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A Tech Teacher on a Mission

Tech Leadership - A Work in Progress

4/22/2013

4 Comments

 
Twitter has been an amazing professional development tool as I continue my learning in technology leadership.  There are hundreds of great educators on Twitter who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences, tech-related or otherwise. My primary use for it is to participate in ed chats that deal with varying issues in education, even if the chats  are not specifically intended for my region.  It is the ultimate PLN... for the tech-savvy teacher. 
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The general attitude of the tech experts that I follow on Twitter is that we need to dramatically change our teaching practice in order to meet the needs of our student population.  This article written by Will Richardson, one of my sworn-by people to follow on Twitter, in the most recent issue of the Educational Leadership magazine discusses the "upheaval-filled" changes that must be made in education over the next decade.  While I agree that we need to transform our education system to meet the needs of learners who no longer need the "sage on the stage" educator to disperse knowledge, I feel that we are missing a paramount step in this change. If we are going to transform our practices to meet the needs of today's learners, we need to support educators in that shift. Much like our students, teachers need facilitation and guidance throughout their learning process.

This is something that has been irking me as a teacher who has been hired to begin this school's tech integration initiative. There are so many educators who experience roadblocks with integrating devices or are terrified of changing a practice that has worked in their favour for years. Or perhaps they are using the devices but they are using them in a way that tech experts would scoff at - digital worksheets, PowerPoint, word processing - not what they have defined as transformative education, but adaptive to the needs of the prescribed curriculum. But hey, in my opinion, at least they're using it - that's a step in the right direction. 

Evidence kept stacking up as I had a conversation with a self-proclaimed "traditional teacher" on Twitter. He argued that Twitter isn't a forum that attracts traditional educators for Pro-D purposes:

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He's got a valid point. Traditional educators are not typically motivated by the powers of the Internet or technology and  don't often make the jump to Twitter to professionally develop themselves. In fact, many of the teachers I work with don't yet have that popular, immediate response to Google something when they don't know the answer to a question.  Yes, there are endless possibilities with this gift of knowledge at our fingertips, but teachers need to be led down the path of learning as much as students do, even if you begin with showing them how to do a search online for a simple question and eventually lead them to more complex tasks like developing a PLN down the road. 

A few days later after that ed chat, I held a meeting for our staff regarding the direction of technology in our building in the coming year. The meeting ended up turning into somewhat of a debate of whether there was a need for more technology in the first place. We began the school year in September by bringing projection units into each of our classrooms, a big jump for our school, leaving some of our staff questioning the amount of money going into the technology pot. 

This turned out to be a lesson not only in my young abilities to lead and facilitate a meeting with my colleagues but also in how to better help educators see the potentials that technology presents us. Sometimes showing a few apps or how I can move about the room with my projected iPad using AirServer isn't enough. Not every educator is going to have that "Ahhh, I could use that in my classroom in this way..."  or "Ohh, I could do my Pro-D online through that site..." moment(s) immediately. These teachers know that the world of learning has changed. This isn't breaking news to them. But the majority of them (not all, but a majority nonetheless) are asking "How do I do it?" or "How can I push it further than what I know?" and are at a loss because the amount of support they need now or will need down the road to make the change isn't or won't always be there. So how do we support the true "beginner" and "novice" teachers in taking the first steps in the journey of adapting, modifying, or better yet, transforming their practices and allowing tech to fit into their world?

Some may argue that these teachers need to take it into their own hands to find professional development that supports tech in their programs. Let's remember the type of Pro-D that they're accustomed and will undoubtedly search for: workshops. A forum where time is limited, information is frequently disseminated via presentation software, and you might get a handout to take with you that you're probably not going to look at ever again anyways. And to speak to Pro-D that is tech-related, with the volume of devices trying to connect to the local network, there are often technical glitches that set individual users back and slow down the workshop decisively. I'm not saying that traditional professional development isn't a good place to start to learning about technology, but it's not enough to motivate transformation of instruction. Teachers who don't feel comfortable enough to develop their own PLN need continued support in order to find success in utilizing the tools that technology has to offer us.
 
It is up to leaders in the tech field whether they be admin, teachers, or support staff, to help other educators take the next step in creating globalized, student-centered education. This needs to be initiated first and foremost at the school level where educators can have access to immediate support in their tech skill acquisition through modelling, side-by-side teaching, and shadowing. Akin to student learners, teachers need repeated exposure, time to play and process, and critical, professional reflection on what tech can do to enhance their teaching and their learning. 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment below or follow me on Twitter to get updates on new posts. 
4 Comments
Shawn Davids
4/22/2013 05:27:52 pm

Great post Victoria!! You have really hit on some important ideas when it comes to change in education, especially as it pertains to the use of technology and the educators using it.

First of all, I couldn't agree more with the idea of Will Richardson, that a transformation, and not simply a change, is required in education. The idea that the entire sum of human knowledge is now contained in our pockets in the form of a smart phone, really changes the role of schools when it comes to learning. We are no longer the system of simply transferring knowledge to students. As Will talks about in his book, Why Schools, the role of our building needs to change so that it does not become obsolete. In fact, I purchased the book for our staff as it is a quick read and gives them some compelling arguments for significantly transforming what occurs during the school day and beyond.

