Terrorized by Technology

Terror
 : a very strong feeling of fear

: something that causes very strong feelings of fear : something that is terrifying

 (merriam-webster.com)

An email comes through just as your planning time is beginning. "Teachers, please assemble in the media center for your training on the newest gadget ". A sudden fear overtakes you! Technology training again? I still have not learned how to use Microsoft Office. 

Picture taken from http://www.joannejacobs.com/2014/03/teachers-get-tech-but-not-training/

Technology is everywhere. From the development of the wheel in Prehistoric times to our modern Smartphones, technology has made life easier. I began my teaching career in 2001, during the era of no online gradebooks, no computers in the classrooms, no digital projectors or document cameras. Now, I can not imagine teaching without these tools. If technology promises to improve our teaching, become more efficient with our instructional day, and improve instruction to our students, why are many teachers afraid of it? In January 2013, PBS/Learning Media conducted a survey of 503 teachers. The teachers ranged all content areas and grade levels PK-12. Overwhelming, the teachers surveyed agreed that technology makes their work day more productive and allows for students to be reached in many different modalities. The technology is not the problem, the training is. 

There is often a mismatch between technology training and the teachers the training is supposed to serve. Just as students come to the classroom with varied experiences and background knowledge, so do teachers. I love science and technology. For me, technology is just the application of my favorite subject, science. I enjoy reading about new discoveries in the field that I can use to help my students become college or career ready. Becoming technologically literate is an important skill needed for students to have productive and successful careers in the increasingly globally connected world. There several barriers that make technology training difficult and not well received:

1. Equipment and software are kept current, but the technology training is done in a haphazard way. My school received 100 new Chromebooks for testing but the grade levels that are testing using the new Chromebooks are still waiting for training. The Georgia Milestones are only three weeks away. I think paper-pencil testing maybe be best in this situation.

2. Like any new skill, practice is always necessary.Teachers are not given an appropriate amount of time to practice with new software or hardware and are expected to remember how an application works 6 months after the actual training. Teachers who are truly effective in the classroom usually have little or no spare time, and they are often not paid for the time they must put into learning new technologies. 

3. We forget some people just don't naturally like technology. I write code for fun and am becoming a Google certified teacher just for fun. It is beyond me why anyone would want to teach language arts instead of science (well, not really. Language is cool too!) Well, some people just don't see the thrill of technology and find its use stressful.

The way to combat those issues is to provide relevant, timely, technology that focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the staff. Every year at my school, the media specialist sends out a survey asking teachers what training opportunities would they like to embark on. In a technology rich district such as Clayton, there is a lot to be trained on. From I-pads, Interwrite Pads (our digital classroom suite), Thinkgate, Turning Point, Edmodo, ExploreLearning, the technology training department is kept pretty busy. With my school's small size however, the county technology department often forgets about us. My school has decided to set up a technology team in house to provide support for new software and hardware that comes out and provide additional training after the spotly county training. Having colleagues that have "beta tested" various programs and hardware is helpful in building a professional learning community. Although the media specialist is often seen as the "tech guru" in the school, all teachers can become gurus as well. There is a wonderful website that offers lessons on many Web 2.0 tools used in schools today: 

 http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/ These videos could be used to supplement training and also provide refresher courses for teachers who need them. 

Technology Training.....Be the Best Coach YOU Can Be!!!

Technology Training

INTRO

Technology training for educators today is almost as important to have as a daily meal for sustenance!  Our kids are technology gurus and if we aren’t teaching them with the newest, trendiest technology available, then we are doing a disservice to them.

 

THE CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY USE AT MY SCHOOL

When I reflect on the current state of technology use at my school by our faculty members, I would have to say that about 60% of the staff use innovative technologies on a regular basis within their classrooms.  The 40% are the teachers from the Stone Age still using the same project from 10 years ago!  While we could definitely provide more technology training, we have provided some that teachers just aren’t using.  I think the main reason they aren’t using it is because nobody is checking to see if they are using it.  We have a major issue with monitoring in our district overall, not just for PL.  Sometimes, teachers need someone to look over their shoulder to get them on board with new things that they are resistant to try.  One thing that our school did within the last month was to have a team from the Schlechty Center to come conduct walk-throughs with us.  Each teacher got a chance to go into classrooms and ask/observe what the students were doing.  We found that students wanted more hands-on assignments instead of worksheets and that some of them were simply bored due to lack of engagement.  From this experience, the leadership team and the design team at our school has been working on professional development opportunities for the faculty that includes additional training in different areas of technology and exploration of what TRUE ENGAGEMENT looks like.

ISTE STANDARDS OVERVIEW

ISTE provides standards that coaches should abide by.  Coaching teachers as a library media specialist is just one of the many hats that we wear in the media center.  Listed below is a basic summary of each standards that coaches should keep in mind when coaching others:

·         Visionary Leadership – Technology coaches should share a vision for comprehensive use of technology that will foster excellence and transformational change within the instructional environment.

·         Teaching, learning and assessments – Technology coaches should provide assistance to teachers in using technology to assess students, provide differentiation for students as well as rigorous and relevant experiences that will also keep students engaged.

·         Digital age learning environments – In order to maximize student learning, technology coaches will not only help to create digital age learning environments, but provide continuous support to ensure fidelity of their use.

·         Professional development and program evaluation – Technology coaches will develop professional learning opportunities built around technology use.  Thereafter, they will use evaluation tools to gauge the impact of the professional development on instructional practices and student learning.

·         Digital citizenship – Technology coaches will promote and “BE” the face of digital citizenship by creating opportunities for all students to achieve and have access to digital tools no matter their age, cultural background etc.  This will in turn promote local and global interaction with larger communities.

·         Content knowledge and professional growth – Technology coaches will be exhibit professional skills in the areas of pedagogical and technological areas, content knowledge of a variety of subject areas as well as adult learning and leadership.  Technology coaches will continuously seek learning opportunities to deepen their knowledge and expertise in these areas as well.

MEDIA SPECIALIST’S JOB AS A TECHNOLOGY COACH

In the summary of the ISTE Technology coaching standards mentioned above, the roles that media specialist are prevalent throughout.  As a future media specialist, I will make it a top priority of mine to ensure that my leadership vision for technology use to be innovative and relevant throughout the school building is crystal clear to my principal, faculty and staff.  I am a big user to “to-do” list and so on my monthly list will be a task to research the latest new websites, digital tools, e-assessment tools etc. to provide a new one to my staff.  Actually monthly may be a bit much, so I will say bi-monthly which will give the staff time to try it out as well as time for us to collaborate on what they liked and had trouble with in using the new tool.  Another way to stay informed is to search for free webinars.  I am learning that webinars are one of the latest outlets to stay informed on new technology and digital tools out there!  One of the ultimate goals of a media specialist should be to be a resource to the teachers at their school.  I know that it takes time to become a GREAT media specialist, but I really want professional technology in the area of technology to be one of my main duties to the faculty and staff at whatever school I am blessed to become a media specialist at.  My mentor which was the media specialist that I interviewed said that she trains teachers on things that come down from the board basically.  And my media specialist at my school never provides professional development!  She is retiring this year and states that she is overwhelmed with inventory.  I say that every experience is a learning experience whether you learn best practices on things you should do or things you shouldn't!  Having said that, when I become a media specialist I will try to keep my originally stated goal in mind when I feel overwhelmed and try to seek help from others (volunteers) so that I am able to keep my main focus on finding and training teachers on different technology resources and tools to keep their lessons engaging.