Connecting Teachers
to Technology
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Technology Coordinator's Forum
at Seven Hills School
August 25, 1997
Mid-Morning Activity:
Role Play of Tech Coordinator Dilemmas
Participants were divided into groups of
4-5. They were given a scenario involving a typical technology
coordinator's dilemma. Each member of the group was then assigned one
of the following "personality profiles" to play in solving the
dilemma. The personality types included:
- You are only concerned with facts and
figures
- You tend to dwell on why something will not
work.
- You are always optimistic with the glass half
full.
- You are the creative one, always open to new
ideas, and looking for alternative
- approaches to things.
- You are always concerned with being the one in
control
Scenario One: The Site/District Technology Day Got Cancelled in Order
to Do a Last-Minute Sensitivity Training in Response to a Sexual
Harrassment Law Suit
- Develop a multimedia presentation on sexual
harassment sensitivity training & show staff how the
presentation was put together
- Go through a brief intro on sexual harassment
& then have teachers do internet research on the subject &
report back to each other.
- Use SIP money for technology training
instead.
- Do after school workshops with nifty
incentives (i.e. district credit, etc.)
- Final plan was to do an "end run" on the
administrators by doing the sensitivity training with technology
infused in the day. Combine the two!
Scenario Two: Your school has twenty computers in the lab. Teachers
are happy with the current setup, are using it and the tech
coordinator is being well utilized. Administrators announced that
they're buying 15 new computers/software into classrooms. How do you
convince funding source to spend money on time & training rather
than just on equipment?
- Give analogy at a presentation making a
parallel to businesses. Tell funding source that in business
world, workplace is synonymous with learning. On the job training
is important for teachers too. They need to be taught how to use
new resources just like people in business.
- Create some sort of priority on who gets those
15 computers. Not just spread them out. Maybe come up with a
process through a survey on how to distribute them. The corporate
sponsors can be in on the decision making process too.
- Chevron, for example, came out to one
participant's site to see physical structure of building,
interviewed teachers, observed & had teachers fill out
questionnaires. People who received computers were given Chevron
tech support and were able to attend training at Chevron site when
space was available.
- Some companies, including IBM, Chevron &
H.P. & Bank of America have grant policies if you have a
student at your school with a parent employee. Some offer
donations, parent volunteer hours or matching grants.
- Point out to business people that they
shouldn't take for granted that the computer skills they had to
learn for their jobs aren't being learned with the same level of
requirements for school teachers.
Scenario Three: Mac vs. PC War...Your school or district wants to
change from the Mac platform to P.C.s Administration &
Parents
- Shouldn't be platform-driven, should be
applications driven. With intranets and internets, a lot of these
platform issues won't matter.
- In order to keep up Windows OS cost one
district 3x as much.
- Do research on common misconceptions about the
Mac. (Guy Kawasaki's site at http://www2.apple.com/whymac is a helpful one.)
- Expense of replacing what already exists and
retraining teachers is huge. Price differential is really
negotiable, once you purchase all the pieces for either
platform.
- Do research and site visits to places that are
cross-platform. Talk to people, visit willing sites, read, and
educate your administrators.
- Make sure people know why they're making
platform decisions. Sometimes one platform is more appropriate
than another in certain situations.
- Is your site doing a donated equipment
arrangement? If so, you'll probably be receiving P.C.s, since
that's what business largely has.
- Lots of times the Business Department makes
purchasing decisions with out involving the Curriculum Department.
Make sure the two departments communicate & understand each
other's needs!
Scenario Four: Your school has had a pretty successful tech plan over
last two years with technology being integrated into the classroom.
This year your school is will have lots of turnover & new
teachers due to classroom size reduction. How are you going to plan
for staff development in light of these changes?
- Things don't work unless everyone's heard
them. It sounds like this school has some pretty cool things
already in place with the plan, integration, etc. Build on that
with paired mentoring, cross-age tutoring, etc.
- Come up with an incentive (CEUs, etc.) for
being a mentor
- Rather than district-wide staff development
days, offer credit for staff development after school or on
Saturdays.
- Tailor the staff development to individual
needs. Anything that is collaborative or deals with curriculum or
helps with the whole school plan can be considered staff
development, not just training. Make sure administrators &
leaders are open-minded about what they're considering to be staff
development.
- It's tough to train large groups of teachers
like in the example above, but sometimes it's hard to convince
leaders to train small groups, too. One participant in the group
works for a tiny site and she has a tough time rationalizing
getting her 3 teachers trained unless she can give a step-by-step
agenda.
- If you're truly doing project-based learning,
then technology will naturally be an integrated piece of the
curriculum. If teachers are trained in the overall curriculum,
technology will naturally be a part of that.
- Don't forget to involve parents &
students! Just because you have new teachers doesn't mean that
there will be no technology in those new teachers' classrooms. Use
students and student-projects as a means to inspire new teachers
and give ideas and generate excitement. This will encourage &
push the new teachers into getting up to speed.
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