Adrienne Michetti and I posed this question to a room of teachers, teachers during a presentation at TeachIT2011 recently. We asked this question near the end as a way to get the teachers to think about their role in integrating learning technology in their respective schools. Though we didn’t answer this question in the presentation, (we really wanted each person to come up with the answer for themselves in their situation) I will take a stab at it here and would encourage anybody else who’s working with technology in schools to do the same.
How do I make myself available?
Being available to teachers is critical for a tech coach. You need to be available to deal with a wide range of situations from troubleshooting equipment to philosophical discussions about the role of technology in learning. Making myself available for me revolves around:
- being present physically – I have a desk in the IT office which is up a flight of stairs, down a corridor nobody goes down, behind a locked door, and in the back of the room. I knew right away that this would become my “cave,” the place I go when I need uninterrupted work time. But this is not the place to be if I wanted to meet people, have conversations, and be available to help.
My solution: I looked around campus and thought about traffic of students and teacher and finally settled on the library as a place where people could easily find me. Most of the time, when I’m not in another classroom or teaching, you can find me at the Information desk right inside the library. The added advantage of this is that the librarian and I have a lot of great conversations and idea-shares due to the natural fit of these “information services.”
In addition to this, I make myself available by walking through offices, going to all meetings and hanging around afterwards, hanging out in the pods before school, and having lunch in the cafeteria. - being present emotionally – I’m a pretty happy, optimistic guy so it’s not very difficult for me to connect with people and strike up a conversation. Tech coaches need to be approachable and be willing to invest the time to get to know each and every person on staff. You have to “make room” for people.
The last thing you want to become is the “crabby tech guy” who nobody wants to talk to for fear of being ridiculed or belittled. I try very hard to never say “it’s really easy” (not always successfully, but I try) because for the person you’re dealing with, it may be very, very far from easy.
Because of the specific way it meets expectations, http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1482467798_add_file_7.pdf discount soft cialis must be proficient if taken each time before sex. Transurethral pellets Though hardly used nowadays after browse content viagra canada free the introduction of medicines like Kamagra jelly, transurethral pellets are made of inert material and are not available easily. While taking Ayurveda medicine for breast cancer treatment viagra soft 100mg or any long-term illness for that matter. Sesame is an oil crop which is widely grown best prices cialis in India and China.
How do I make myself relevant?
To be relevant to the teachers, students, and parents I work with I have to know what they’re doing. My approach is one of a constructivist. I need to get a handle on where people are at first with their interest, identifying what topics or projects will be coming up in the near future. I also need to know what tech skills and interests they have so that I can effectively match a tool & approach to their needs for the project that suits their comfort level with technology.
Young shopper (Fuerteventura) Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
It’s a little bit like being a personal shopper… knowing what gift to get for each particular person can be a real challenge, but it’s impossible if you know nothing about them.
The other thing I consider what I can provide that is “value added.” Learning software is simple in the age of YouTube. I try to provide the practical advice about not just how to use it but how to use it well in a particular situation. Instead of telling people how to use Google Forms, for example, I teach them to think about what they want to do with the information they gather first and apply backwards design to create the right form. What teachers really want is to know how to use the technology for learning, not just learning the technology. I also give them access to what I’m thinking and the assets I create by blogging and tweeting.
What do you do to make yourself available and relevant? Please add to the conversation!
Hi everyone……………the two questions posted here have really forced me to think in a different perspective altogether. I really liked the posted conversations above ” people like to use technology for learning and not just learn the use of technology…” and “the constructivist theory of shopping for the needs of the various people around.”
I have a variety of role to play in my school (Choithram International School, India), which is a complete IB school. In the variety of roles that I play I need to stay connected with different kinds of people, students as well as other facilitators. Sometimes even same people but in different contexts.
For me availability is much more than just being physically present. The virtual availability to students and peers helps in accomplishing a lot. Currently I am using the platform of http://www.edmodo.com which has really helped in creating, communicating and collaborating. Nowadays this third c seems to be the most important. I believe that even finding the right kind of knowledge is the first to a constructive learning. When all people who are experts in different field remain collectively connected in one platform then students tend to benefit a lot from this output. We are somewhat able to raise the benchmarks of the kind of learning that we want both the facilitators and students to have.
In the words of eminent poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore, “Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore. In accordance with this it is very necessary to upgrade ourselves and be prepared to face the digitalization. But as supervisors/coordinators/heads, we need to understand that some of us were born in a different time and might not be able to adapt with the changing system. Hence a practical exposure to them is highly needed.
