The doors to COETAIL are open!

The doors to COETAIL are open!

When I was a classroom teacher, I often spent hours ‘perfecting’ my lesson plans. Almost as often, my carefully planned out lessons didn’t go quite as I had thought they would. Sound familiar? My hunch is I’m not alone ?

Turns out, my perfectionist tendencies extend to my life outside of the classroom. Our plan was to share the Online 11 website with you over a week ago. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working overtime to make it your one-stop shop for all the information you need in order to begin your COETAIL journey. Hopefully, you’ll forgive us for being a little behind schedule!

We’ll continue to add information to Online 11 as needed, but for now, I’m so relieved to finally share it with you ? Click here to start exploring how teaching & learning in your classroom might be transformed through COETAIL!

One of the other things I’ve been working on since you last heard from me is sharing my COETAIL & University of Kentucky story. Did you know that I began my COETAIL journey in February of 2013, then began my Master’s with the University of Kentucky in September of the same year?! Yes, I was just a little crazy!

Now, our partnership with the University of Kentucky’s Department of Educational Leadership Studies allows you to get the benefits of these 2 amazing programs with less work. I might be a little jealous ? So, last week I spent some time answering a few questions to give you a first-hand account of both the Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) and University of Kentucky’s School Technology Leadership (UKSTL) Graduate Certificate.

Have questions that I didn’t address? I’d love to connect with you and answer them! Find me at @mmelayman, leave a comment below, or shoot me an email.

Describe your COETAIL experience.
I began COETAIL during my 2nd semester of international teaching...
my first year out of the classroom, and 6 months after leaving our comfortable lives in the US for an adventure in Kuwait. Not only had I left friends and family behind in the US, I had also left my well-established PLN of French teachers and US educators. I heard about COETAIL from colleagues in Kuwait who were completing their Course 5 final projects the same semester I started. It feels a little dramatic to say “and my life was never the same again,” but it’s sorta true. COETAIL gave me a purpose during a difficult professional transition. I felt embraced by the COETAIL community and my non-existent international PLN quickly grew. Between my smaller cohort going through the program together and the ever-growing COETAIL community, I felt seen, heard, and welcomed. I still have regular interactions both online and in person with people I ‘met’ during my COETAIL experience. COETAIL continues to help me feel connected no matter where I go in the world.
As an instructional coach during my COETAIL journey...
I did not have my own classroom. However, I was still able to immediately apply what I was learning to my tech coaching practice. The flexibility of the program allowed me to approach content and tasks through my non-classroom lens. I was also encouraged to connect with other educators both at my school and around the world to plan and implement projects which supported me to make local and global connections.
One of my favorite things about COETAIL was...
the public approach to reflecting. While I had done some blogging before (and after) COETAIL, the weekly blog reflection on our readings forced me to put my thinking out there for the world to see. This practice helped mold my view of the importance of open sharing in education. All of my lesson plans, projects, and thoughts are still there for anyone to read.

Read more about my COETAIL & UKSTL experience!

To celebrate this new partnership, we’re giving away “5 Creative Ways for Students to Reflect” to help jumpstart the beginning of your school year. Click here to grab it and then share with a friend or colleague you think might be interested.

Our ISTE Standards series will continue next week. Missed any of our previous emails? Read more about how COETAILers embody the standards here!

Your turn!

We want to hear from you! What does living the ISTE Standards mean to you? How do you demonstrate the standards? Why and how would you like to grow in relation to the standards?

Let us know via Twitter or Instagram using #COETAIL (feel free to get creative!) or comment on any of the blog posts!

We’ll choose 1 person a month to receive FREE blog hosting on coetail.com for 3 years as part of our upcoming Online 11 cohort!

Want to hear from current & past COETAILers? Reach out to the COETAIL community by using #COETAIL on Twitter or find COETAILers via our list!

The next COETAIL cohort and our first joint cohort with the University of Kentucky begins in January 2019. Are you ready to be part of something bigger and become a COETAILer? Stay up to date about our next cohorts by signing up for our mailing list!

Shifting Our Schools Podcast

In Episode 68 of the Shifting our Schools podcast, Jeff & I connected with John Nash (Associate Professor and Department Chair for the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky) to discuss how universities are changing to meet the needs of educators.

We spent some time talking about the changes happening at the university level and dove deeper into our new partnership with our stackable certificates that can lead to a Master’s Degree or even Ph.D. Listen here!

In Episode 69 of the Shifting our Schools podcast, Chrissy, Kim, and Jeff take time out to reflect on how three teachers who happened to teach at the same time at an international school in Bangkok end up where they are today. The history of COETAIL and how everything snowballed into Eduro Learning. An unexpected journey with student learning at the center. Listen here!