In this episode of “Ask the Tech Coach,” Jeff and Nick share secrets about what makes a fantastic and usable Tech Coach website. With so many options, both paid and free, available, it’s easy to spend a ton of time creating a digital hub that nobody uses or wants. The secret to any website is to make great content and make sure that your users have it available to them BEFORE they know that they want or need it. In today's podcast, we take a look at websites from the perspective of both the Tech Coach and the busy teacher.

Reflections and reactions to Episode 19 “Creating 1:1 Relationships with Teachers”

Is it possible to make everyone happy?
- What happens if you learn that the administration is only hearing the bad things about you … that may or may not be completely accurate?
- How do you recover if something happens you might not be aware of?
Tech Coach Websites
- Why create a website?
- How to use a website?
- Who is the website for?
  - Coaches
  - Teachers
  - District
- What goes on a Tech Coach website?
  - Appointment Calendar
  - Apps / Web Tools
  - Lessons
  - PD Classes
  - Tips/ Tricks/Helpful resources
- Tech Coach Website Options
  - WordPress
    - EduBlogs
    - WordPress.com
      - Self-Hosted
    - Google Sites
    - OneNote
Learning Management System
- Useful Tips for Websites
- Have a clear focus to the content
- Clean Navigation that everyone can understand
- Easily searchable
- How to promote your website and its various components

Tech Coach Website Options

WordPress

Over the last few years, WordPress has grown into a pretty amazing platform. So much so, that WordPress as an online environment now incorporates more than 29% of the entire internet. So why not use it for your Tech Coach website? For many, it’s simply overkill. Too many things moving around and too much time to keep it all organized with its many plugins and website themes. However, if you are looking to use WordPress for your Tech Coach blog, then here are some solutions that you might be interested in. For more information about WordPress, check out our online resources today.

Edublogs

If you are seeking a very easy to learn WordPress solution, I strongly suggest checking out EduBlogs. Hosting more than 4 MILLION educational websites, it’s one of the easiest and safest ways to create your home blog, or your tech coach website.

WordPress.com

A few years ago, I wouldn’t consider sharing WordPress.com on a review post such as this. However, recently, the mighty home of all things WP has grown up greatly. For free, WordPress.com has several free themes and options available for using the world's most popular web platform.

Google Sites

New to the educational game, but certainly an option that needs to be mentioned is “New” Google Sites. Honestly, I’m not sure after 3 fantastic years of being in the classroom we should still be calling it “new” but we will save that for another blog post. By using Google Sites, you are creating and even modeling very simple yet sophisticated web development for your teachers. Anyone in a G Suite environment should be taking advantage of how easy it is to create with Google Sites. To learn more about Google Sites, check out our online resources today.

Learn how to get started with Google Sites today
Learn how to use Padlet to create a safe and secure blog on your classroom website.

OneNote

Where OneNote is certainly not considered a website, it should be considered as a vital tool in any educational environment using Office 365. By organizing your OneNote Notebooks into tabs and sections, you can create a very simple interface for your users by adding a table of contents page. For more information, visit our OneNote resources today to get started.

Learn about the new updates to Microsoft OneNote LIVE from ISTE 2018

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Explore these Resources

In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:

http://designingtipss.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-to-choose-best-blogging-platform-in.html

Tech Tip of the Week

Consider building your tech coach website from the inside out. Nothing speaks volumes than something organic, where others in your school/district can contribute and be a part of.

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How to Support Your Teachers Through Creative Instructional Coaching Websites 44:51 Share

Ask The Tech Coach

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How to Support Your Teachers Through Creative Instructional Coaching Websites