My eCoach News Header May 2010
May Newsletter 2010
In This Issue
April Winners
Featured Projects
Coaching Posts
Industry News
Survey Results
Coaching Tips
My eCoach Gifts
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
"OK, now I can give my staff something concrete to use online as we strive to develop increased communication and get into the 21st century of technology. Better than receiving my 15 emails a day!"
Gloria Simmons
Education Coordinator
Discovery Hills & Valley - Vista, CA

"Working within the framework of the Universal Builder helps you to clarify your thoughts and make your project clearer and more appealing."
Camille LoParrino
Reading Specialist 8 - Bronx, New York

"It has been a real boost to have a blog that parents and students can go to and see not only the finished product, but the planning and putting everything together that the kids do. My eCoach has helped me so much by providing a space to show the process AND to share resources."
Angela Gottschall,
Los Angeles Unified School District - Woodland Hills, CA
Greetings!

How is your school year going? What ideas and hopes do you have for the coming year? My eCoach was developed to be the support and resource center for you as a teacher, trainer, coach, or mentor. This newsletter includes a few tips and tidbits that we wanted to share with you because we know how busy you are. We are constantly looking for new Web 2.0 tools, research, ideas, projects, and more that we hope you can use, adapt, and share. Enjoy!
Winners of the April Contest for Teachers
TopEducatorAward
Why do you love to teach?

We asked teachers to tell us in 250 words or less what excites them to teach. The three winners' names and answers are:
  • Christiane Brossi: "I love teaching because I can make a difference in the life of a child. If I can bring a smile to a child's face, I consider myself successful, especially if that child was not easy to smile before you met her..." more...
  • Tiffany Blaisdel: "One word: KIDS... Teaching isn't about me, it's about the kids, and that's the lesson that I have learned. All the degrees and certifications in the world mean less than the smile and high five of a student. That's why I love to teach." more...
  • Mary Louise Castillo: " I love teaching as much as breathing! Those AHA! moments make it all worthwhile, as do the quizzical ones. Those times when they are "lost" are my invitation to give them an infusion of self-esteem.... Their attempts are my adrenaline, my raison d'�tre, my daily gracias a Dios!" more...
  • A student even wrote in with some great feedback.
Thanks to everyone who participated and shared why they love to teach!

Missed out on the contest but still want new themes?
You can still gain access to these new themes for your projects or ePortfolio by joining the New Themes Team for only $15/year.
Featured Projects
eLibrary Spotlights
Coaching and Mentoring

TopEducatorAward
If you are setting up or participating in an online community, training, or coaching program, we suggest following the Rethinking Learning blog by My eCoach CEO's Barbara Bray. Bray writes a regular column on professional development for the OnCue Journal and has been involved in coaching and mentoring in numerous organizations, from locally to internationally. Here's quick links to the latest three posts:
  • Mentoring and Coaching - Do you need it?
    Teaching is an art and it's time to bring back the teacher as an artist. How do you find the artist in you?
  • Getting the support you need
    Wouldn't it be nice to have the support you need at your fingertips? See how an online coaching program might be just what you need.
  • Balancing Act
    As an eCoach, balancing your personal and professional life is a big concern. Building trust right from the beginning is one way to make the eCoaching relationship work.
Visit here for more information about Barbara or click here to contact her.
Educational News, Grants and Updates
Noteworthy updates from the educational community

Do you have some news or grant information to share? Please send it to us at [email protected] for possible inclusion in our next newsletter.
Earth Day Survey Results
My eCoach Survey Tool

TopEducatorAwardMy eCoach offers an easy and FREE way for full members to make surveys with our Survey Tool. For Earth Day, we asked how people planned to celebrate Earth Day using this tool. Results are as followed:
  • 71% said they would encourage others to participate in Earth Day
  • 57% said they would consume less energy
  • 57% said they would pick up litter
  • 29% said they would attend an Earth Day event
  • 29% said they would east a no-waste-to-a-landfill lunch
  • and 43% said they would do something else, including: setting up a K-12 Earth Day Webpage for teachers, have an Earth Day assembly, and carry a mug for water versus using plastic bottles.
Surveys are fun to do with your students and are included in the My eCoach Lifetime membership.
Tip: eCoaching tools
My eCoach offers lots of tools and many of them are not as conspicuous for members. If you are on a team and have an eCoach, your eCoach can provide you ongoing feedback and support to help you meet your learning goals.

Individual Learning Plans (ILPs)
Members can create one or more ILPs about a specific goals. The power of the ILPs are how they are interactive and allow feedback. ILPs were created to put in one goal at a time with where you are currently and where you want to be by a specific time. You add 5 steps for your action plan and concerns. To know if you are doing this right, you can request for feedback and support from your eCoach.

Universal Builder Feedback
The same feature is on each page in the edit view of the Universal Builder. When you create a project, you can get feedback from your eCoach and then reply to the comments. Same as the ILP, all comments and replies are private and you receive an email notification. You also have a notification on your recent activities that a comment is waiting for you. Another eCoaching feature are the Author Notes. If you have more than one author, you can keep notes on each page and they only appear in the edit view. more...
Love My eCoach?
My eCoach Gifts and Stuff
My eCoach bag
Some members have asked us to create a store with our new logo - so we did. Now you can get yourself or a gift for a friend a shirt, teddy bear, tote bag, and even a mug with our logo. Show off that you are a proud member of My eCoach!
My eCoach is an online learning community built on a coaching platform complete with collaboration, communication, curriculum, resources, and publishing tools all in one place. My eCoach works for everyone: organizations, schools, districts, classrooms, individuals, businesses, universities, families, etc. For questions or more information about how we can customize our services to meet the needs of your organization, contact us today.
 
Sincerely,
Barbara Bray
Barbara Bray
President/CEO
My eCoach
800.633.2248
[email protected]