Role of a Technology Specialist and Today's Students and Teachers
To me a technology integration specialist is someone who is a continuous learner and shares what they have learned with their coworkers. A technology integration specialist works one-on-one with teachers to help them integrate technology into their curriculum. They also help to plan professional development over technology based on the needs of the teachers within the district or school (Meltzer, 2012).While the video below was taped in 2000, it gives insight into what a technology integration specialist does when working with teachers.
Coincidentally, today I was in my Teacher Leadership Grant Writing Committee meeting discussing the types of leadership roles we would like to create for our TLC grant and one of those roles was a technology integration specialist for the district. We discussed what we felt the role of a technology integration specialist would be and we did not just limit the position to helping teachers, but also felt that the Tech. Integrator should work with students. Not only would they help develop technology skills with students, but also help students learn the Common Core 21st century employability, civil, and financial literacy skills.
According to "the Pew Internet and American Life Project's Teens and Social Media (Lenhart, Madden, Smith, and Macgill, 2007) details that 64% of online teenagers (aged 12 - 17) engage in at least one type of content creation" (as cited by Solomon and Schrum, 2010, p. 3). This means that today's students are being innovative online. They are sharing what they create online with the world. They create Tumblr pages, Facebook pages, videos, music mashups, and more. Solomon and Schurm (2010) go further and say that "content creation is not just about sharing creative output; it is also about participating in conversations fueled by content" (p. 3). Our students are engaging online in digital communities; it only makes sense to do this in schools, too.
Teachers engage with technology outside of the classroom, too. I am Facebook and Twitter friends with several of my coworkers as well as teachers in other parts of the country. Social media is a great way to connect with others and learn about what works in the classroom. Even though we as teachers engage with technology outside of the classroom, we do not always engage with it inside of the classroom. This is in part due to inadequate technology training (Meltzer, 2012, p. 16). This technology gap with teachers can be addressed by a technology integration specialist when planning professional development.
A technology integration specialist is a necessary role in schools. They help teachers and students develop the technology skills needed to compete in today's world.
References:
Meltzer, S. (2012). Step-by- step professional development
in technology. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Solomon, G. and Schrum, L. (2010). Web 2.0 how-to for educators. Washington, DC: ISTE.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteFabulous post!!! I truly enjoyed reading it, and feel your response to what the role of a Technology Integration Specialist entails was spot on. Like you, I believe that the role of a Technology Integration Specialist is a necessary one in today's schools, and was excited to read that your district has come to recognize the importance of having a Technology Integration Specialist as well by considering adding a position at the district level to support the teachers and students in your schools...Bravo! In an ideal world hopefully more districts will follow suit, resulting in a Technology Integration Specialist becoming a permanent position in each school across the nation, but time will tell.
In the 21st century one fact is undeniably true, technology is here to stay, and as the examples talked about in your post clearly illustrate, technology has not only become an integral part of our students lives but our own as well. Therefore, we as future Technology Integration Specialists need to become ambassadors for our subject area, taking a stand against the naysayers who still view technology as a learning hinderance, by educating the teachers, staff, students and parents, in each of our school communities about the world of endless educational possibilities that technology can provide and how to harness the innovative power of these high-tech, interactive tools to enhance the quality of learning experiences both in and outside of the classroom.
Thanks for sharing
Terri
Thank you for your response, Terri. We are just in the process of writing the grant to help pay for leadership position our current teachers will fill. We still have a lot to do, but writing this grant is a step in the right direction.
DeleteI was one of those teachers who used technology at home, but not so much in the classroom. This was due to the fact that I had limited technology to use at school and was not educated on how to use it in the classroom. I feel it is not so much as a disconnection as it is a lack of education on how to use technology to enhance teaching.
ReplyDeleteI like that you added the personal use of technology. Although Facebook and Twitter are mainly used for social purposes, they can be fabulous tools for reaching student and parents when used appropriately. I think your quote in the 4th paragraph says it all, "content creation is not just about sharing creative output; it is also about participating in conversations fueled by content (Solomon and Schrum, 2010)." Unfortunately many schools are not given proper resources to adequately incorporate technology into their lessons and units.
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post! I am so glad you mentioned social media as something that teachers use outside of the classroom and, as I found in my previous technology course, they can be used to reach out to parents and students. I worked with a teacher who used Twitter to update parents of day to day learning and it seemed to work great for her! I'm not sure about the confidentiality portion but it sounded really neat.
Thinking of social media makes me think about WebQuests and creating a safe, digital, learning community in which students can feel free to share their thoughts. I have brought up the idea of creating a WebQuest for my Spanish class and I was immediately directed to get in touch with my technology integration specialist (TIS). From the coursework we have completed thus far, I agree with you that the TIS is a person who has a desire to constantly learn and share that with others. Through these posts, and other discussions, I believe that we are also paving the way to that whether it be for the certification or not. I've noticed a lot of teachers in my school take on the challenge of learning new ways to integrate technology into their teaching and share that with others.
Great post. I think it is great you are working to create a position for your school that is so closely tied into this class. I really like that you pointed out that the position would not only work with teachers but to work directly with students. It can be hard for many teachers to integrate technology into their classes and having a teacher helping by working with students and helping with some of the workload is great.
ReplyDelete