What it takes to be an EdTech Leader
This week I had the opportunity to watch eLearning Coach Community to the Rescue put on by the IDOE Office of eLearning. During this webinar I heard veteran eLearning coaches Tim Wilhelmus, Kyle Kline, Michele Eaton and Diana Gill share their wisdom about being an edTech leader. Each presenter provided different insight about the different aspects of the role. Personally, I really enjoyed Tim Wilhelmus who is a curriculum and innovation specialist for the Evansville School Coorporation's idea on finding your why. I also really appreciated Kyle Kline, Math Technology and Technology Integration Specialist for Delphi Junior-Senior Community High School's ideas about the importance of relationships as an edTech leader.
Tim Wilhelmus-
Throughout Tim Wilhelmus' presentation in the webinar he stressed the importance of building and knowing your why as a coach. He explained that by knowing your why, you are able to increase your relevance and reach more teachers. When you are able to justify why you are using the technology, you are more likely to get more teachers on board with you. Wilhelmus also explained the importance of being a good leader. He explained to use that in order to get people to want to follow you as a leader, you have to convince and show them your why- sell your why! This means that you have to reach people through both their emotions and logic, you must convince them that your idea is something they should believe in and something that is in the best interest of their students. Lastly, Wilhelmus talks about considering things from the perspective of your teachers, look through their "lens." Each teacher you talk to is going to have different opinions about technology integration and as EdTech Leaders it is important that we acknowledge and respect their opinions and based on their beliefs create a plan that will satisfy their needs.
Kyle Kline-
Another aspect that enjoyed listening to was Kyle Klines about the importance of relationships being an EdTech leader. As EdTech Leaders, it is important to create strong relationships with our teachers and support them in their efforts to implement technology into the classroom. This means that leaders should be having conversations with teachers and acknowledging their needs in the classroom, not just telling them what to do. Additionally, Kline talks about the importance of showing teachers how to address their content through the implementation of technology and how they can use technology to enhance their current lessons. One of my favorite points that Kline makes is about listening and making your teachers feel like their success is your number one priority. It is important to build an understanding of the needs of different teachers so that you can find ways to help them improve their classroom by finding a solution. Lastly, Kline talks about supporting your teachers and making them aware that you are there for them when they try out different types of technology. This can be anything from walking around the hallway doing random check-ins to co-teaching a lesson with technology or just observing in case anything goes wrong to serve as a "comfort blanket." When EdTeach Leaders have positive relationships with their teachers, they are able to achieve a lot more success in implementing technology.
Throughout the course of the semester I have developed my ideas on what it means to be an EdTech leader. Through shadowing teachers to creating Professional Development Plans and Grants, I have been exposed to many resources that have guided my beliefs on what makes an EdTech Leader.
I believe that an EdTech leader needs to be someone who is flexible, willing to try new things, capable of building and maintaining strong relationships and someone that has a passion for enriching and enhancing student learning through technology. Someone who is a leader should be able to help teachers find ways to implement technology that meet the needs of their classroom. This person also has to understand the importance of the school community and how everyone in the school is on the same team to help students achieve success. This means that they are inovlving parents, teachers and students in their efforts to incorporate technology.
This semester I had the opportunity to shadow Jenna Cooper, Center Groves EdTech leader and see exactly what it means. One things that really stuck out to me during this experience was how mobile she was throughout the day. During the time I was there, we went to four different schools at all different grade levels. We met with classroom teachers, principles, and other tech coaches. While with Jenna, I saw the different relationships she had with different teachers and how she was able to help them create lessons that integrated technology into their classrooms in order to enhance and engage their specific students based on what they were learning. Throughout the time I was able to clearly see Jenna's "why" and how it helped her gain the trust and support of the different teachers in the district.
Overall, I have found that a EdTech Leader is someone who needs to have the best interest of teachers and students in mind. This means they need to develop relationships with them and support their efforts in implementing technology. In my future, I hope to continue to further my understanding and exposure to being an EdTech Leader. My goal is to expand my knowledge of the EdTech world and continue to develop my "why."
Tim Wilhelmus-
Throughout Tim Wilhelmus' presentation in the webinar he stressed the importance of building and knowing your why as a coach. He explained that by knowing your why, you are able to increase your relevance and reach more teachers. When you are able to justify why you are using the technology, you are more likely to get more teachers on board with you. Wilhelmus also explained the importance of being a good leader. He explained to use that in order to get people to want to follow you as a leader, you have to convince and show them your why- sell your why! This means that you have to reach people through both their emotions and logic, you must convince them that your idea is something they should believe in and something that is in the best interest of their students. Lastly, Wilhelmus talks about considering things from the perspective of your teachers, look through their "lens." Each teacher you talk to is going to have different opinions about technology integration and as EdTech Leaders it is important that we acknowledge and respect their opinions and based on their beliefs create a plan that will satisfy their needs.
Kyle Kline-
Another aspect that enjoyed listening to was Kyle Klines about the importance of relationships being an EdTech leader. As EdTech Leaders, it is important to create strong relationships with our teachers and support them in their efforts to implement technology into the classroom. This means that leaders should be having conversations with teachers and acknowledging their needs in the classroom, not just telling them what to do. Additionally, Kline talks about the importance of showing teachers how to address their content through the implementation of technology and how they can use technology to enhance their current lessons. One of my favorite points that Kline makes is about listening and making your teachers feel like their success is your number one priority. It is important to build an understanding of the needs of different teachers so that you can find ways to help them improve their classroom by finding a solution. Lastly, Kline talks about supporting your teachers and making them aware that you are there for them when they try out different types of technology. This can be anything from walking around the hallway doing random check-ins to co-teaching a lesson with technology or just observing in case anything goes wrong to serve as a "comfort blanket." When EdTeach Leaders have positive relationships with their teachers, they are able to achieve a lot more success in implementing technology.
So what is an EdTech Leader?
Throughout the course of the semester I have developed my ideas on what it means to be an EdTech leader. Through shadowing teachers to creating Professional Development Plans and Grants, I have been exposed to many resources that have guided my beliefs on what makes an EdTech Leader.
I believe that an EdTech leader needs to be someone who is flexible, willing to try new things, capable of building and maintaining strong relationships and someone that has a passion for enriching and enhancing student learning through technology. Someone who is a leader should be able to help teachers find ways to implement technology that meet the needs of their classroom. This person also has to understand the importance of the school community and how everyone in the school is on the same team to help students achieve success. This means that they are inovlving parents, teachers and students in their efforts to incorporate technology.
This semester I had the opportunity to shadow Jenna Cooper, Center Groves EdTech leader and see exactly what it means. One things that really stuck out to me during this experience was how mobile she was throughout the day. During the time I was there, we went to four different schools at all different grade levels. We met with classroom teachers, principles, and other tech coaches. While with Jenna, I saw the different relationships she had with different teachers and how she was able to help them create lessons that integrated technology into their classrooms in order to enhance and engage their specific students based on what they were learning. Throughout the time I was able to clearly see Jenna's "why" and how it helped her gain the trust and support of the different teachers in the district.
Overall, I have found that a EdTech Leader is someone who needs to have the best interest of teachers and students in mind. This means they need to develop relationships with them and support their efforts in implementing technology. In my future, I hope to continue to further my understanding and exposure to being an EdTech Leader. My goal is to expand my knowledge of the EdTech world and continue to develop my "why."
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