I have been working with a high school where the principal has distributed a set of guidelines and a rubric for educators in his building to construct an ePortfolio showcasing how they integrate technology into their practice. It has been very interesting to observe the varied reactions from the staff to this administrative pressure.
There are a number of them who consider themselves “computer illiterate,” a term I abhor. And there are those who have been using tech since the days of the Apple IIE . Some have objected to the added mandate; some see it as an opportunity to share examples of best practice…and a lot of folks fall into the spectrum between.
The qualifier to the pressure is the support offered to staff. First, they (the administration and tech staff) trained 10 other staff how to use NoteShare, an application like OneNote, where the user can collect files, and share them over a network or the web, so staff can work collaboratively. Then, the whole staff was divided into groups to have an introduction to NoteShare from those 10 who were trained - just showing the potential usefulness. Then, I worked on two Professional Development days, to give deeper training to a couple of staff groups on how to use NoteShare to construct ePortfolios.
So, this was a requirement, there has been no timeline specified, so it may be eased into gradually. Staff was, and will be, given the time for professional development around the ePortfolio. And since there are staff who are more familiar with technology, they will be acting as mentors to the other staff, who may need that support. But, wait, here’s the clincher - as part of the requirement, they are asked to present their ePortfolios to their colleagues for friendly critique based on the rubric. Hmmm, reflection and collegiality… that might get them somewhere.
My opinion? I think this serves as a good model for schools to integrate technology and improve classroom practice based on administrative pressure and support. Oh, but I mentioned evaluation in the title - well, that’s an issue worth discussing,
2 responses so far ↓
1
Amy Ryder
// Apr 11, 2008 at 7:24 am
I was just wondering about a similar issue the other day. We circulated a staff surveys that we do every year and then do nothing with. We ask “What do you know how to do with technology?” and everybody circles what they can do, digital camera or Excel or whatever, and then everyone gets the list. The idea is if you have a problem with the Snowball you know to go to Lindsay because she’s on the list as a Snowball expert.
Anyway, we had a few teachers circle nothing. One even came back with “Yeah, right! :)” written on it. If you knew the teacher, it was funny, but it got me thinking too… if you can’t even circle Microsoft Word or Firstclass, something is wrong. We offer tons of staff support, including a PAID weeklong summer institute on technology.
When is teaching technology/teaching with technology going to stop being an option? Maybe tying it to teacher evaluation would make the change from option to requirement. I don’t know if I think it is right, I just think it would work.
Amy
2
jlewis
// Apr 12, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Our district is constantly trying to get everyone on board with technology. There are still folks who refuse to even check e-mail! Would that fly in the business world? No way would you even get your foot in the door without knowing some technology skills.
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