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Challenge
The challenge that I found, was that although our schools are well-equipped with technology, and there are a few platforms that most or all of our schools hav access to, many teachers are not utilizing them to their fullest potential and therefore students do not have equitable access to using technology and gaining technology skills.
Who
The learners that I will primarily be focused on are teachers, students, and school administrators. I selected these stakeholders because they are the ones who make decisions about technology usage in the classroom, or are the ones being affected by how it is implemented. Students will only have exposure and opportunity that is afforded to them based on decisions made by the teacher, and the school administrator. School administrators and teachers will choose to utilize what they find value in, and are comfortable with using.
Why
In an increasingly technological world students will be expected to have a wide range of skills as they attend college, enter the job force, or even want to do every day things like pay bills. Having a basic understanding of how technology works, and how to use it proficiently both for personal and professional reasons has be come more and more important. Jason Dorsey, who does generational research, has found that our current generations are assumed to be tech-savvy but they are really just tech dependent. This means that although many assume they have technology skills, they still need to be explicitly taught. In my survey I found that nearly 34% of my stakeholders did not feel equipped to give students technology skills that they need (see evidence A). Of those 34% most said the issue was time to learn and attend training and time to utilize it in the classroom. I want to show teachers how easily some of these platforms can be integrated so students are gaining skills, but it is not taking away time from the curriculum.
Evidence A: 34% of teachers feel they need more time to learn themselves, and would need more class time to implement technology.
Equity
Students have inequitable access to technology based on what their teacher knows and is comfortable with. Not all students are given equal opportunity to use technology. Some teachers are very proficient with technology and use it in new and innovative ways. Others are not comfortable with it at all and so do not utilize it. I would like to help teachers within my building feel comfortable with the technology platforms we use regularly in our district and school and create resources to help them be successful so students have equitable access. So many teachers feel that they don't have time in the day to teach use of technology, or time to learn it themselves (see evidence B). I think this is one of the biggest roadblocks to students having equitable skills and access.
Implementation
I am not creating or changing a program, but rather compiling and creating resources for teachers. Some teachers in my building utilize technology every day, others shy away from it completely afraid that they will mess something up, or not know what to do when a problem arises. My goal is to help those teachers feel confident enough to begin using it in their classrooms. In Evidence B you can see that most teachers find time to be their biggest issue. I want to remove that roadblock by creating resources that integrate into the curriculum so they do not feel time is being wasted.
Viability
Since the challenge for many teachers is time to learn the technology and time to use it, i hope to help teachers overcome that obstacle by creating some resources for them and showing them how to utilize it. This will allow them to start without taking a lot of time to be trained or to create a material themselves. It will also help them to experience success and become more familiar with using technolgy and i will be available to help them adjust and personalize it to fit their needs.
Overarching Competencies
My overarching competencies are: Continuing Learning and Education and Technological Facility. I will be continuing my own learning and education by learning more about the digital tools and resources we have as a school. I will participate in online communities and available training to further my own understanding. I will then take what I have learned to create resources and materials for other teachers to use. I will be working with and coaching teachers on how to use these materials and resources. As teachers approach me with questions I will research and lear whatever I need to know to help them use the tools successfully. I will also be hosting trainngs in small or large groups, and will create video tutorials for reference.
Foundational Competency
I will be creating resources for fellow teachers and being a resource for them and encouraging them to use technology within their classrooms. By creating these resources within the two learning platforms we use as a school I can help students have equitable access to the same or similar technology in their learning. I will also be working with a cohort of third grade teachers to create some digital math resources for all the third grade teachers in my district. This will help to ensure that all third graders have access to similar resources throughout the school year.
Who will I be working with?
I will primarily be working with teachers in my building. I will especially focus on working with teachers who are less comfortable with the technology, offering as much support as I can. I am hoping to recruit the newest teachers (with only 1 or 2 years of experience), and the teachers who have been teaching longer, and have not had the exposure to technology that younger generations have had. I will also be working with my building administration to create and use some resources school wide.
Resources
The resources I will need are: Internet and computer access, the teachers I am working with will need a computer and their students will also need access to technology (Chromebooks or Ipads). Since our district is a Google district and we have the paid version of Seesaw already, the resources I will be creating are free.