http://edutechniques.com/?p=463
I was drawn to this article because I can see my self becoming a technology coach someday. I also really appreciated the insight and practicality that it brought to the challenges of this position.
The first challenge addressed is the fact that some teachers will think that you do nothing all day. While this is clearly not true their will be times that you will be behind a desk or in meetings. It is important to remember to be out and about throughout the day so that teachers see you as an active member of the school. Build relationships through one-on-one sessions. You can also get into a classroom and co-teach or observe. Being visible is important to the perception of this position.
Another thing to keep in mind is the teacher's perspective. The workload and expectations put on teachers is heavy and when you throw on added work to change lessons to integrate technology, teachers will not be willing to take on more work. Also, each teacher needs to be approached and challenged differently. A tech-savy teacher needs to be pushed much differently than a teacher just being introduced to technology integration. Differentiation will help support each teacher's individual needs.
Leading professional development is another key component of this position. Teacher's are used to complaining about sit and get workshops that aren't helpful. Leading PD is where you will be most visible to the staff and really make a huge mark for your position. Collaboration and differentiation is important things to remember when planning the PD for technology for your school.
While this article is the most in-depth and detailed about how to approach all of these topics. It is unique in what you should focus on in this position. You will have to fight and compete to show teachers that your position is worthwhile at least in the beginning. I agree with the ways that the article discusses how to go about tackling these issues. I think it is incredibly important to be visible in the school, to build relationships with teachers, to differentiate the way you push/motivate teachers to integrate technology, and to dominate professional development workshops where you will be incredibly visible to the entire staff.
The tech coach position is vital to the achieving actual technology integration into the classroom for the entire school, but the fact remains that all teachers are not on board with spending money on this type of position. This makes the job of a tech coach all the more difficult, but if done effectively can completely change the culture of the teachers in a school which will impact a greater number of students.
I never really thought about how classroom teachers might question what it is that tech coaches actually do. I assumed part of the job was getting out and selling tech integration to the staff. If a tech coach is doing that, then they are visible and earning their paycheck. Keeping workload in perspective is also very important. It is alot of work to integrate, and if you constantly push people, they will probably not listen.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that really struck home for me was knowing your audience. At this point, I generally don't want to go to a "beginners" tech PD on ipads anymore, but there are a bunch of people who do. A good tech coach needs to be aware of his or her clientele.
I feel communication and developing relationships is the key to being a ed tech coach. It is so important for tech coaches to have good relationships with the teachers and take on that mentor role without being condescending or unapproachable. Though having the tech knowledge is important, people skills are essential for this position. I agree that staff need to feel that this position is essential and vital to their district, otherwise it will end up on the cutting floor or won't be utilized effectively.
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