I can appreciate your frustration when it comes to change in a school. There is no question that current educators cover the entire spectrum of comfort, use and willingness to use technology in the classroom. And while the reality is that no matter where an educator is on the spectrum of technology use, they really can't just stay there, the important question to be asking them is "What do you want your students to learn?" And once a conversation occurs around what it is we think is important for our children to learn in the 21st Century, then we can discuss how technology can empower that learning. There is no question in my mind that the technology available currently and in the future is crucial to a student's learning. It is not, however, a silver bullet for anything. But once we are clear on what it is we want a child to be learning (concepts, skills or otherwise) then the technology becomes a powerful tool to engage students and connect student learning to the world around them.

And there is no question that educators MUST model that. The power of a PLN for a student usually isn't realized unless they see how powerful it is for the adults around them. And there is absolutely no question that it is powerful. One of the effective strategies I've found in getting educators who may be more reluctant, to appreciate this idea, is to have them tap into something they are interested in that may have nothing to do with education at all. If they are interested in cooking, show them the power of Pinterest in finding new recipes. If they are avid travellers, direct them to blogs where others share their worldly experiences. If they enjoy sports, show them how to connect with their favourite players on Twitter. Yes, they will need someone to "set them up" and "walk them through it" but they will need this no matter what. However once they see how valuable global connectedness can be in an area they are already passionate about, it is an easier leap to help them build their professional PLN. In fact, we know they are passionate about that, in fact, it is what connects all of the people in your building.

I admire what you are doing with your staff Victoria and would encourage you to stick with it. The fact that you are reflecting on things through this blog shows that you are passionate about technology in education and are willing to grow as an educational leader. Keep working with your staff, both in the big group settings and especially in those one-on-one conversations where you really help move people forward in their practice.

Reply
Chris Wejr link
4/26/2013 04:41:25 am

Hey Victoria - great post and important discussion. I have made some significant in trying to push for more tech use in our schools. SOmetimes it has turned into zero-sum debates and other times it has turned into more tech use but using tech that might not enhance the learning experience of our students. I do want to touch on a few things to add to the dialogue: connected educators and encouraging more tech.

I am very fond of my network that I have created through social media. I cannot tell you how important it has been to me. Having said this, it is not for everyone at this point. I have encouraged Twitter but some will never try it... I have shift my focus on using a tool to connect to just encouraging ANY form of connecting. Nilofer Merchant said, "we need to hold an idea in an open hand". We need to connect and share. What that looks like depends on the teacher. I had a great conversation with one of our teachers yesterday (@garrioch) and she said that she does not use Twitter as much because she has connected with teachers in the building more (she also knows her online PLN is there if/when she needs it). So she is connecting in a way that works for her - and that is the most important piece: connecting with other educators in a way that pushes us forward. This can start in a building and spread from there.

I made the mistake of coming across to teachers that if they were not using tech, this was less of an educational experience. Although this may be true in some cases it is more important to discuss the learning experience in the class (tech or not) and ask how could tech enhance this learning process. The other key for me is that I now have these conversations with teachers who are keen on trying this. What I have found is that once teachers see other teachers using it and the stories are shared, we see more gentle nudges to try. We have very little time as educators to play in the digital sandbox so having these teachers share their stories in the staff room of simple first steps (ie. blogging) can enhance the learning experience has proven to be powerful.

Lastly, my main role as principal is to create the conditions for teachers and students to do well. Part of this is to provide the tools... but only if their is PD coming with it (and this can look very different to each teacher). If we put projectors in each class without the learning how to use it or without understanding the WHY of this, then they become just a bigger screen.

So I have rambled on here but I think small steps with teachers showing a keen interest and also encouraging teachers to share and connect their ideas in ways that work for them will be what truly transforms education.

Reply
Victoria Olson
4/26/2013 05:23:19 am

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your comments. One of the ways that our school is dealing with tech integration is designating our tech teacher, currently myself, with "tech time." This is time in which I am relieved from my classroom duties to help other teachers integrate these materials and devices into their programs. This time currently makes up 20% of my position, which allows several staff members to access me as a resource for modelling, shadowing, or sometimes just ideas of how tech can be used. I have trained our staff on how to use projection units, COWs, and in my most recent endeavour, the iPads. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the changes, but it is because the teachers have day to day support, rather than simply learning from PD and needing to figure it out on their own later.

I completely agree that every person is not going to be drawn to an online PLN. There is certainly substance to learning within a building and that's a good place to start. But there will always be some teachers who don't feel the need to continually change and upgrade their programs and that's where I'd like to make a bigger impact.

Technology is not and may never be the end-all, be-all answer to our quest for engagement in schools. But it is a forum that teachers need to tap into in order to enrich the existing infrastructure in our school systems. I firmly believe that they will only make this transformation if they receive ongoing support, in whatever form that takes.

Reply
vicky link
8/4/2016 12:44:41 am

Each of the sectors is headlined by globally recognized leaders, with the likes of RIM, Open Text and CGI Group positioned as world-class technology

Reply



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