Working as a technology integration specialist in a small school is the best job I have ever had, and I love it. All good jobs are challenges at points, and I worry that I am getting half of my job wrong. The most visible work I do, teaching kids technology, is going really well. We are programming in grades K-8, students make videos and post them to the class blogs, the 3rd grade even made bird puppets and 7th grade is going to be making puppets soon. I can see that I have made a difference and can confidently say that the technology class model has changed to suit the adoption of the 1:1 program.
That is only half of my job. My second charge is to support teachers using technology in class. I know I am making progress, but I thought it would be more visible now that I am in my second year. I try to model solid pedagogy and lessons that seamlessly include and leverage technology to support learning. I try to keep my work transparent and accessible, but the other day I heard it. A teacher I love working with said, "Sam is amazing, he is a wizard." This sounds like high praise, and I know it was meant to be, but it is evidence of failure.
If what I do is amazing or magical, it is the opposite of accessible. This teacher did not follow up her declaration by saying that she too was a wizard. This praise was a clear measure between what I do and what she feels she can do. This is the hard work of technology integration, keeping it accessible. I want to be more "You got this" than "Look at this amazing magic."
Even as I write this I can think of teachers who are using more tech this year than last. They are using it in ways that make their students work sharable and engaging to a wider audience. It isn't all of them, but it is happening. Like any good teacher, I con't focus on the successful ones, unless we are all successful.
I know so many great teachers working on this same challenge, so how do we do amazing and transformative work, and keep it accessible to other teachers? How do you spread the message of "You got this" with your colleagues?
That is only half of my job. My second charge is to support teachers using technology in class. I know I am making progress, but I thought it would be more visible now that I am in my second year. I try to model solid pedagogy and lessons that seamlessly include and leverage technology to support learning. I try to keep my work transparent and accessible, but the other day I heard it. A teacher I love working with said, "Sam is amazing, he is a wizard." This sounds like high praise, and I know it was meant to be, but it is evidence of failure.If what I do is amazing or magical, it is the opposite of accessible. This teacher did not follow up her declaration by saying that she too was a wizard. This praise was a clear measure between what I do and what she feels she can do. This is the hard work of technology integration, keeping it accessible. I want to be more "You got this" than "Look at this amazing magic."
Even as I write this I can think of teachers who are using more tech this year than last. They are using it in ways that make their students work sharable and engaging to a wider audience. It isn't all of them, but it is happening. Like any good teacher, I con't focus on the successful ones, unless we are all successful.
I know so many great teachers working on this same challenge, so how do we do amazing and transformative work, and keep it accessible to other teachers? How do you spread the message of "You got this" with your colleagues?
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