Site Technology Leaders MVWSD 2016-2017

MVWSD's 1st Site Techs

This year the tech department selected a teacher at each of the 10 school sites to serve as a site technology leader. These teachers work to help their fellow teachers with technology integration on site. They also attend meetings as a whole group once a month for collaboration and training. They present new technology information at staff meetings and provide onsite support for teachers planning technology use such as Google Classroom, EdPuzzle, Khan Academy, and much more.

Topic and Activities

Each month I cover and provide training on a selection of topics with the tech leaders. Thus far we have practiced with the new Google Sites, done troubleshooting with the district's SchoolCity trimester assessments, played our own game of Breakout EDU, and more! Coming up we will learn how to use the PowerSchool Pro Gradebook, create effective hyperdocs, and integrate Google Forms for scavenger hunts. Each meeting begins with a quick icebreaker/ get to know you activity followed by a share out where each site tech answers the posed question. We end each meeting with a discussion of concerns or issues related to technology that have come up at the school sites.

Instructor Presence

Teachers applied for this position at the end of the 2015-16 school year. We selected the leaders over the summer and then gathered for our first meeting together in August. I was able to introduce myself in person and go over the basics for the position. We took this opportunity to begin community building and connecting teachers across school sites.

Event Norms

At our first meeting, we introduced ourselves and did a team builder in which all leaders were partnered up and answered questions about their experience, their background with tech, and their summers. This is a new position in our district, so we covered the responsibilities that are and are not included. It was important that we created a boundary between site tech leaders and tech support. These teachers are not meant to be connecting printers or setting up document cameras. Our goal is for them to support teachers with technology integration, not replace our tech support team. We created a shared Google Doc where site tech leaders can share questions and answers they come across at their sites. We also made a group email contact so we can easily send messages to the entire team at once. We agreed to end each meeting with time to discuss any issues or concerns that come up during the month. Creating a community of teacher leaders plays a large part in this program. The site tech leaders are able to connect teachers across school sites in the district and advance on our technology goals by sharing best practices and effective methods of integration.

Closure and Follow Up

At least once a month, I check in with the site techs to gain feedback from teachers and guidance on future trainings I will provide. The site techs share their interests with each other and offer suggestions for new technologies and methods to try. Halfway through the school year we completed a share out discussion about the positives and negatives of the site tech position. We talked about ways to improve the program for next year and how to make the position even more effective at the sites. As a follow up to the year long program, site tech leaders are invited to participate in a district sponsored mini MERIT (Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology) week long PD over the summer. This will provide them with continued training in technology tools that we can then share and pilot in the following school year.

Credits:

Created with images by RDECOM - "Science teachers tour high-tech Army labs" • StartupStockPhotos - "startup start-up notebooks" • nrjfalcon1 - "tutor teacher education" • Monikapp - "list sticky notes note" • PublicDomainPictures - "computer female girl"

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