Time is something most educators don’t have in sufficient quantities. However, instructional coach Amy Storer of Texas’ Montgomery Independent School District knows how you can make more of this precious item and engage students.
“I just came up with a new tagline recently for what I do, and it’s ‘Coaching that clicks,'” says Storer, an elementary school tech integration mentor who will share her ideas in several featured sessions at the 2026 Future of Education Technology Conference.
“It’s not just using tech for tech’s sake, it’s not surface-level tech,” Storer adds. “It’s using it in a way that engages the students, where the kids are creating, not just consuming.”
Storer’s FETC sessions include:
- Tech Toolbox for Instructional Coaches
- Design Showdown: Adobe Express vs. Canva
- AI for Every Educator
- From Sit and Get to Click and Create
Storer’s tech tips could help her fellow instructional coaches design PD sessions that help teachers streamline workflows and inject more creativity in the classroom. She recommends using choice boards so teachers and students have more control over what they’re learning.
“I think you always have to start with a why, and I think that applies even when you’re introducing AI as the new tool,” she explains. “I also want teachers to start with their learning goals: What is the objective? What are we working towards? And let’s work backwards from there to find something that can boost engagement, save time or solve a problem.”
Coaches can turn to tools such as Adobe Express and Canva to create sound bites and animations to make compelling signs and images promoting PD sessions. She compiles her coaching newsletter with Google Docs, which now offers multiple tabs and accessible fonts, among other features.
PD should also include “just-in-time” troubleshooting resources such as a package of videos to answer teachers’ questions about new tech. “Anytime you deliver PD to teachers, you want to make sure there’s time for hands-on exploration so they can leave there with a better and greater knowledge of that tech,” she adds.
Storer, who says she uses ChatGPT daily, will also show coaches and teachers how to deploy AI to generate ideas for lesson plans.
“I like to think of AI as my thought partner. It’s my little sidekick,” she points out. “It’s the little assistant we all wish that we had every day in our lives, and it’s just there to really support me and guide me.”
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