Last year I was approached to help teachers learn how to use their new Macbooks. I had led some teachers through the Apple Teacher program at my previous school and it was pretty successful, so I thought trying it again here would be a good idea.
Last year did not work out, so we tried again this year. With the interested teachers signed up and all the surveys sent, we had our meeting day. Then, three teachers showed up. Well, two is better than none.
Here are a few reflections from trying Apple Teacher at this school.
These are not the Tech Ambassadors
At my last school, the Tech Ambassadors were teachers who were selected to join the program based on what division in the school they taught in and their tech skills. I based my prediction that they would finish this training in an hour on that last cohort.
Get Your Apple ID!
If teachers have their IDs on hand (with passwords) things will go smoother. Unfortunately, not all did. No problem, if you do not remember your ID, you can "easily" create a new one.
Taiwan is not an Apple Teacher Country
Just be careful if you are in Taiwan. I am sure there are other countries, but one teacher is from Taiwan so put that as her home. Apple does not recognize Taiwan in the application form so she ran into problems signing up.
"Oh my gosh. Look at this!"
It was great to hear and see teachers learning how to use their hardware and software better. One reason I told them to take the course is to learn how to better integrate the Apple products into their teaching. Or if not Apple - do something similar with Google or Microsoft, etc. Use online courses as a way to learn new ways of teaching (or find what you don't like in them).
Time and Space
I think the best reason to get teachers together is to give them time and space to work on what they are interested in. Like one teacher said, "If I could come into your room during lunch, I would work on this."
OK, you are welcome anytime.
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