“Help me!!! I don’t know how to use this new software or technology!!!” This is an almost daily shriek from some on my campus, yet my administrators seem deaf to it. Don’t get me wrong, my administrators are great listeners in the moment, but the follow through seems to be some what lacking.
While we educators are getting used to new trends and fads coming at us every which way, people, and by people I mean administrators, need to realize that when massive new software is thrust upon us it is unrealistic to expect mastering of the new technology in less than a week with less than an hour’s training over the technology/software. Yes, that did happen in my district. Now come to find out, after many stressful nights and days, attempting to finish what was expected of us, we learned that they never expected us to master it within sed deadline.
According to the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology, one of the administrator’s major roles is to, “provide opportunities for sustained, relevant and timely staff development…” (30). When in a leadership position, one must realize that the needs of the learners, be they the educators or the students, are vast and varying. One must act like a leader and lead his/her campus every day by example. I hear my administrators say that on a regular basis, yet they have fallen short on their end when it comes to leading by example.
In this technology driven world, the state of Texas, the Federal government, the global community, all realize the importance of using technology as a tool for engaging our students in the learning process. It is vitally important that the leaders of every school campus create a shared vision, using students, parents, teachers, staff members, community members, etc., for how the district will embark on meeting the demands of the ever changing world of technology and still meeting the mandated requirements by state and federal law. We all believe that it takes a village to raise a child, so let’s use that village when coming up with our vision and plan for technology use within our schools, it can only help us all understand the importance of continuing our education after high school. The administrator/leader also has the added stress of mapping out a budget, and monitoring it as well as the vision and plan that has been created and adopted by all within the community. The administrator must not just provide opportunities for their staff to keep up to date, but must make sure the environment of the school is conducive to keeping up with the evolving technology, and that students have access to the resources they need. Lastly, since it is expected of teachers to use data effectively in their lesson planning, it must also be used by administrators to review what the teachers need help with, further impacting more of what the students will learn and master.
My advice, I leave you with… LISTEN UP!!! Listen to your faculty, they need your help, just as much as the students need our help!
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