What are the Essential Skills for an #EdTech Coach?

"If you were given the chance to develop and Ed Tech coach certificate - what college courses would it need to have?"

My first thought is to not focus on the tech tools when I explore this question. I know that sometimes the wow factor of a tool can be a great hook, but wow only carries one so far. For example, my Masters in Instructional Technology courses seemed to primarily focus on some "cool" tools and less on the pedagogy connected to good teaching. Today, most of the tools I explored no longer exist but good teaching is still good teaching. (Ever heard of HyperStacks? I am not sure I remember what these do, but I remember the name.)

Today, I try to always start support educators by asking why questions. If we don't know why we are doing something, I always wonder why we are trying to add tech to do it differently? We then explore how you might approach your goals without tech in the equation. Once we have a pedagogical plan, we can add some EdTech to the recipe.

What Are Your Teaching Fundamentals? (Edutopia Article)

Sample Teaching Recipes From an EdTech PD Session

I always try to emphasize that the best EdTech does not have the power to make a bad lesson great. It can even sometimes make a good lesson not so great. Great teaching must always come first or the power of instructional technology is most likely wasted time.

I hate wasting time!

Here are a few of the resources that might help EdTech and Instructional Coaches support teachers and students.

• The ISTE Standards for Educators might be a great starting point to help teachers focus on essential skills that can be supported with EdTech. 
• The ISTE Standards for Coaches is a great place to start building your coaching mindset. 
• The ISTE Standards for Students can help planning from the student perspective. 
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers Who Use Technology is another resource to explore EdTech in the classroom. 
• If you are a Google district I would consider using the Google Training Courses as part of the course plan. These are well put together and focus on skills before the tools. 

Here are a few additional resources that might support building a Coaching Mindset.

• Skills Connected to the 4 Cs (Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity.) 
• Teaching and Learning Book Recommendations (Great educational books organized by topics.) 
• Student-Centered Learning (Less us, more them!) 
• Formative Assessment (Quick formative tools are a great way to hook educators) 
• Coaching Pedagogy (10 Tips for Instructional Coaches) 
• Leadership (Resources to support teachers as leaders) 
• 10 Great Hashtags Educators Should Be Exploring
• Innovative Educational Organizations to Follow on Twitter
• 25 Innovative Educators to Follow on Twitter 

What courses/concepts/skills/resources do you think are essential for an #EdTech Coach's Mindset?