In my last post, I shared the journey of my Google Innovator project, a journey that began with a simple but powerful question: How might we invest in Gen Z educators to help them engage their Gen Alpha students? Today, I’m thrilled to introduce the answer I’ve been developing: The Owl’s Perch.
Initial Idea
Everything came together from my obsession with generational studies, doctoral research on digital skills new teachers need, and observing the trend of new teachers who are unprepared for a variety of reasons. Specifically, I noticed the newer educators who belong to Gen Z were struggling to support their students who were primarily Gen Alpha. When these new teachers faced a struggle with the different ways Gen Alpha preferred to learn, they didn’t know who to turn to. Add to that the fact continuous teacher shortages meant many new teachers, Gen Z or not, were coming into the classroom without a degree and/or certification. Those who completed alternative certification programs still seemed to be missing foundational learning to support success as a teacher. Additionally, budget cuts crept in limiting support districts were able to provide for their new teachers.
Regardless of what a district could offer, I thought it would be helpful to have an online presence that teachers could search on that contained research backed strategies as well as connect with veteran teachers offering mentorship support. The initial idea was quite big:
Early on during my Innovator Mentor chats, my mentor suggested on focus on one aspect that would be the most accessible with the most impact. That ended up being the online mentor option. More discussion narrowed it to a chat-like option where new teachers could ask questions that trained mentors could respond to.
From EduHaven to The Owl’s Perch
The initial name for the network I began to build was EduHaven as I wanted it to be a safe space for new teachers to land. After some research for an appropriate app to use, I learned about Pumble. I chose Pumble for a few key reasons: it’s accessible, easy to navigate (very similar to Slack which many people are familiar with), and, most importantly, it’s 100% free for users. This ensures that every educator, regardless of their school’s budget or their personal financial situation, can access this vital support network. For training the mentors who would be part of the project; I built out a quick training using my research, NotebookLM, Gemini, and published it all to Google Classroom.
As I prepared to send this out to a wider audience than the small group I already shared it with, I wanted to have EduHaven fit within my website, An Educational Cup of Tea, that I began building a while back. Unexpectedly, this ended up leading to a slight refresh/rebuild of my whole website, and it worked out wonderfully!
The revamped overall idea of An Educational Cup of Tea included a nod to the Goddess Athena for her wisdom and strategy which are important when it comes to classroom management and behavior management. Also, I wanted a name that evoked a sense of a cafe atmosphere that brought in the symbol of the owl – Athena’s animal and representation of wisdom. So it made perfect sense to evolve EduHaven to The Owl’s Perch!
One of the most exciting aspects of The Owl’s Perch is its potential to bridge the gap between generations of educators. We have a wave of talented Gen Z teachers entering the profession who learned with technology and digital tools, uniquely equipped to connect with their Gen Alpha students. By pairing these new teachers with veteran mentors, we can combine digital skills with timeless pedagogical wisdom, creating a powerful collaboration that will benefit students and teachers alike.
Let’s Launch The Owl’s Perch
Whether you are a preservice/novice educator looking for support or a veteran educator interested in mentoring, I’d love for you to join! You can learn more and find out how to join by visiting the official project page: The Owl’s Perch.
Help me build a community that nurtures, supports, and empowers educators at every stage of their careers. I can’t wait to see you at The Owl’s Perch!
An Educational Cup of Tea 