Building into the kids their communication skills and establishing trust with their community.
When you finally have your group of kids and have begun to train them in the art of #GAFE, #appletools, #iPads, #chromebooks, and #edtech in general, you (at the same time usually) need to begin building into their communication skills and have them establish trust with their community.
Communicating and working with teachers:
I have found that working with and training other teachers requires a certain type of communication skill. It's almost as if teachers themselves need a special brand of communication so that they feel empowered but not marginalized. Since the students are going to be working directly with teachers, they need to learn how to communicate well with them so that teachers will be able to learn and take ideas from the student techs.
#1 Be on time to appointments and be reliable:
The first rule I teach students is to be on time when establishing appointments and do what you say you are going to do. If you are going to show up at lunch at 12:30 to talk to a teacher about a project, be there at that time and fulfill your responsibility.
#2 Be prepared:
Teach students to take thorough notes before, during, and after so that they can have ideas going in, talk about the teachers needs, and have notes afterward so that they can do the project thoroughly.
#2 Active listening:
Teach students to be active listeners to a teacher so that they understand needs well.
A good phrase to teach students is to say: "What I hear you explaining is that you would like to........" so that the teacher can be reaffirmed that the student heard what the teacher wants.
#3 Constructive criticism:
Teach students to listen to criticism through lenses and a filter so that they can improve. Sometimes when doing a project they may not get it right and the teacher they are helping will want or need to give feedback.
Not many like criticism and few people know how to relate criticism well. Students should learn:
#1 Criticism is not usually an attack on their character
#2 It is an opportunity for improvement
A few useful phrases to teach students are things like: "Thank you for giving me this information." "I will take what you are saying and work on those issues." "I appreciate you allowing me to help you on this project. Thank you for the input."
Part 3 coming soon!
Communicating and working with teachers:
I have found that working with and training other teachers requires a certain type of communication skill. It's almost as if teachers themselves need a special brand of communication so that they feel empowered but not marginalized. Since the students are going to be working directly with teachers, they need to learn how to communicate well with them so that teachers will be able to learn and take ideas from the student techs.
#1 Be on time to appointments and be reliable:
The first rule I teach students is to be on time when establishing appointments and do what you say you are going to do. If you are going to show up at lunch at 12:30 to talk to a teacher about a project, be there at that time and fulfill your responsibility.
#2 Be prepared:
Teach students to take thorough notes before, during, and after so that they can have ideas going in, talk about the teachers needs, and have notes afterward so that they can do the project thoroughly.
#2 Active listening:
Teach students to be active listeners to a teacher so that they understand needs well.
A good phrase to teach students is to say: "What I hear you explaining is that you would like to........" so that the teacher can be reaffirmed that the student heard what the teacher wants.
#3 Constructive criticism:
Teach students to listen to criticism through lenses and a filter so that they can improve. Sometimes when doing a project they may not get it right and the teacher they are helping will want or need to give feedback.
Not many like criticism and few people know how to relate criticism well. Students should learn:
#1 Criticism is not usually an attack on their character
#2 It is an opportunity for improvement
A few useful phrases to teach students are things like: "Thank you for giving me this information." "I will take what you are saying and work on those issues." "I appreciate you allowing me to help you on this project. Thank you for the input."
Part 3 coming soon!