You have your teachers. You have your administrators. And, you have your aides. Now, there’s yet another profession coming to life in 21st century schools and it’s becoming one that seems to soon be present across the board. We’re talking about Tech Support Specialists or Instructional Technologists—the people who show teachers and students how to use and get the most out of innovative technology. Whether they came about by need and necessity or found their spot in education for another reason, they are here now and they are (probably) here to stay.
Maximizing Support in Tech Integration
Launching a shift in learning styles and methods to help enhance education tends to focus on implementing new and innovative technology in classrooms. Many teachers—even those who are technology natives—commonly struggle with knowing where to begin in this sometimes arduous process. Out of the simple fact that it has become a need, many school districts have created ‘Tech Support Specialist’ or ‘Tech Integration’ jobs at schools. These educational technology professionals are responsible for helping both teachers and students transition to technology-filled classrooms as quickly and as smoothly as possible. In today’s education environments, the role of the Tech Support Specialist is starting to come close to mirroring the importance of teachers themselves and, since teachers will always need the support, this 21st century career does not appear to be going anywhere.
Using unique knowledge of technology and teaching, Tech Support Specialists can help individual schools or entire districts come up with a viable plan for beginning to weave technology into instruction. For members of these support staffs to maximize their value, their efforts should focus on a few key areas and finding tools that help kids learn specific skills. The first step should be to find a way to teach students in all grades basic tech literacy. This means knowing how certain technologies work, what can be done with them, and even how to turn them on and off. It is the job of Tech Support Specialists to illustrate these things to students using technology to reinforce multiple concepts simultaneously. Technology Support Specialists should also focus on technology that will facilitate both teaching and learning, tools that enhance student-centered learning, and products that help promote a mastery of learning.
The magnitude of technology implementation is often quite large, which is why Tech Support Specialist has become a legitimate, full-time role within many school systems. To help make the jobs of these professionals a little easier, many students have teamed up with them to create a real-time flow of dual learning in which the tech staff and the students are learning about the technology at the same time. Since there are still requirements to fulfill, Technology Support Specialists also need to be aware of tools that align with state and national educational standards and find ways to help kids engage in educational activities with them. With just a few hours (eight per year) of tech-focused professional development required to become a full-fledged Tech Support Specialist, teachers can add another line on their resumé or aides already working within the school can take a new step towards a 21st century career. Learning with technology is a great opportunity for students, but both kids and teachers need somebody to show them how it’s done—just one of the reasons that the role of Tech Support Specialists has emerged and continues gaining importance every day.
Driving Meaningful Tech Integration
Oftentimes when a school decides to adopt a new kind of learning model, technology is at the center of the transformation. More often than not, there is some apprehension among teachers about the change itself and where to even begin. Tech Support Specialists are trained to alleviate this stress and help schools create 21st century environments that run on efficiency and teamwork. In order to increase the likelihood and impact of success of technology programs in the classroom, schools should seriously look at considering bringing on their own technology coach or integration specialist. With trained leaders at the helm, school officials can focus on the goals they are trying to achieve and learn how to make learning more engaging and relevant for students.
To help ignite meaningful academic change through the use of technology, schools first need to bring somebody new on board. This means finding a way to afford another salary—or finding somebody who is willing to volunteer their time. Since technology-enhanced classrooms are important in preparing kids for the future, there are programs in many states that provide grants to help make this more affordable. Once a specialist has been brought in and their compensation has been worked out, school principals will need to get the rest of their faculty on board, which can sometimes be difficult, especially when it comes to convincing veteran teachers. In order to launch the change that is needed, however, Tech Support Specialists need to do a good job in convincing all teachers that changes to their lessons would likely lead to a spike in student engagement and could even leave them with more free time each week.
In order to create classrooms in which technology enhances current instruction rather than radically reforming it, Tech Support Specialists need to think about the usability of the technology and STEM tools they are recommending. Knowing the specific ways in which you want technology to enhance learning is important as well as understanding how you hope technology will change the lesson and make it more relevant for students. By providing a range of support and resources for teachers, members of the Tech Support Staff genuinely help teachers improve their teaching methods, introduce them to new strategies, and encourage them to explore alternative options for engaging students. Teachers are still the content experts, but technology coaches are able to supplement their expertise with creative ideas, tech-friendly resources, and authentic support to help make technology implementation go much smoother.
The Librarian as an Instructional Partner
We mentioned that finding somebody who can serve as a qualified Tech Integration Specialist might require that schools hire somebody brand new to fill the position. We also noted that, a lot of the time, schools are able to find someone willing and able who is already on their staff. If that’s the route a principal prefers to go, then, oftentimes, the school librarian could be the perfect person for the position. School librarians already know many of the students they would be working with, have pre-established professional relationships with the teachers they would be helping, and, presumably, are already at least somewhat familiar with educational technology tools. When teachers partner with librarians, there is a lot of good that can arise from the collaboration—for the teachers, the librarians, and, most importantly, the students.
