Finding the Goldilocks Pace When Implementing Technology

After years of using new technologies to support learning in the classroom, I’ve come to realize that the pace of implementation is one of the most important factors for effective application. As a teacher, administrator, and consultant, I’ve seen great technology roll out (with the best of plans) only to flop, and I’ve also seen mediocre tools embedded within a culture of a school that were being used by everyone without any evidence of improved outcomes. Why do some really great advancements get rejected while other below-average platforms draw excitement and full-scale adoption? I believe the answer is in the speed with which they’re executed.

This doesn’t necessarily mean to go slow. You might assume that “speed” means we should bring everything to a snail’s pace. That’s not true. Going too slowly can cause just as many problems as going too quickly. The issue is finding the right pace, not too slow and not too fast. The good news is that there are a few strategies you can use to ensure that your pace is on target, which helps make the new technology stick among students and staff. Whether you’re a classroom teacher who wants the students to use a new tool or you’re a school or district administrator who wants new technology to become prevalent throughout your school, you can apply these strategies for greater success. 

1. Identify and Name the Problem

For the purpose of this article, I’m going to use a recent example that I experienced with a work-based learning (WBL) coordinator. I’ll use this analogy throughout, but you can see how it applies to just about any other technology solution. The coordinator was documenting and tracking WBL hours for hundreds of students by hand using spreadsheets. This is actually a common issue that I help to solve in schools around the world. Nonetheless, it can be cumbersome and time-consuming, to say the least. 

In this case, that was the pain point and problem to solve—it was taking too much time for the coordinator to track all the hours, time that was preventing him from doing the rest of his job. And the students were suffering as well because they had to collect all kinds of paperwork, organize it, and submit it by the specified due dates. Once we established this as a problem, the students and staff were eager to use a new tool for tracking the hours. Rather than being asked to do something extra, they craved a new process. 

2. Find the Easiest Entry Point

With an established new tracking platform—from MaiaLearning, where I work—we now had to get folks trained on how to use it. Most implementation strategies would proceed with training all students or staff on the use of the tool and then expecting it to be widely used. In my experience, I don’t find that to be the best method. Instead, it’s better to uncover the easiest entry point. In most cases, this would be a small group of students and/or staff who are willing to go first. Find the folks who are your typical early adopters and who don’t mind making a few mistakes in the beginning. 

In this case, this meant that the WBL coordinator and I would train a student who he identified as being proficient in the platform already through other applications of the software. This student already knew how to use other aspects of the platform and was doing so successfully. It was a no-brainer to have her go first in learning the tracking feature. We got together and trained her. You may have a similar situation where you’re rolling out a new feature of something that’s already in use, but you also may need to find the student or teacher with the most aptitude for implementation if you’re introducing something completely new. The point is that having one or two people go first is much easier than expecting everyone to do it at once. 

3. Adopt the Smallest Viable Solution

The WBL tracking system that we used is sophisticated, with nuances, customizations, and special features. We knew that we could use much more of the platform in due time, but we needed to solve the basics of the time problem and get the students free from all of the administrative work in collecting and submitting time sheets. Therefore, we trained the student and the coordinator on the smallest viable aspects of the solution. “Smallest” means we only used the parts of the platform that were absolutely necessary at first, and “viable” refers to our ability to achieve success with early wins. 

It’s tempting to roll out an entire scope of work with a new tool, but that ends up being overwhelming and can crash the project. Once everyone is successfully past tracking WBL by hand, we can introduce other easy-to-use aspects of the tool to enhance their system. At that point, we’re not solving a problem; we’re improving outcomes. 

4. Let the Idea Spread on Its Own

With the student ready as a super-user and the coordinator setting her up to train small groups of her peers, we were on our way to an implementation strategy that stuck. Had we gone too slow—training the adults to train the students, waiting for each person to be proficient before moving on—we would have aggravated people and failed to make the change. Had we gone too fast—driving the new platform forward, training every student at the same time—we would have overwhelmed the system and hindered sustainability. 

The key to getting an idea and innovation spread on its own is to communicate a problem that we’re solving, find the easiest way to begin efforts toward the solution, make sure to only use the parts of the new tool that are necessary at first, and then turn it over to others to spread the word. If you’re looking for a Goldilocks pace with your next technological advancement in your classroom, school, or district, try applying these concepts so that you don’t go too fast or too slow, but rather at just the right speed.