. Mind Privacy Guidelines. As discussed in the training session, student privacy and video guidelines can vary from state to state and district to district. Be sure to follow laws that apply to you. 

    Request a Training

    If you are starting to roll out digital instructional coaching with video and video conferencing but need more support to effectively implement, reach out today to find out how we can help! Start by dropping us an email at ajones@noodlenook.net!