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Photo credit: The Daring Librarian
(This is a mirror post to the NEA Today Magazine article online and on Pages 18-19, under a shorter title – why did they change my title? I thought it was charming! They also only used one of my graphics, don’t worry, I’ll cry later- silent slow tears on my pillow)
In technology (and in life!), sometimes you’re the teacher and sometimes you’re the student – and it’s completely normal to always be a bit of both. One day, you help a colleague learn the joys of the copy and paste keyboard shortcut, and the next day you’re learning how to create and edit a YouTube video or a Gabsee 3D animated Avatar!
So, whether you’re teaching or learning, or a bit of both, here are a few practical tips to make it a little easier for the reluctant tech user.
1. Make it Personal
Teaching technology in isolation never works. But teaching tech with a personal twist works most every time. When a reluctant tech user learns how to do something with technology centered around a subject or topic about which they’re personally passionate, they’re going to be instantly engaged to work harder at it and feel exultant when successful.
For example, when I teach anything related to digital photos, I have the teachers bring in five to ten pictures of their friends, family, vacations, hobbies, or pets. Using their own photos, I show them to import, edit, crop, resize, enhance, adjust, and then export those photos. As a final product, you can bring some of those photos into a Google or Word Doc to make a captioned collage sheet for the refrigerator. All of a sudden, these teachers are motivated to try on their own! The purpose and the passion may vary, but the skills are the same and easily transferable.
2. Show & Tell
Hold a Digital Petting Zoo and invite your teachers to come visit. Without any high pressure, encourage them to stroll around. Beforehand, set up each table with a different tech gadget, tablet, or laptop with a cool APP, software, or super handy website loaded.
Position a friendly volunteer to stand next to each display to casually introduce the device or site and show how they could transform their classroom and practice with this exotic tech “animal.” Maybe start off with a fun interactive Kahoot warm up then lead them towards a friendly PicMonkey, and end with a quick Google Form review & request for next time topics – but make sure to keep it SHORT! No more than 3-4 questions. More are annoying!
During the petting zoo – step aside, hand it over, and let the teachers explore, touch, play, and try the tech device themselves without any agenda. Familiarity breeds fearlessness! Like our students, lots of us are hands-on learners. When I see something in action, I’m more likely to TRY it!
3. Small Steps
Instead of long PD sessions before or after school, consider holding a Tech Tuesday, Espresso Tech10 (a fast-paced, coffee friendly 10 min tip session) or a Tech-Fueled Drive By: where you teach one tip in 2-3 minutes. Show how it works, and then let the teachers try it right away on their own. Teachable moments are winning moments! When a teacher really needs to know something, seize the opportunity to jump in with, “let me show you how to…” followed immediately by, “you will so be good at this!”
Keep it short and sweet! Teachers, staff, and administrators will respond better when you show them one tip at a time instead of everything you might know about technology. Follow up either situation with a short email with links to more information, examples, a comic, and a quick survey to help target the topic of the next Tech Tip session. “What do you want to learn next?”
Short and simple steps work best! To quote my Twitter friend and PLN colleague in Texas, Jake Duncan, @duncanbilingual,
“We start small. Take lessons and up HOTS/Bloom’s by integrating web 2.0 tools. They see more engagement and better outcomes. Then they want to explore more ways to integrate tech. They see they don’t have to teach the tools to implement them in class.”
Photo credit: The Daring Librarian
4. Think, Pair, & Share!
Once you identify those reluctant but willing teachers who are baby steppin it to a new tech future, pair them up with a colleague, friend, team member, cheerleader, or coach to learn together. Tech buddies should check in regularly with each other to share recent successes or challenges.
Brainstorming solutions or tweaking a few lessons is more fun with someone else and benefits both. Tech buddies can encourage each other and head off isolation and discouragement. According to the amazing tech leader & admin, George Couros, @gcouros,
“Collaborate with them, do coplanning & share lots! I found sharing shared reading interactive lessons to be helpful.”
5. Make House Calls
Some teachers don’t want to come to the library or computer lab to learn with a group of others. They might be shy, intimidated, or just reluctant to do it. Go to them! Make a house call! Bring your laptop to their room during their planning period and have a quick one-on-one session. How do you get them?
