Issues

Digital Learning Leaders bring a number of "soft skills" into a learning experience that they are partnering with a teacher. During the design of a learning experience, both adults fold in their own soft skills so as to make every effort to reach every learner. These skills push the traditional bell curve to the right so that almost every learner as an individual or as a part of a group meets or exceeds the expectation of both adults. In this section, various soft skills are elaborated upon that can be illustrated in the portfolio of the Digital Learning Leader.

Micro Credentials

Partnering with Digital Promise, Google has released an instructional coaching certification for educators interested in partnering with classroom teachers and integrating technology into learning experiences. The description and link to that 2nd level program is at:

https://digitalpromise.org/2020/06/23/a-new-way-for-coaches-to-strengthen-their-practice/


ISTE has also begun its certification for teachers about the use of technology in teaching. This will cost $700 per person. Search for ISTE Initiatives on your search engine.

We recommend that school librarians, technology integration specialists and other interested persons consider doing both this Digital Learning Leader portfolio plus the Google certification. A combination of both would be a powerful indicator of skill. Add to this the ISTE certification if you can afford it.

Equity

Every Digital Learning Leader needs to be a major advocate for equity for every learner in the institution. This includes such things as race, gender, poverty or affluence, cultural background, language, or any other characteristic that might affect the ability to learn. A common problem include access to a suitable device and an Internet connection. Any one or a combination of characteristics require the tireless efforts of both the Digital Learning Leader and the instructor. Extraordinary efforts may need to be taken to reach each learner but the effort is worth every tactic needed for success. Such efforts should be a part of every portfolio.

You might also consider using a design challenge like the one at: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/56195/how-students-benefit-from-a-school-reopening-plan-designed-for-those-at-the-margins?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=202007012_News_MindShift_Newsletter&mc_key=00Qi000001WzPsREAV

also, you might consider implicit bias at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKHSJHkPeLY

Also, take a look at this major effort to promote equity in schools: Eric Tucker is the co-founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools. He has served as a teacher and instructional leader in Providence and Chicago. He is former Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the co-founder and Executive Director of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues. Eric co-edited The Sage Handbook of Measurement.



Critical Thinking


No matter what kind of learning experienc the Digital Learning Leader is working on with the instructor, the insertion of explicit critical thinking strategies will transform coverage into deep thinking for the learners. We recommend that you examine the work of Johathan Haber for ideas on how to do this at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-07-07-fighting-misinformation-in-the-age-of-covid-19

Here is the infographic that he has produced:

Digital wellness

We think about physical wellness and mental and emotional wellness as well but there is that whole world of online wellness to consider when we as adults work with others. We have long known that folks behave differently on line than they do face to face and we also know that in the advent of social media, the attention span has decreased. so, there are all kinds of factors to think about when teaching and learning on line. We worry about our students, but perhaps they need to worry about us in the era of pandemics. Carol Koechlin, the co-author of Beyond Bird Units has said: "Thinking a little deeper about the digital leader we have to think about having the ability to continue to be responsive to individual needs especially in digital environments. We have to think of the behavioral and emotional needs of learners as well as what we want them to learn. We need to make sure they know how to be safe and responsible in their online learning environments. Digital Learning Leaders will need to be proficient at all the best pedagogy and the best technologies and also be experts at recognizing and creatively dealing with the specific nuances of working and learning in on-line environments. " It's a challenge that we all need to consider and reconsider regularly.

Working with Administrators

The key to partnering with instructors across the organization often is affected by the support of administration towards such a partnering. We might hear something like this from an administrator: "That's a great idea, but I don't think my ___________ can do that." You could put almost any type of specialist in that blank: librarian, instructional coach, tech integration specialist, et. The challenge for the Digital Learning Leader is to demonstrate, not just talk about examples of difference you can and do make. One way, is to invite the administrator to be a third "teacher" in one of our cotaught learning experiences. In other words, once in a while, just roll up your sleeves alongside us down there in the trenches so that you can get a sense of what coteaching looks like, acts like, and feels like with a group of real students working to learn and perhaps resisting learning. After the learning experience is over, be sure that the administrators participates in the Big Think metacognitive look back by the students and the adults...what did we learn how did we learn, and how could we do better the next time? A touch of reality alongside the mirade pressure of administrivia is mind opening.

Characteristics of Successful Coteachers

We asked a group of teachers and librarians who had just finished teaming on the creation of a learning experience what characteristics they felt essential in working together. Here is ther long list: Good listening skills

Imagination; Both open to critical feedback; Respect; Patience and understanding; Willingness; Share resources; Empathy; Vocabulary; Ability to share; Content knowledge; Common planning time; Soft skills; Follow-through; Reflective; Creative; Open communication; Humor; Understanding

Whew! You can probably add to the list as your experience with coteaching increases.