Bev Naslund
Director - The Extension Center
Carl Sandburg College
Bushnell, IL
There are three basic principles that I feel a mentor should follow when working with teachers on technology integration:
- find out what they want to know
- don't overload them with too much information
- stay calm and non-judgmental.
Obviously, the last principle can easily be controlled by you, but it is the first two that require a lot of thought, planning, and sometimes an intuitive nature.
What Do They Want to Know?
Does your mentee want to learn specific software, to improve a unit of study by including some form of technology, or to create rubrics to use with classroom activities? Whatever the immediate learning need might be, it is important to start at that point.
Many times teachers won't know what they want, but they realize that they need to be using more technology in their classrooms and for their own use. I highly recommend starting them in one of the following ways:
- If the teacher has a classroom computer hooked to a large screen TV or LCD projector, start there. Encourage them to utilize websites in their classroom, create a one-slide PowerPoint of announcements or assignments, review software basics before taking their class to the computer lab, etc.
- If your school district has a piece of software that they want all teachers to use, start there. It might be a grade book program, Accelerated Reader, lesson plan creator, etc.
- Your mentee may want to improve a specific unit to include technology. After you know the goals/objectives for the unit, you can make specific recommendations for how technology can engage the student and improve student learning.
- To encourage technology use that produces fast results, introduce the teacher to online technology tools. The best website I know is HPR-TEC (http://hprtec.org). The list of easy-to-use classroom tools is amazing and it is FREE. Let me elaborate:
My favorite tools on the HPR-TEC website are:
- Rubistar (an online rubric maker) -
This tool allows you to select a product or classroom activity and use predetermined rubrics. The power of Rubistar is the ease with which you can change the information within the rubric and transport it into an Excel document to align it even more closely to your specific needs.
- PBL Checklists (an online checklist creator) -
This is another assessment tool that allows you to choose from a pre-selected list of products and/or activities by grade level, to create the type of checklist that fits your needs.
- Assign-a-day (an online calendar) -
This tool allows you to create an online calendar for classroom assignments, due dates on specific projects, etc. Students and parents can view this calendar at home to see assignments they may have missed and/or to verify due dates of upcoming projects.
- Quizstar (a web-based quiz maker) -
This tool allows you to create quizzes at home or school for students to take online. It also grades the quiz and sends you the results while allowing students to review their results for further learning.
- Trackstar (an interactive online "Track" creator) -
This tool creates an interactive, online lesson that focuses student learning. Create your own "track" or search the database by subject, grade, theme, or standard to access "tracks" created by others. To create a "track" you simply enter the website you want the student to access and add annotations or questions for your students to answer. Continue this process until you have finished your online lesson (track). Using Trackstar avoids student errors in typing in a website address. It also focuses their attention since they access the websites you list while staying within the "track."
Don't Overload
Most of us have overheard the conversation in the teachers' lunchroom or workroom about a recent technology workshop. Many times the complaint is "too much information." Just like we scaffold our students' learning, it is important to provide appropriate information on the most needed parts of a piece of software and save the "bells and whistles" for later. Let teachers become comfortable with the basics of the software and then add a new feature or two. Everyone is more likely to utilize technology when they feel comfortable.
Another important aspect in teaching the features of a piece of software or the basics of a new technology is a "Help Sheet." "Help Sheets" (or cheat sheets as they are commonly called) are great tools for supporting the learner. These sheets are usually one page or less and the instructions are short statements. (For example, Select the File Menu, select Page Setup, click on Format tab, etc.) "Help Sheets" are NOT tutorials that give everything you ever wanted to know about a piece of software, but instead include only the "basics." "Help Sheets" are great reference tools to have since most of us don't work with the same software (or at least software feature) every day.
When I was a technology coordinator responsible for mentoring my entire staff on all technology issues, I usually kept a document that recorded my answers to numerous teacher questions. When a teacher would e-mail me a problem, I could copy and paste the answer in the e-mail and get it back to him or her immediately. This process empowered the teacher by giving them a sense of accomplishment and created another level of technology support within the building.
Stay Calm
To avoid increasing the stress that the mentee is already experiencing, it is particularly important that you remain calm and non-judgmental. Scaffold the learning so that you don't overwhelm the mentee, and REMEMBER to be sure to focus on her or his needs.
The mentor's goal should be to empower the mentee and not to create a dependency on the mentor. Yes, support and encourage, but provide the tools, the confidence, and the knowledge for the teacher to be comfortable using and experimenting with technology.
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