Go LOW TECH: Put tech appointment slips in the staff bathroom and in all the mailboxes. Keep the appointment and follow up!
My Librarian and tech guru friend, Jennifer LaGarde , @jenniferlagarde, says,
“Meet them where they are, provide lots of scaffolded support & love! Accepting where a teacher is, treating their requests with respect and showing them how to do something (as opposed to doing it for them) is not only empowering but it also builds trust that can be leveraged the next time you want that same teacher to take an instructional risk.”
6. Let the Kids Lead
Challenge students to learn the tech skills, and let them practice in class or on their own at home, the local library, or at a friend’s house. Then let them teach the teachers.
Tell teachers it‘s not just okay, but it’s great to say things like, “Hey, this is new to me, too…let’s learn together!” or, “WOW…Cool! Show me how you did that!” Even better– “How you would teach this to a 5th grader?” (Suggest any grade that is three lower than the grade they are teaching. The kiddos seem to puff up a little with confidence when teaching younger kids).
I’m never too proud to say to my kids, “Gee, I don’t know how to do that. Can you please teach me?!” And really? They love to! It’s a good thing.
7. Praise Them!
Employ random acts of awesome! Every time you see a baby step forward, recognize and praise! It sounds obvious, but it goes a long way. We all like kudos. If you have a school electronic forum or conference, take some pics of finished projects, screenshots, links of NEW Cool teacher webpages, and share them with a Woo Hoo compliment!
Maybe create a series of badges for your school learning hub or webpage to show achievements. I know, stinkin’ badges aren’t everything, but people enjoy earning prizes, badges, and geek street cred! My fellow Google Innovator, Arizonan GT teacher, Karen Mensing, @MsMensing, says, “Patience, support, & encouragement!” South Carolina Instructional Technologist, Tamara Cox, @coxtl adds, “Model the tech, let them try with no audience around, offer to be there when they try with students, and brag to admin about efforts.”
8. One Thing
The last important tip is to encourage and challenge your staff (and yourself) to choose just ONE THING this week, month, or year to focus on and learn. It doesn’t matter what the time limit or duration. It doesn’t matter the tech tool or app. Don’t overwhelm with the million gajillion new tech resources that are out there. That would intimidate anyone!
Dare to try and learn one new thing. As a bonus ninja upgrade, challenge them or yourself to record the journey, the epic successes and occasional fails in a blog, journal, Instagram, or Twitter. Be a transparent life-long learner and a fearless change agent.
We can sometimes inspire others more with our failures and lessons learned than our triumphs. It’s good to share, celebrate, and to remember for next year.
And lastly, some teachers (and people) really just don’t want to learn technology and you know what? That’s OK! Just let them know that when they’re ready – you will always be there to help!
BONUS Tip! Trading Spaces
Ok, just because I’m lazy & don’t want to change the graphic to make it 9! I’ve been teaching and doing PD in my school for 20 years! (Yeah, never thought I’d be one of those teachers who didn’t move around every 5 years – go figure! I just fell in love with my community and I live only 7 min away) So, after 20 years of hearing my Sophomoric jokes my teachers are understandably a little tired of my shtick. It’s ok, I totally get it!
So, why not swap schools with another EdTech or Teacher Librarian friend in your district? You go over and teach stuff to her teachers and she (or he!) can come on over and give PD your peeps! A little different and strange can be very exciting (or so I’m told) but it’s a chance to mix it up and provide your staff with a different voice. Last year I was so lucky to get the amazing Apple tech trainer guy- the amazing Casey Veatch, to come in to come in 3X to our staff and they LOVED it! I also learned a few new things!
Your Turn!
What did I forget? Got any great practical tips to add?Please share in the comments and to me @GwynethJones on Twitter!
I need your help!
I’ve been talking about, and personally contributing, to Donor’s Choose classroom & Library campaigns but have never done one myself – Now I need you! My district won’t let me buy bean bags for the kiddos to sit anymore and my old ones died. After 2 years of kiddos lounging they flattened out and sprung leaks! I have a campaign that’s ALMOST fulfilled, if you could donate a few bucks I’d be really grateful! Thank you for your consideration!
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This post was previously published on The Daring librarian and is republished here under a Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 4.0.