Next to deal with how I make myself relevant ……increasing my level of knowledge to the context is highly important before I can make myself relevant for the stuff. Again the changing technology, where with a button I can connect to so many people on social and professional networking sites, has helped me immensely to get the relevant stuff from the right kind of people. Twitter, Linkedin, Blogging sites, help a lot to this regard………….
Sometimes while explaining a topic from quantum physics ,I wonder that the development of the theory might have come after I finished my learning, but to make another person understand that do I have the relevant stuff to deliver……And I find myself connected to various platforms, being more confident with the sharing……so go on sharing knowledge …..you might not know for whomand how it is relevant?
Thanks for starting a good discussion Jeff.
I feel for Jabiz as I have been in both types of Technology Integrator roles in the last 12 months. As a part-time eLearning coach last year I always felt that my time was stretched and due to the timetable there was always teachers that I never saw. On the other hand, I think having at least one class is nice as this gave me a sounding board,and platform to try things with the kids. This is one aspect that I have missed this year since moving to become a full-time technology integrator. I now have to rely on people letting me trial things with their classes.
I have stepped into a position that never previously existed at my school, therefore I have been able to shape how I am available to teachers. We have made a clear delineation between learning support and tech support and most teachers acknowledge this split. Together with my counterpart we coach and mentor around 230 Middle and High School teachers and work with around 48 Head of Subject or Head of Departments across the sections of the school, we currently have 900 kids with laptops and next year this will be around 2200 students with personal devices.
I try to be relevant by drawing on my recent teaching experience and being confident enough to team-teach and model lots of material in front of the students. As a teacher I also know times when it is good to push something and times when it is best to keep a low profile (report week etc) I would also consider myself to be empathic and a good listener. At the moment, no problem is to small, or question too basic. Overtime I am learning to pass on these requests to other people (IT Support etc) but often these short conversations and the process of building relationships, tend to eventually blossom into bigger initiatives in the classroom.
I make myself available by being visible as much as possible. I try to rotate my time through departments and at least sit within their office whilst they are working. My colleague and I have split the subjects in the school up so are de-facto points of contact. Drawing people into conversations is always a good strategy.
Keen to hear other peoples perspectives
Two great questions. I was lucky enough to be with Jeff and Adrienne during this discussion.
As coaches/coordinators/integrators/specialists we have a unique role in the school. Although we may or may not have classes of our own, we have quite a lot to do with the teaching that goes on in all classrooms. Heaps of influence, but little power…and that’s a good thing. I would much rather use my influence as an experienced educator to demonstrate and persuade teachers rather than use my power as the ‘tech guy’.
This addresses the issue of relevance. We have to help teachers see that our roles are changing with most of us being nerdy teachers rather than computer programmers or, worse yet, repair technicians. (no disrespect to the technicians…they make the world go around!) We are relevant if and because we understand pedagogy not just because we understand computers.
I usually go out of my way to have lunch in the staff room during our lunch break — this helps with availability…and a few ‘quick questions’. It’s also important to be visible in an educational sense — sharing what you do and with whom you work as publicly as possible. It helps when teachers see us doing great things in other classes.
Hey Jeff,
Great post. I agree that much of what we do has to do with building relationships and making people feel that no problem is too small. I love the idea of being physically available, but I also teach 50% of the time, and so I am usually in my classroom trying to get through my work. This split model is a tough one and not sure one I would recommend. It is great as I get to see kids and have hands on teaching time, but I feel very scattered and unable to focus my energy on tasks at hand. I feel like I am always running.
I have also found some of my best time to connect with teachers is through an after school course I teach called DC101. This time outside of te chaos of a school day let’s us unwind a bit and talk about both the philosophical things as well as the how to I add sound in iMovie type stuff.
Anyway, great post will share with our IT guys and admin.
Nice post.
At our school we are still (re) focusing on what is expected of the tech coach/learning tech coordinator. What can staff expect from this person? What are they actually capable of doing? How much time do they really have? Its all about people and people need to know your role as coach (almost as much as you do ) so there are few misconceptions.
When we developed the role of Learning Tech Coord, we sought input from staff and community. What should the role be? What should this person do etc. This greatly helped in the creation and understanding of the role and has been a success so far because everyone knows that the expectations and limitations are beforehand.