What should the role of a technology facilitator look like?



Innovation 

What does and doesn’t look like?

What should the role of a technology facilitator look like? 


Innovation is a buzzword around the education field and is commonly misused. According to Cauros (2015, pg 25), innovation should be the process of reasoning that produces something new and better. Innovation should be easy to succeed at with a couple of minor changes and a culture that should be created to support teachers. Innovation is how teachers are using the technology in their classroom and how the learners are experiencing the learning environment. Innovation is thinking and learning in new ways that can enhance the learning experience.

Innovation is not a lot of things and can be a misused term in the education field. Innovation is not the transformation of schools or teachers to completely different ways of thinking. Innovation is not the change of all the technology/ hardware at the school (Cauros, 2015, pg 25). Innovation should not be replacing one thing for the next thing. Innovation should not be a complete flip of a school or classroom. 

When it comes to innovation and the role of technology facilitators, they need to inspire teachers and help teachers develop the skills they need to exceed. The technology facilitator at the campus should be keeping in mind that the learner’s needs are first. The technology facilitator should be giving the learners a voice to experience what they want out of their learning environment. They should be encouraging teachers to take chances and think outside of standard learning ways. 

In my Bill Ferriter- style image, I looked at what some people think about Technology Facilitator looks like and doesn’t look like. Instead of promoting new technology and software, promote deeper learning or new ways of doing lessons. Technology Facilitator needs to empower the teachers to break free of the same old lesson and not just train them on new technology. We should be giving students a voice in learning, not just telling them about all the tech tools and apps to use. Teachers should be collaborating with people worldwide in different ways, not just using collaboration apps. Teachers need to reflect on what’s working in the classroom, then get the student’s opinion about the lesson and how to improve instead of giving up because it’s not working. 


References 

Cauros, G. (2015). The Innovator's Mindset. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

Martinez, M., & McGrath, D. (2014, August 30). Phi Delta Kappan, The professional journal for educators. Technology alone won’t transform teacher to facilitator. https://kappanonline.org/technology-teacher-facilitator-teaching-martinez-mcgrath/

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 5, 2021 at 9:41 AM

    Greetings Meredith!

    I think we stated similar things about the real role of a technology facilitator. It is odd that technology is so secondary to what the role really is: a type of coach of other coaches in order to produce more creative and independent thinking among their students. Obviously, the skill in technology is a necessity, but if I was to paint a house but only had hammers and nails, what use would that be?

    There is a pivotal social role to the technology facilitator. I can see where Dr. Rice is coming from in asking us to consider the different mindsets going forward. A technology facilitator with a fixed, or even a growth mindset, is not the optimal desire. Always with fresh eyes should the tech facilitator be!

    Best,

    Abraham Callahan

    ReplyDelete

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