Each librarian has their own specific set of instructional strengths, some of which teachers will genuinely benefit from. Aside from the relationships they develop in and out of the classroom, educators will find they are able to accomplish more with the help of an instructional partner. First off, librarians are trained to collect, organize, and manage content—think of all the books present in a library. This means they are pros at curation, which should help teachers narrow down their EdTech search and efficiently find tools that will help them achieve their specific goals. Librarians are also trained in the research process, so—you guessed it—they can work with teachers to create clear, goal-based research initiatives that will help them find products that will help them improve on exactly what they want. Librarians can also help teachers take into account EdTech tools that promote information literacy, digital literacy, and the creative use of the information they are able to uncover. Once teachers and librarians come up with clearly laid out and agreed-upon educational goals, they can really start building a classroom dynamic. Like they probably already do, teacher-librarian teams should attend staff meetings, listen intently, and look for any additional ideas that could lead to innovation.
This is also the perfect time to proudly share the progress that’s been made with some of the rest of the school’s faculty members. The other side of sharing your success is that hopefully other teachers will begin enlisting you for help. It’s important for integration specialists to take advantage of this and blaze new paths with the knowledge they have developed from the original endeavor. What a lot of teachers will then need is somebody to assist them in the classroom when they are rolling out their new technologies, so it would be ideal for school librarians to assist in this phase as well. With clear goals in mind, teachers and librarians can team up to create a meaningful partnership that centers on positively impacting student learning.
Smart Tips for Instructional Tech Specialists
Instructional technologists or Tech Integration Specialists—whatever you would like to call them—have some key responsibilities when introducing students and teachers to new and innovative technology in the classroom. In fact, a lot of their responsibilities are similar to those of regular classroom teachers. They do, after all, have the same goal of teaching students to be creative and use all available resources to build 21st century skills and real-world readiness. So, let’s go over a few key traits, shall we? The first thing Tech Integration Specialists should try to accomplish (in no particular order) is to try to always put theory before practice. Tech Integrators may often need to convince teachers that technology is worth their time in the first place and get them to understand that they are there to ensure that poorly integrated technology does not distract from student learning.
Another key trait of Tech Integrators is having the discipline to take things slow. Of course, these specialists are already essentially experts on the products they are introducing, but it’s important for them to remember that teachers and students are not. Allowing teachers to learn at their own pace is important in their own learning process and helps keep them from feeling overwhelmed or getting discouraged. Tech Specialists can support teachers in the same ways they would support students—by giving actionable and positive feedback. Speaking of students, the third way that Instructional Tech Specialists can help ease the transition also mirrors the way they would work with children. By playing to teachers’ strengths rather than throwing them in the deep end, the educators can use the pedagogical minds they have developed to apply the technology to their practice. Tech Specialists can help teachers overcome their hesitancy by reminding them of their expertise and explaining how a tech tool can help enhance their impact.
Here is one final piece of advice. There are a lot of very cool technologies floating around these days and many of them are finding their way into the classroom. Tools like 3D printers and laser technology—things that you wouldn’t find in a school 10 years ago—are becoming much more common in this day in age. So, we would like Tech Specialists to remember that cool does not always equal effective. Relying on a piece of technology to revamp the classroom entirely is not a smart approach, especially if the technology is unproven. Despite being excited about the possibilities of a product, it’s important for Tech Specialists to remember that it’s the long-term interest of students that’s more important. The best Instructional Technologists should make it a goal to always offer teachers caution against using unproven and perhaps damaging tech tools just as much as they promote the good ones. It’s with this keen eye that comes an enhanced educational experience for all students involved.
How Administrators can Serve as Instructional Coaches
We’ve talked about education leaders bringing in specialists to serve as resources as well as how teachers can assume the role of Instructional Specialist. There’s another player involved in a lot of schools, though—one that not everyone would think of, but somebody who can certainly get the job done. Principals have seen a lot during their time as educational leaders. They know which trends have passed, what’s hot right now, and where the future of education looks to be heading. They’re also wise, quick learners, and are able to foster a sense of unity among staff and students. Principals are already school leaders who want what’s best for each one of their students and, using their management skills, they can launch and solidify tech programs in their school while serving as the lead learner in a lot of cases.
You might be thinking that we’re going to share a few ways in which school administrators can excel in this role and you would be correct. By building relationships and actively listening to ideas from members of their faculty, principals make themselves more available and the ideas generated from consistent collaboration lead to more creative solutions in the classroom. By working directly with educators and hearing their needs and requests, principals are able to incorporate the feedback they get more effectively. Plus, when principals are actually in the classroom serving as tech integrators, they can see how the teachers and students are receiving the technology and use their expertise to ease the transition. Asking questions is another way in which administrators are able to improve this process. Just like students, teachers trying new things will be able to learn from their mistakes or find the inspiration to explore a new thought if they are prompted with an intriguing reason to do so.
When principals assume the role of integrating more technology into their classrooms, they are going to learn quickly that there are a lot of options from a lot of different places to evaluate and choose from. It’s super important that they learn how to properly allocate the resources they have and learn how to manage their time effectively. They will have limited human and financial resources, so it’s important for them to remember not to overwhelm any staff members who have volunteered to help and, as you might have guessed, it’s pretty important to not spend all of the school’s money in one place. Once sure they won't be losing any of their hard-working partners (kidding), it’s also important that principals serving as tech leaders take part in professional development in an active way to show that they are just as committed to the cause as ever as well as indicating that they are always accessible to their staff. Developing goals like these and intentionally sticking to them will lead to quick and smooth progress in the implementation of school technology programs and the development of Future Ready students.
For the latest EdTech, STEM, and 21st century education news, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Like us on Facebook, too, or sign up for our newsletter for our latest product announcements and offerings. If you have an idea for an Eduporium Weekly theme, send us a message on social media or comment below.