Why Did I Say “Yes”?

How many of us say “yes” to just about anything when it comes to our professional lives? Guilty! I, personally, say “yes” to just about anything that is asked of me - “will you be on this committee?” - Oooo, yes! “I need help researching my topic for my English paper” - sure, let’s talk about your topic and see where we go! “Will you write me a pass to come makeup the work I missed while I was out last week?” - Absolutely. “Can you come to this IEP meeting today?” - for you, anything! “My (fellow teacher) computer/printer isn’t working correctly - can you come take a look?” - sure, I’ll come by on my prep to take a look. I think my stress level just increased upon posing just those few questions that seem to be a staple within my professional life. Learning how and when to say “no” could be just the tool to decrease stress and boost personal productivity.

Just Say “No”...or, “Maybe”

Now that you’ve decided to possibly increase the occurrence of “no” into your vocabulary, what are some ways that you can say no but not feel guilty about it?

Somerville et al (2021) advises on potential examples of saying no…without having to say it:

• The “hard no”

• The “not now”

• The “not so much”

• The “maybe, if the deal were a little sweeter”

• The “maybe, if the benefits and costs were clearer”

Let’s face it, we sometimes feel we need the Jerry Seinfeld list of reasons to say no. Here’s 9 Tips to Say No to help expound upon the versions of “no” above. 

Saying “yes” to all opportunities has its drawbacks; however, prioritizing “high-benefiting” activities can play to your advantage and keep you from experiencing burnout early in your career (Somerville et al, 2021).

In education, Technology Coordinators are often tasked with doing all of these and if saying “no” is not part of your daily vocabulary, prepare to be overworked, stressed, and burned out QUICKLY! The audiences that a Technology Coordinator affiliate with frequently include: administration, board of education, teachers/faculty, and the community (Frazier et al, 2017, p. 178). 

Meeting the needs of each of these groups is essential; however, it requires a significant amount of prioritizing and aligning professional goals to accomplish tasks effectively and efficiently. Walking the halls of the schools within the district is one way to not lose touch with what the LEAs experience (Frazier et al, 2017, p. 181). Maintaining comradery and relationships, along with witnessing what “good” is happening can all assist with aligning priorities in our schools to best maximize student achievement. 

You Can Do It!

Yeah, I couldn’t go without posting one of the most notorious lines in all of Waterboy…

Somerville et al (2021) urges individuals to follow three rules to master the art of saying “no”:

1. Make it a priority to think carefully before saying yes to requests

2. Identify mentors or peers who can you help you weigh the costs and benefits

3. Take a clear-eyed look at your existing commitments to ensure you are leaving the time you need to take care of yourself

Whoa…take care of yourself. I’m going to step out and say that I bet you have not been doing that - you’ve been taking care of everyone and everything else. Rethink your commitments and devote time to personal and professional growth. The fact is that if you dropped dead today, the world would still spin and people would continue to go on about their business. If you don’t take care of yourself, who will? 

References

Frazier, M. & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator’s (Third Edition) Handbook. Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education.

Somerville, L. H., Van Bavel, J. J., Lewis, Jr., N. A., Gruber, J., & Cunningham, W. A. (2021, January 5). Learn when—and how—to say no in your professional life. Science.org. https://www.science.org/content/article/learn-when-and-how-say-no-your-professional-life 

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We're One-to-One! We're One-To-One!

The days of dreaming of one-to-one are gone for many schools - the Pandemic helped springboard that into reality with the funding supplied to much of the districts to use. However, of the equipment that has been purchased over the last two years, what is being used appropriately and what remains an expensive dust-collector?

The Ongoing Role of Asset Tracking

Students are increasingly becoming more and more tech savvy each year. The funds that are utilized to purchase more technology for education come with added responsibility - someone must manage that equipment. According to Krivanek (2021), creating a plan and a device step-by-step checklist is one way to begin to track all of the new equipment. But, what about the person's responsibilities before this added task? I am interested to see how roles of employees are stretched to include new responsibilities. 

In a school of 1200 students, one person is now responsible for 1200+ Chromebooks and chargers, in addition to what they have already been doing. There is no added compensation for this role, just simply the expectation that it will be taken care of and be a value-added role. In a typical school day, there are students who experience hardware/software issues, lost devices, connectivity issues, forgetting devices and needing to borrow another, and a myriad of other issues. The one person who has now assumed responsibility of distributing the devices has accumulated daily duties to replenish requests to maintain the adequate 1:1 experience. Herein lies and opportunity - to teach students and parents proper care and responsibilities of managing their 1:1 devices. 

