As a technology leader, there are a lot of little details to be aware of when implementing new tools in a classroom. I quickly realized that you have to think of the platforms, how much they will cost, are there any legal situations involved, etc. This role has made me think more about the role of a technology leader, rather than someone who just creates lessons and collaborates with other teachers. The aspect of being a technology leader that I perceive to be most challenging is to make sure that I am confident enough to say to coworkers and administrators what our students need and how we can provide those resources to our students. I am a very shy person and I often “hide behind the screen” with emails. I need to work on more face-to-face interactions. I feel that I have many great ideas, but I need to practice more how to tell others what I am thinking and how the resources I find can help support our students.
During these first four weeks of this course, I had realized that there are a lot of little things that go into becoming a technology specialist. For one, time frame. I really thought this implementation was going to take longer than it has. I was thinking about two weeks of practice for teachers and then using it with the students. But we had our meeting with the Library Director and we practiced for one day on both platforms and felt confident using them with the students. We are going to introduce the Tinybop Schools to the students this Friday (February 12th) for our social studies lesson. Friday we will be collecting our data to see if this implementation is a good fit for our class. Next week, Wednesday, we are going to use Makers Empire for science. I have really enjoyed learning about our new tools to use with the students. I think that the students will be more engaged in our lessons, rather than the teacher talking all the time. I think that this project has made me realize all of the steps that go into a technology leader and how I can implement new tools for students.
