ISTE Administrators and Coaches

After looking at the ISTE Standards for both administrators and technology coaches, I realized how similar they both are. There are a number of subheadings, like Visionary Leadership, and Digital Citizenship that are exactly the same while the other are similar with similar themes. Both coaches and administrators are responsible for taking an active role in “Visionary Leadership” according to their respective ISTE standards. Both of these positions in the school system share the vision of purposeful change. Administration and technology coaches want to help infuse technology to better meet learning goals, and maximize student and school performance. These are the people who assist the teachers using these tools on a daily basis which is why one of their goals is to teach the staff to also see and understand their vision, and direction of what needs done with technology.

Coaches and admin are also both expected to stay on top of current trends in technology education. These are the people in charge to always be on the lookout for the next big things in tech ed, because technology is forever changing, transforming, and upgrading. It is vital for people of both these positions to share their findings with other educators in the district to assist in successful, positive school wide technology implementation.

Another similarity with both of these ISTE standards is how both positions need to be able to infuse the technology into the curriculum effectively. The main difference here is that the coach may work more directly with the teacher on how to do so, it is beneficial to the administration to set a good example, and take a lead role in this process. These meetings to help teachers integrate technology can be done through learning communities like PLC’s, professional development sessions, or individual work sessions. It could really be beneficial to have two people, (your coach and administrators) to bounce ideas back and forth with while planning to incorporate new technologies.

Digital citizenship is another commonality between the two sets of standards. Students need equitable access to resources for their own benefit provided by coaches and admin. They are the ones working together to create some of these policies and infrastructure.

Overall the ISTE standards for administration and coaches is very, very…..very similar. The main difference being the administrations standards are aimed school-wide or at teachers, while the coaches standards are more geared towards students and their digital age success. It is the roles of both of these people to help educate school teachers of the benefits, and real world exposure technology can provide. Although some teachers are out exploring these new tools, a large majority will need the help of coaches and administration to bridge the digital divide.

In reality these standards are meant to “serve as a beacon for navigating the digital educational universe” which is why we need to be aware of these beacons (Standards) in order to safely navigate space (ready for a productive life).

#iste #coach #administration