Supporting Colleagues' ICT Needs

Well, the topic of leading your staff with their ICT needs is quite intimidating at the moment. I am aware of my tendency to take my elders' lead. When I am working with those that are my senior, I always follow their lead and view them as the authority. I have a fear of looking/sounding/acting arrogant or bossy and I do not want to be a know-it-all. By all means, if someone asks my advice, support, or opinion, I am quick to help and I love to share. But, to take up the reins and offer is not in my disposition. After a week of reading and research, I am seeing that perhaps taking up the reins is exactly what I should do. I discovered some suggestions for how to do it in a supportive and non-domineering way.

Following my research this week, I came across a unique perspective I hadn’t previously considered. In her article, 5 ways to Share Your Professional Expertise and 4 Reasons You Should, Chrissy Scivicque encourages professionals to share their knowledge and expertise. “Sharing your wisdom with the people around you is not an activity born from the ego. It’s about being of service. It’s about them, not you. Giving, not gloating” (2013). This quote certainly puts a new spin on things for me. This approach, which I certainly agree with, I feel encouraged to step up, help out and “be of service”. 

Scivicque goes on to outline 5 ways, several of which I will discuss, in which you can/should share with your colleges. First of all, be a mentor. I relate this to my experience being trained with the SMART Board. A keen and skillful teacher from my school at the time offered to train me in her class several days a week after school. I sat in a desk, along with another new teacher, and we were given the ins and outs of how to include the SMART Board interactively in our lessons. She was so giving of her time and this informal in-service of sorts has served me well, as I am an avid user of this technology now. Three years later I ended up under her wing again. At every opportunity, she works with others to mentor them and share her knowledge and skill. I see this as a great way to reach others that are curious, open and interested in learning a specific ICT skill. Mentorship is a reflection of how our profession should be carried out: helping others, sharing our knowledge, giving of our time and resources.

Presenting on a specific ICT topic would be another way of sharing and supporting my colleagues. Staff meetings, school-based Pro-D sessions, curriculum meetings, and school-based Learning Communities are all great platforms for addressing staff needs and ICT interest. Articles suggest that tapping into the wisdom in the room is a good approach. Opening the conversation for others to share their expertise would put me in a much more comfortable position, as I would then be taking on a facilitator role and not feel the need to know everything. Personally, I feel that the way I would feel most comfortable arranging/offering this, is to put up a notice and ask amongst my staff, who is interested in exploring x,y,z at the upcoming meeting/Pro-D etc. If we walk into it as a team, and others are keen and interested, it will most certainly set us up for a great session where I can lend some expertise. Check out this encouraging Kid President video: encouraging for me to step up and offer my skill in addressing the ICT needs of my staff and also useful for others in the classroom!

Using social media is another great way to reach out to my staff. I know most are on Facebook and are using it regularly. It comes up on our staff room a lot. Creating a Facebook page for our staff, where I could share interesting articles and ICT information, would likely build rapport, and present a great avenue for collaboration. I believe being aware of where my staff is at with social media and tapping into that, be it Twitter or Facebook, etc., would be a very effective tool. The avenue will change from staff to staff, but it is a platform that will likely be successful with any group. Currently, much of our conversation in the staff room and hallways is about our lives, our kids and our personal plans. I love how comfortable and open we are as a staff, but rarely do we engage in 'shop talk' or professional development. Through social media, when people are at home, relaxed and not 'on the clock' I feel that it is much more likely for conversations to become reflective, contemplative and open to the idea of exploring various teaching techniques/programs/skills etc.  

The biggest insight I have taken away from this week’s assignment is to offer my help, not wait for other people to ask for it. Personally, this is most likely to be successfully carried out through mentorship, speaking/presentations, and/or social media. These three areas are where I feel most comfortable assessing and responding to the ICT needs of my staff. 

References

Rooney, J. (April 5, 2013). 10 Ways to inspire your colleagues as an educator. Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/10-ways-to-inspire-your-colleagues/#ixzz3RrijQa1t

Scivicque, Chrissy. (July 25, 2013). 5 Ways to share your professional expertise and 4 reasons you should. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/07/25/5-ways-to-share-your-professional-expertise-and-4-reasons-you-should/

Silkties, A. [MarketingScott]. (2013, March 7). Kid President – Pep Talk about Teamwork and Leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzF23qI3Djw

[Social Media laptop]. Retrieved from http://www.fctd.info/newsletters/300

[Words of Mentorship]. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/192036371585435087/