Have you ever stopped to think about who the
real heroes are behind the tech in schools? You
know, not just the IT folks fixing things, but
the ones helping teachers actually use it effectively.
Like really weave it into learning, not just
deal with a glitchy projector. Who's helping
them innovate? Yeah, that's a great question.
Well, today we're doing a deep dive into exactly
that. We're looking at technology integration
specialists, or TIS. Right. We're digging into
a really interesting blog post by Gary Ackerman
called Hashtag EdTech for Hashtag Ed Leaders,
Whom to Hire, Technology Integration Specialists.
It was on hack science education back in August
2018. A very relevant piece, even now. Absolutely.
So our mission today is to really unpack who
these specialists are, why they're so crucial,
and also So the challenges they run into trying
to help schools really make the most of technology.
OK, let's untack this. That was good. So for
a long time, professional development, especially
for tech, it often happened outside the classroom,
like in a conference room somewhere. Away from
the kids, away from the actual teaching environment.
Exactly. You'd learn about a tool in theory,
but then trying to actually use it back in your
own classroom. That was tough, left a big gap.
A huge gap. And that's precisely where this role,
the technology integration specialist, came from,
to fill that void. OK. These folks, they're typically
licensed educators themselves. They've got extra
training, sometimes advanced degrees, specifically
in educational technology. So not just tech support
people pulled into a school. No. Definitely not.
They understand teaching. They bring that learning
into the school, into the classroom context,
bridging that theory practice gap you mentioned.
Right. And the article we're looking at, it calls
them technology stewards. Which is interesting.
Yeah. Drawing on Venger, Smith, and White. But
it also calls them lead users. Now that sounds
really significant. What does that actually mean
in a school setting? It's a really powerful idea.
It comes from Eric Von Hippel's work, specifically
his book, Democratizing Innovation. Von Hippel
says lead users are, let me get this right, ahead
of the majority of users with respect to an important
market trend. And they expect to benefit highly
from solving needs they encounter early. So applied
to school applied to schools. It means the TIS
are the ones out front. They're experimenting
They're seeing the potential of new tech for
learning before most others and they're figuring
out how to make it work. Ah, okay They're kind
of the pioneers creating and then spreading these
innovative uses of technology within the school
like an internal R &D for pedagogy, almost. Wow,
okay. So they're innovators ahead of the curve.
What does that actually translate to? Like, day
-to -day, the article stresses their role as
mentors, right? Primarily, yes. Mentorship is
key. But what does that look like? Is it just
workshops? Well, it's much more hands -on than
just workshops, ideally. They're involved in
planning and delivering PD, sure, but also promoting
just a general understanding of how tech can
genuinely enhance learning. They help design
lessons, integrate tech into the curriculum,
and crucially, they model it. They coach teachers
directly. That often means being in the classroom
or in the computer lab side by side with teachers
and students. Actually in the room during a lesson.
Yes. Sometimes they even teach or co -teach a
class. It helps teachers find a sort of comfortable
way in, especially if a technology feels intimidating.
That makes a lot of sense. You see it in action.
Exactly. Now there's another role mentioned,
one that's maybe less obvious. Supporting the
IT professionals. How does that work? Aren't
they sometimes seen as, you know, different camps?
Well, they can be, but the TS plays a vital role
here. Think of them as translators. Translators.
Yeah. IT pros know systems, networks, hardware.
T has no teaching, learning, classroom needs.
Right. So the TS advocates for what teachers
and students actually need when IT is designing
or setting up systems. They help IT understand
the sometimes really specific educational context.
So they can explain why a certain setup might
not work for, say, a group project, even if it
looks fine technically. Precisely. Or point out
unmet needs or systems that teachers find clunky
or difficult to use. They bridge that gap. between
the tech side and the teaching side. It's supposed
to be a symbiotic relationship. OK, I get it.
That's a really crucial kind of behind the scenes
function. Definitely. So the ideal picture is
this TIS spending most of their time mentoring,
innovating, helping teachers become independent
tech users. That's the goal. Yes, fostering that
independence. But the article points out three
big obstacles that often get in the way. What's
the first one? Well, one common issue, especially
you see this in smaller schools, is the TIS might
only be part time in that role. They might have
their own classes to teach, other duties, and
that just creates immediate scheduling headaches.
It's hard to find time to collaborate with teachers
when you're both juggling packed schedules. Right,
limited availability right off the bat. OK, what's
the second obstacle? The article calls it teacher
dependency. That sounds tricky. It is tricky
and kind of counterintuitive, like you said.
The goal is independence, but sometimes you get
the opposite. Well, some teachers, particularly
those who maybe don't feel very confident with
technology, what researchers call low self -efficacy.
Right. They tend to rely really heavily on the
TIS just for the basics, just to meet the minimum
expectations. So they call the TIS for every
little thing. Pretty much. Yeah. And while the
TIS is there to help, of course, this constant
reliance can actually stop those teachers from,
you know... developing their own skills and confidence,
it becomes a crutch. Mm. So it hinders their
growth instead of fostering it. That's a tough
cycle to break. It really is. It keeps them from
becoming independent users, which is the whole
point. OK. That's a big one. And the third obstacle.
I have a feeling I know this one. Let me guess.
Troubleshooting. Bingo. Yep. It's almost inevitable.
The TIS is often the most visible tech person
walking the halls. Right. They know how stuff
works. Exactly. So when a projector bulb burns
out or the Wi -Fi seems flaky or a program won't
load, who gets the first call? The TIS. The TIS.
Now look, sometimes this leads to a quick fix.
Maybe even a little informal troubleshooting
lesson for the teacher or students right there.
Yeah, a teachable moment maybe. Maybe. But the
problem is it pulls them away significantly from
their main job. Mentoring teachers on integrating
technology effectively into learning. So they
get bogged down in basic tech support. Constantly.
They become firefighters, putting out small tech
fires all day instead of architects helping build
new ways of teaching and learning. It really
dilutes their impact. Yeah. I can see how that
would completely derail the core mission. If
you're always fixing, you're not innovating.
Exactly. It becomes reactive, not proactive.
OK. So let's pull this all together. What we've
seen from this deep dive is that these technology
integration specialists, they're so much more
than just the tech person. Absolutely. They're
mentors. They're innovators. They're advocates,
translators. bridging that gap between what schools
want to achieve educationally and what technology
makes possible. They really are the engine for
meaningful tech use in schools when they're allowed
to be. Understanding their role and critically
understanding the obstacles they face, that's
vital for anyone who cares about how technology
actually gets used effectively in education.
Right, it's the key to moving beyond just having
devices in classrooms to actually transforming
learning with them. So that leaves us with a
final thought, something for you, the listener,
to consider. Given how crucial this role is,
but also how easily they get pulled off track,
how can schools strategically support their TKIS?
Yeah, how do we protect their time? Exactly.
How do we make sure they can actually focus on
that core mission, fostering innovation and teacher
independence, instead of just being the go -to
for every single tech hiccup? Something to really
think about for the future of edtech.