With Added Technology Comes Great Responsibility 

Students and parents have the opportunity for technology to be better incorporated and more readily and easily accessed in schools. The Center for Democracy & Technology (2021) states, "while schools are making progress, and support for online learning among teachers and parents remains strong, important gaps in student privacy remain." They encourage continued education and exploration to keep abreast of information and developing knowledge. Simply handing out devices will not take our students from a 14 to a 25 on the ACT. There are responsibilities that come with having newer technologies. 

Maybe envisioning this from a standpoint of riding a bicycle or learning to drive a car is needed. Students are not expected to execute responsibilities perfectly upon receipt of the Chromebooks. However, with proper guidance and procedures made known, students can be more aware of privacy and how to be productive utilizing the device as an educational instrument.  

The Center for Democracy & Technology (2021) suggests the following steps:

1. Continue to establish and update privacy-forward policies
2. Better equip teachers to use school technology responsibly
3. Address the latest privacy and security risks that pose the greatest threats to students
4. Engage parents in privacy protection 
5. Embed privacy protection in efforts to close the homework gap

There are several debates left on the table today regarding the required balance between technology in schools and how it works for students and families. One detail that is heavily agreed upon is that education data and technology "should not and cannot come at the expense of student safety and well-being" (Center for Democracy & Technology, 2021). 

Just Keep Swimming...

We have a responsibility as educators to equip our students, and ourselves, with working strategies that engage and benefit the learning process. Will every technology be successful? No, likely not...however, without sampling and examining what the possibilities are and how we can best meet the needs of every learner, it is worth trying. The research of 1:1 and its effectiveness is ongoing. The Pandemic uncovered many strengths and weaknesses of our practices; we are now responsible for attempting to fill the gaps in technology to see if students actually benefit from the accessibility to increased screen time with the implementation of devices used at school and home.

We've Got The Technology - What Now?

We've Got The Technology - What Now?

Frazier and Hearrington (2017) discuss the importance of designing and conducting effective professional development programs and training (p. 4). It is not enough to purchase equipment and distribute it to all parties. This equipment is nothing more than a doorstop if not properly introduced; it must be properly supported and taught how to best used within the classroom and among students.

Step back and think this through...

If technology is becoming obsolete and unused before it is ever taught how to be used most effectively, what else has also fallen off the wagon? 

Malik (2018) states that in order "to cope with these run-away changes we need to prepare workforce with the skills to handle a range of electronic technologies that characterize this digital era" (p. 9). The urgency for education to equip citizens with an approach where they are able to think critically and creatively now faces our students. 

Will there be set-backs or conflicts that ultimately prevent this growth? 

This is where planning from the LEAs is able to be more constructive. Each school and its system could have socio-economic or other political settings that prevent technology from being woven into the daily lessons; however, looking further at the school's Continuous Improvement Plan or Technology Plan could help highlight how to best implement small changes with great impact over time (Frazier & Hearrington, 2017, p. 4).

Even though technology seems to change or even become obsolete quickly, the fact is that education has made slight changes to its curriculum to incorporate such updates. Malik (2018) stated that "society is changing at an alarmingly accelerating pace, but schools remain stuck with structures that took place in the 19th Century" (p. 2). Schools teach many course-appropriate concepts; however, they also teach already obsolete skills that are technologically sound. Perhaps, by aligning technology more consistently throughout, the curriculum will enable options for students to choose varying levels of digital education even earlier in their learning experiences - like learning a new speaking language - the earlier you begin learning, the easier it is!   

As educators, we should constantly remind one another that our goal should be to focus students on being able to engage in our content and experiences in order to better prepare them for being able to compete regionally, and even globally. When I consider what digital resources the students have to engage with the content at the high school level, I only readily recalled a few - most being Math related, like Kahoot! and Socratic.  

So, while adding information to this blog, I searched the Apple App Store for its free top 10 educational apps. The information I found is listed numerically below:

These apps are functional for what they offer; however, are they going to keep teenagers engaged in learning? The math apps shown are those that assist with finding answers. If the student wants to learn how to do it, they have to pay for the app. That can cost anywhere from $4.99 to $24.99 with these listed above. Add in the possibility that the infrastructure does not allow any/all of these apps being used on school grounds, and there is a disconnect between what is useful to students versus what we might recommend them use. Personally, I would like to see textbooks offer an app where they work out the problems for the students, or give them various options to attain more information regarding topics and methods.

Technology is ever-changing. Educators must acknowledge that we must do our due diligence to explore all possibilities incorporating strategies and methods that not only reach our students, but are effective in content and resources building our students’ to compete globally.