I’m not sure if working with the public, school board, administration, and teaching staff does differ from working with students. My students often think they know much more than I do about technology, how it works, and how to get around the rules. They are often surprised that I am as fluent as I am and that I can answer many of their questions without even looking at their screen. They also try and claim they’ve lost something as if I don’t know how to do a search and look in other folders or in their trash. I’ve had very little experience with school board members, but from what I remember, they often think that since they went through the education system, they know everything there is to know about the topic. When working with my administration, they know I know my stuff and routinely come to me with questions. I find that when working with my staff, they need more specific and much slower directions, as well as more time and repetition in order to retain their learning. I find that adults are curious, but not as likely to take the risks that my students are when working with technology.
The biggest challenges I see that a technology integrator faces from the community is the support for time and professional development. After twenty-one years, I find I'm able to draw the line and not take schoolwork (papers and projects) home with me. However, when it comes to exploring the technology, I can’t stop myself. I think that many teachers don’t embed technology into their curricula more often because they don’t have the time to become proficient and comfortable with it enough to use it in their classrooms. I feel lucky that I enjoy the challenges technology brings me, but other who are less at ease give up without having the opportunities to explore and become proficient. Adults need more practice than our students when it comes to technology. Our kids are used to the fast pace, the immediacy of material, and the multi-tasking; adults are not. They need time, time which our administration feels should be focused on assessments, data collection, and now, Common Core. The single biggest obstacle I have encountered is the lack of understanding as to how much time it takes to learn how to use the technology the State of Maine puts into our hands and into the hands of our students. They want us to use it, to teach it, but in order to become experts, or highly qualified, we must use our own time, while keeping up with the daily requirements of the classroom.
Not having been in an integrator’s shoes, I don’t know how to best tackle these challenges. I know that data seems to run many of the decisions made in education these days, so surveying and interviewing teachers about their needs would be a fitting start. Unfortunately, unless a community starts seeing test scores devoted to the use of technology, I don't foresee much change. I think that providing as much support to classroom teachers and promoting success stories is another strategy. The community needs to see the technology we’re implementing; they need to see results other than test scores and state grade reports that are routinely printed in the newspaper.
