Tech Talks

One of the goals of Tech High School during the 2020-21 school year is to create a greater sense of community. It’s especially difficult in a time when students are distance learning. Yet, staff and students alike have taken on the challenge and met it with great success. One of the ways they have created community is through Tech Talks, a weekly livestreamed videocast.

Molly Kensy, assistant principal at Tech, advises the students in topics as well as interview subjects.

“We are focusing a lot on building community,” explains Kensy. “Pride, respect and responsibility are our basic pillars. When we met as a new admin team in June, we talked through some of the data of what our students are missing and needing. Then we met with teachers and did the same thing.”

The resounding theme from teachers as well as students was “students don’t see teachers as anything but teachers.” Students described how they don’t really know their teachers and what they do outside the classroom with the exception of the few who are coaches or advisors for clubs and groups.

From that idea, admin and students began to brainstorm. They all agreed that technology, livestreaming in particular, was readily available as a communication tool. Livestreaming is already used in student advisory.

“In a discussion with our Student Voice group,” shares Kensy, “which is a bunch of different students (9-12 grade) who are in other activities, we asked for feedback [on the idea]. Students and admin knew there were staff that have interesting things in their lives outside of teaching.”

Thus, Tech Talks was born. A survey was sent to staff to ask what experiences they’d share with students. The array of subjects in their responses was wide.

Similarly to the infamous Ted Talks, Tech Talks are focused around a topic. Students grouped the subjects and came up with themes. Thus far, episodes have been “Scary, Spooky Experiences from the Old Tech Building,” “Technology Guys,” “Interesting Experiences” and “Girl Talk.”

Tech Talks are designed with student moderators and a panel of teachers or administrators. Moderators formulate and ask the questions while panelists answer live. The moderators are students from the Student Council, Student Voice or Equity Council.

“It’s pieces of somebody – the connection piece is what we are missing right now [in distance learning],” says Kensy. “So, bringing some things out of the woodwork that aren’t necessarily academic, but stories and inspiration.”

For instance, the panelists in the “Technology Guys” episode had other careers at some point and came back to education as a career. A teacher in the “Interesting Experiences” episode shared her house building story in Guatemala and the difficulties she endured. Yet, it was worth it to be a humanitarian. “Girl Talk” was about strong women, particularly women of color, and their experiences, challenges or roadblocks in life.

Students are engaging with the livestream. A new episode broadcasts every Friday at 12:30 p.m. Students can watch from home during lunch or a homework break.

“We are always looking for stories that match our students and who they are,” says Kensy. “I love that we have the ability to livestream. It’s been fun to watch them [students] step in and take it on themselves to find questions that are meaningful and that matter. It is kid-focused. It’s fun to see that kids want to know what it [Tech Talk] is, when it is and ask for the link to watch. My hope is that when we come back to a hybrid model or full capacity that students can reach out to those teachers and say, ‘Hey, what was it like to [fill in the blank]?'”

Kensy sees Tech Talks as a way to connect community not only between students and teachers, but teacher to teacher, teacher to admin and all of the above to the entire St. Cloud community.

Tune-in Fridays to get to know Tech staff and district administrators as well as students. Some of the upcoming topics include Girl Talk Pt. 2, Men of Color and Bullying. However, they have quite a bank of topics built up thanks to staff who are willing to share, inspire and talk.