Apple Learning Coach Program Overview User Guide

: June 9, 2024
: Apple

Table of Contents

Apple Learning Coach Program Overview
About Apple Learning Coach
ALC Learning Journey
Course Expectations
Timeline
Technology Requirements
Maintaining Momentum
Frequently Asked Questions
Continuing Education Units
Professional Development Hours
More Professional Learning with Apple
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

Apple Learning Coach Program Overview

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About Apple Learning Coach

Apple Learning Coach is a free professional learning program that trains instructional coaches, digital learning specialists and other coaching educators to help teachers get more out of Apple technology. It’s a dynamic mix of self-paced lessons, workshop sessions and personal creative projects — and participants may be eligible to receive continuing education credits.*

The Learning Experience
Once accepted into the program, Apple Learning Coach candidates engage in an online course, with self-paced modules and two days of workshops with Apple Professional Learning Specialists. This experience provides a cohort of fellow coaches, as well as Coaching Journals and actionable takeaways. The learning experience builds to the creation of a Coaching Portfolio, which candidates submit as their final assessment at the end of the course.

ALC Learning Journey

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Application Requirements

The application for Apple Learning Coach includes the following:

Verification of Apple Teacher recognition

Apple Teacher recognition is required to ensure that all Apple Learning Coach candidates have learned foundational skills on iPad or Mac. Accepted applicants take these foundations further during the Apple Learning Coach course.

Capacity to coach

Applicants are required to describe their capacity to coach in the application. “Capacity to coach” means the applicant’s role will allow them to coach at least one educator in their school or system. The program defines coaching as partnering with teachers to analyse their teaching, set goals, identify strategies to reach the goals and provide support until the goals are met.
The program is designed specifically for educators who coach, so a condition of admission to the program is that applicants must be able to coach at least one educator in their school or system upon completion of the course.

Written approval from school or system leadership

All applicants are required to obtain approval from their school or system administration to participate in the program.
To begin the ethics approval process, applicants will be asked to provide contact information for their school or system leadership in the application.

Course Expectations

To be successful in this course, candidates must

Read all sections in every unit carefully
Earn 100 percent on all quizzes in each unit
Submit a completed journal for each unit
Attend and actively participate in the two days of workshops (see the next page for date options)
Submit a completed Coaching Portfolio at the end of Unit 6 Candidates will learn more about these expectations if accepted into the program

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Timeline

Application deadline: The last day to apply is 16 February 2023.
Kickoff event: We strongly encourage attendance at this one-hour virtual event (includes Q&A), which will be offered at 4.00 pm AEDT on the following dates:
9 March, 2023
16 March, 2023
14 March, 2023

Units 1, 2: Self-paced and online; 3 March to 28 April 2023
Units 3, 4 virtual workshops : Candidates accepted into the program are required to attend one of the following virtual workshop options:

5–6 April, 2023 8:30 am to 3:30 pm AEST
18–19 April, 2023 8:30 am to 3:30 pm AEST
2–3 May, 2023 8:30 am to 3:30 pm AEST

Units 5, 6: Self-paced and online; 7 April to 2 June 2023 Final deadline: Coaching Portfolios for this cohort are due 2 June, 2023.

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Note: The course takes an average of 43.5 hours to complete. Please see page 8 for more information on learning time, continuing education credits and professional development hours.

Technology Requirements

The Apple Learning Coach program teaches coaching skills for creative integration of technology into learning. Everyone Can Create is used to inspire participants and model activities and projects that engage students more deeply in learning. Participants will need an iPad and the following free resources to complete the projects.*

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Guidance for coaching teachers includes Mac examples when possible, but for the best experience with Apple Learning Coach, participants and their schools should have access to iPad with iOS 11, iPadOS 14 or later.
Some app features require iPadOS 14 or later. All apps are free and available on the App Store or included on iPad.

Maintaining Momentum

Each Apple Learning Coach will develop a Coaching Action Plan specific to the needs of their school or system. By the end of the course, they’ll have defined:

Coaching Goals

Actionable goals for how to improve coaching at their school or system

Coaching Activities

Specific activities to achieve their coaching goals

Evidence of Success

Explanation of how they’ll measure the successful achievement of their coaching goals

Timeline

Steps they’ll take along the way to achieve their goals
Each Apple Learning Coach will gain a deeper understanding of how to support different teachers as they integrate technology into learning. This person will be the in-house expert, so teachers have a coach who can help them realise the full potential of their Apple technology — and the full potential of their students.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who’s an ideal candidate for this program?

Apple Learning Coach is a good fit for an instructional coach, digital learning specialist, or other educator who has the capacity to coach colleagues in your school or system.* The program is currently only available to selected schools and systems in Australia and New Zealand.

How much does the program cost?

There’s no fee to participate.

Does the program have prerequisites?

Applicants are required to earn their Apple Teacher recognition in the Apple Education Community to gain foundational skills with Apple technology before acceptance into the program. Applicants are also required to submit an application and obtain written approval from their school or system leadership. See page 3 for more information on application requirements.

What’s the time commitment?

The time commitment for candidates to complete the certification course is estimated at 43.5 hours over a three-month period, including two days of workshops. See the table on the page 4 for more information.

What will participants gain?

Apple Learning Coach provides participants with a full course, actionable guides and templates, and a cohort of peers. Apple Learning Coaches may also be able to earn more than 40 hours of continuing education units. See the page 8 for details.

How do Apple Learning Coaches maintain certification?

We require all Apple Learning Coaches, once they’re certified, to renew certification by participating in a minimum of six hours of Apple professional learning every two years to stay current on Apple technology and resources.

Continuing Education Units

Apple Learning Coach participants may be eligible to receive continuing education units (CEUs) from Lamar University, in recognition of their completion of the training and materials. Upon completion of the course, candidates will receive an email with instructions on how to request CEU credits directly from the university.

Professional Development Hours

Depending on system and state policies, many participants may be eligible to get credit to meet professional development hour requirements and achieve potential pay scale advancement. School and system leaders may consider qualifying the Apple Learning Coach program for at least 43.5 hours of professional development.

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More Professional Learning with Apple

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In addition to Apple Learning Coach, we offer a range of experiences to support educators and administrators as they deploy, manage and teach with Apple products.

Apple Teacher is a free professional learning program designed to support and celebrate educators as they teach and learn with Apple. The program helps educators build foundational skills on iPad and Mac, then guides them through integrating technology into everyday lessons with Apple Teacher Portfolio — creating a portfolio of their work that’s ready to share with leadership and peers. The journey starts in the Apple Education Community — a personalised online learning experience that can be accessed from any device, anytime.
Apple leadership books provide strategies to help leaders guide successful initiatives.
The Education Deployment Guide outlines best practices to help IT staff deploy and manage Apple devices. Our Deployment for Learning and Teaching workshop and our systems engineers can also help you develop deployment and management strategies for your school.
To see how innovative schools and educators are using Apple technology, learn more about the Apple Distinguished School and Apple Distinguished Educator programs.
Apple Professional Learning Specialists are available to provide custom support for teachers and executive coaching for your leadership team. Virtual conferences and coaching extend our offerings to support educators in making the most of Apple technology.
For information about all the professional learning opportunities available to you, contact your Apple Education team, or call 1300-551-927.

Questions about the Apple Learning Coach program? Email [email protected].