ISTE Standards for Coaches 3: Digital Age Learning Environments. Technology coaches create and support effective digital age learning environments to maximize the learning of all students.

Developing a supportive digital age learning environment takes planning and research. The term environment encompasses many elements, including:

Location. To ensure that students (and teachers) have a supportive location for learning, a technology coach should provide a variety of areas inside and outside the school, such as a quiet place for students to work independently as well as rooms where students can work in groups with computers placed together or seating areas where they can collaborate on their mobile devices.

Connectivity. Access to the internet is crucial to a digital age learning environment. Students and teachers need both Wi-Fi and hard connections to enable access to information, programs and people. Connectivity also extends access to virtual locations where students can join educational communities and learn from remote experts.

Social and cultural influences. This category refers to people’s attitudes and perceptions. For example, if the teachers or administrators in the building speak negatively about the use of technology, or if they are overly restrictive about students’ use of tech, it won’t bode well for the success of their digital age learning environment. In contrast, if the teachers and administrators speak and act positively about the use of technology, the students are also more likely to be positive and open to its educational benefits.

Buildings with many opportunities for using technology encourage a positive attitude toward digital learning among both teachers and students. Positive attitudes will stem from a confidence that staff are supported in learning how to use technology and will have the tools they need to work with the students. Support might include ongoing training, onsite technical support, time to plan and develop instruction that includes digital learning, and infrastructure that facilitates the effective development of the digital age learning environment.

Tools. A digital age learning environment includes technological tools for both students and staff. This means the tools need to be working, there need to be enough to go around, and they need to be updated on a regular basis. Teachers also need training and modeling for the use of the tools.

In the three approaches described in the table below, three technology coaches have tried to create positive digital age learning environments by developing a virtual environment, such as Edmodo, Schoology or Moodle.

 
In Approach 1, the technology coach chose a digital learning platform on his own. He then sent out a message to the rest of the staff saying that the entire school will adopt this platform. This technology coach did not consult anyone else to see if the platform is appropriate and compatible with the whole school’s infrastructure. This approach does not address any of the indicators in this standard.

In Approach 2, the tech coach selects a digital learning platform only after meeting with the many stakeholders who will be using it. The coach provides PD for teachers and administrators before adopting the platform, after which she provides ongoing PD within the digital learning platform. The coach is an ever-present and active member of the digital learning community, where she provides help, advice and modeling of its use. This approach met some of the indicators in this standard but did not meet those that pertained to providing an online area to report problems or request professional support. Moreover, this approach did not address the needs of the parents or community at large.

The technology coach in Approach 3 has met all the indicators of this standard. As in Approach 2, the coach selected the digital learning platform only after meeting with all of the stakeholders involved, including parents and community members. The coach provided face-to-face PD before adopting the digital learning platform, then online PD within the environment after adopting the platform. Additionally, he created a place within the digital platform where staff can sign up for ongoing, personalized PD as well as a space where users can report technical problems and seek assistance. As in Approach 2, the technology coach is an active member of the online environment and models good practice within it. Moreover, parents and community members are able to access the learning platform to view the activities that the teachers ask students to do, but they are restricted from viewing confidential information, such as students’ comments.

Learn more about how to be an effective technology coach in our online Coaching Academy.

Acknowledgment
Mark Diacopoulos, who assisted with this article, holds a master’s in secondary education from Old Dominion University, Virginia. He is currently a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction at Old Dominion, where he is researching technology integration in the social studies.

Helen Crompton is an assistant professor of instructional technology at Old Dominion University in Virginia. She is a researcher and educator in the field of instructional technology, and she earned her Ph.D. in educational technology and mathematics education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.