Daniel Rivera - 1st District RESA Technology Director

Welcome to Episode 1 of Season 4 of Somethin' to Tech About! Today we have Daniel Rivera, a numbers and data guru joining us. Daniel currently serves as the Technology Director for First District RESA and serves 17 counties. Daniel has provided instructional technology leadership, guidance, and professional development for K-12 and university students, faculty, and staff for 16 years and has been presenting at conferences regularly for 12 years. Daniel is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and Google for Education Innovator.

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Tune in to hear Daniel, Dru, and Angie discuss his Google Innovator project, getting educators excited about data, YouTube tips, and more. Below are some highlights from our discussion.  ​

Dru & Angie
What is your educational super-power?

Daniel: Learning software quickly and doing deep dives into it.  Also, spreadsheets.

Dru & Angie
We are curious about your Google Innovator project. Can you share what your project was and how you went about getting it started? 

Daniel: I was one of the original cohorts and at the time, a project was not required but recommended. I did not finalize my project during the days I spent at Google (many did not) but upon returning, I was approved to work with Google Glass. Working with Google Glass became my project however, it was quickly stymied by unforeseen obstacles so I turned my attention to my Tech Tuesday YouTube series. 

Dru & Angie
Speaking of your YouTube channel - What drives your topics? What advice do you have for educators who are beginning their own channels?

Daniel: 1) timely and 2) interesting but little known things. Also requests. There are videos already out there for many topics, so I try to make mine unique in terms of perspective, insight, or little known facts.
Advice? Get your look and feel down somewhat - Music, Intro, Graphics, and "norms".  Organize your schedule of videos on a spreadsheet so you can post regular content. 
 
Dru & Angie
How do you get educators and administrators excited about data? Why do they need Google Data Studio?

Daniel: 3 Words: "Data-Driven Decisions" isn't that what we are supposed to be doing? Data Studio takes large spreadsheets with rows and rows of data and lets you easily ask questions about that data. 

Dru & Angie
What can educators expect from RESA this year?

Daniel: More remote services with a strong commitment to in-face service as usual. We are more flexible and mobile than before. Our staff is comfortable providing support anywhere, and any time. 

Dru & Angie
The pandemic has certainly changed the ways education is delivered. How do you see education post-pandemic?

Daniel: Much more hybridized. Much more tech-savvy. Demands for access to resources and digital files will go up. Hopefully less paper. I also think that this pandemic has made us take another look at student responsibility and motivation, and whether we really mean it when we talk about anywhere, anytime learning.

First District RESA

Tech Tuesday

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Daniel Rivera by dru.piersol