SASD technology vision: Hire coaches to help staff in the classroom
Two technology coaches are available to assist teachers in their classrooms
November 19, 2019
In today’s world, the average teen spends approximately nine hours a day using technology. It can consist of anything from listening to music to communicating with others. With new technology constantly coming out and being implemented in the workplace, interacting with technology is nearly unavoidable. One question that consistenly are is “are students ready to use technology to its best potential?”
Technology coaches are a new addition to the Stroudsburg Area School District. They travel from school to school and their main goal is to help teachers incorporate technology into their curriculum. Doing so will better prepare students for the technology-filled future, not to mention make the classroom environment more exciting.
“There are two of us in the district, Joy Kirk and me,” said Ms. Linda Yurkanin, a tech coach in the district. “We were teachers in the district, and this is the second year we’ve helped teachers.”
So what exactly do technology coaches do?
“We get together with teachers to discuss their curriculum and we do a lot of training with new technology, programs, we co-teach, and model technology- — it’s a wide variety of activities that we do,” said Yurkanin.
The tech coaches want to make teachers more comfortable with technology, so will want to regularly integrate it into their curriculum. Generally, a coach will get together with a teacher to discuss the curriculum and help them find resources. They will also train teachers so they will be able to do it themselves.
“We are trying to prepare students for the future. It involves technology: incorporating it helps students gain skills to succeed,” said Yurkanin.
Yurkanin explains that many students experience shell shock when they get to college and experience the difference in how technology is incorporated in the classroom.
“Technology should be helping students to make them career-ready,” said Yurkanin. “We try to find the answer to ‘Is there a better way to learn and apply it to life?'”
Top Five Benefits Of Technology In-the-classroom
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