Since the district where I work in does not have a full time IT specialist in any of the schools. I went to the IT building where they are located. I was able to interview one of the IT specialists who will be visiting our school and a middle school twice a week starting October 8th. In the Dougherty County School System, all IT Specialist is housed in one central location which is known as the old Albany High School. Beginning in October, they are assigned to two schools per specialist. Each specialist visits their schools twice a week.
INTERVIEW with Mr. B: Interview of technology coordinators at the two other sites: 1. Name of technology coordinator being interviewed. Esley Boykins 2. What is your title? Instructional Support Specialist 3. What type of degree is required for your position? You must have a Bachelor’s degree 4. Where did you obtain your degree? I obtain my Bachelor of Social Work Degree from Albany State University. I obtained my Masters of Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix 5. What are your job responsibilities? 1. I model the integration of technology in all curriculum and subject areas. 2. I serve as a member of district committees for the development of activities, training materials, and programs involving technology integration. 3. I collaborate with instructional staff to develop curriculum materials and specific lesson plans that integrate technology. 4. I provide sustained, in-depth job -embedded professional development for administrators, teachers, and other staff in the use of software applications, hardware, Internet resources, system policies and practices, technology integration strategies and other initiatives employed by the Dougherty County School System. 5. I monitor the use of instructional technology to ensure that resources and activities enhance rigorous academic content. 6. I assist in designing instructional technology modules and materials that are aligned with the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. 7. I provide frequent feedback to teachers and administrators regarding instructional technology. 8. I provide leadership and collaborates with the curriculum department and technology advisory committee to develop, implement, and update instructional technology plan for the system. 9. I collaborate with teachers, media, and technology staff to evaluate and select resources addressing curricular needs and learning goals. 10. I continually research and evaluate new instructional resources including software, web sites, Web 2.0 tools, one-to-one computing, and distance learning opportunities. 11. I perform basic computer hardware, software and network troubleshooting, maintenance and simple repairs if necessary (within the scope of and with the intent to train staff to perform these tasks for themselves). In as much as possible, these activities are limited to verifying and clarifying difficulties for reporting purposes. 12. I supply and create handouts, web -based resources, and other materials on the use and implementation of software programs, computer hardware and technology integration strategies, as needed to support instructional goals. 13. Implements best practices related to technology use in the school program based on research, pilot programs, and state/ national standards. 14. I serve as the district contact for selecting software programs. 6. What are typical daily activities for your job? Currently my daily activities consists of supporting teachers in effectively utilizing the components of a 21st Century classroom. I visit multiple classes daily to check on the status of teacher and student devices and the components of the 21st Century classroom. I troubleshoot issues students are experiencing. I also submit work orders to have problems repaired in a timely fashion. These activities lay the groundwork for subsequent tech integration trainings. 7. Do you have a budget that you control? How do you make decisions on selecting resources for your stakeholders? I do not have a budget to control. Decision are generally made through collaboration with my supervisor. Resources at the school level are made by building administration. 8. Have you had an opportunity to impact technology implementation throughout your school? Would you describe a specific example? I have impacted technology implementation by using tech tools for formative assessment, organization and collaboration. I have implemented the use of Goformative as a platform for formative assessment. This platform provides an easy to use system that provides feedback to drive instruction. I have also implemented the use of organizing systems such as symbaloo and FVD Speed dial. This has provided a way for teachers and students to organize frequently used sites. 9. Does your school have a technology committee? How are technology decisions made? The schools I serve do not have technology committees. Most of the technology decisions are made on the district level with input form various stakeholders. My school district currently employs eleven Instructional Support Specialist. Our main goal for this school year is effective technology integration in Tier 1 Instruction. 10. What is the best part of your job? The best part of my job is seeing the results of the impact from the abundance of tools, strategies and resources provided through the use of technology. My job has given me a tremendous opportunity to teach and learn from many. It has allowed me to reach a lot of people I would not have had access to in my previous job. 11. What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job? The most challenging part of my job is getting people to buy in to usefulness of technology in education. It is somewhat difficult to change the mindset of people who are afraid to try new ideas.
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Alicia EvansGeorgia Southern Practicum Class 2017-2018 Archives
November 2018
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