Change is not a
straight line. It is incremental. I read this in a New York Times interview with Karen May, the Vice President for People Development at Google. Not a straight line –
that’s for sure. When I started in this world of instructional technology, I
figured that I’d just drop in to a school district, show them the power of the
technology, and they’d know what to do with it. Wrong.
I started teaching teachers and administrative staff how to
use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I gave them step-by-step instructions and
showed the plethora of tasks they could perform. Then I realized that, despite
the fantastic reviews I received, some of my students would return for the same
class several months later. The reason? They never had a chance to use what I taught
them. Next, I started offering 2-hour laser-focused training with authentic
projects for the work they did. That’s when it started to get practical but a
bit too short.
When I entered the world of instructional technology
coaching, I began to see the possibilities. It was no longer about training; it
was about professional development (PD). Not only was I offering sessions on
tools; I was asking big picture questions. My colleagues and I were Mentors. We
formed long-lasting relationships with the Coaches we served. When we shared a
cool tool, we also shared what we could do with it in a classroom. We mentored
them to do the same. We built a network of individuals from around the state.
They were required to come together from around the state face-to-face (F2F) once
a year with opportunities for F2F PD, and they were given opportunities to come
together throughout the year for statewide PD. Some of the best professional
development these coaches received was in the hallway speaking with their
colleagues. In between, we built a virtual network of a listserv and a Moodle
with webinars offered regularly. We all felt as if we had a common vision, and
we could reach out to each other for ongoing support to make that vision a
reality.
Although that initiative has come to a close, the vision has
not. The virtual network still exists, and it is still very active. In fact,
our local ISTE affiliate asked me to continue in that virtual mentoring role, to help
the fantastic educators of the state keep that vision intact.
The line veered when I began working with a group that realized
it was time to give some thought to the role of instructional technology in
their work as instructional coaches focusing on literacy. I began to have a
series of reality checks. The bigger world, beyond the project that had just
finished, was not nearly as keen on instructional technology as I had hoped. I
had to start over and figure out where to begin. In many cases, I had to step
on the breaks and decide what was reasonable to accomplish and how quickly I
could accomplish it.
I also had a heart-wrenching realization. Not all of the
coaches I had worked with in the past walked away from their professional
development experiences with the same vision of their role. Some truly saw
themselves as tech coaches. Although we had focused on instructional coaching,
they had focused on technology. I could see that those who truly saw themselves
as instructional coaches were the ones that were being kept in the position,
despite the economic downturn. I believed that their
participation in the project that I had joined was paramount to their success.
In the meantime, my reality check
continued. In the real world, little glitches can hold someone back from
embracing a wonderful tool. Push-back was more common than acceptance. Using a tool
was much more effective than teaching it. Although I had been saying for years:
It’s not about the technology; it’s what you do with it, reality stared me in the
face and made me realize that decision-making about when to use it was hard.
Great strides have been made. The organization is all about ongoing professional learning that has layers of regional mentors, local mentors, and instructional coaches to support educators. An
online course is in the works to make the connections between instructional
coaching, literacy strategies, and digital learning. Not only am I modeling the
use of digital tools, so are my colleagues. Using these tools is beginning to
become commonplace.
The change I am convinced needs to
happen in education has taken me on a wonderful journey – that continues to zig and zag. My
involvement in regional, statewide, and national projects has opened up my eyes
to the possibilities. The world of professional development is now turning into
a world of professional learning – lifelong learning. My goal continues to be
to help educators realize the promise of technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment