Supporting Early-Career Educators in Using Edtech

The shift from learning to leading is often hard for educators beginning their teaching career and entering the classroom for the first time. There is so much to learn in a short amount of time. Do not assume they intuitively know how to use technology well. These early-career educators often know more about educational technology in theory than in practice. They may have never been in a tech-rich practicum and never seen technology modeled for them in the grade level they will now teach.

Additionally, a number of school leaders have learned that early-career educators’ past experiences as K–12 students play a huge part in their willingness to implement technology in the classroom. As an adjunct edtech instructor of preservice teachers, I am now teaching students who were in high school during the muckiness of Covid-19 online learning. I have found that this often plays a huge role in their belief of whether or not technology actually aids learning.

How new teachers feel supported in their new roles is integral to teacher retention. Below are some concrete ways that school leaders can support and encourage early-career educators to implement technology meaningfully in their classrooms. 

Utilizing tech right from the start

During interviews or soon after hiring, it can be helpful for teachers to see how you as an administrator feel about technology integration. There are simple day-one ways to show early-career educators that technology is encouraged in your school.

Ask new or prospective teachers how much technology they have employed during their college prep program, and gauge their confidence levels regarding technology use. This allows you to work with them to set goals to keep moving toward tech integration that supports teaching and learning.

Just because a teacher doesn’t feel confident with technology doesn’t mean they can’t get there. Knowing who might need a little more help will benefit both you and the educator. Be very up-front with what tools you want to see used when doing an observation—and how much and how often. This can vary between districts, schools, and administrators.

After hiring new teachers but before teaching begins, explain the expectations your school building has for using technology in the classroom. If you, as a school leader, expect an above-average use of technology integration, being clear about that during interviews is important. Some educators might feel threatened by this expectation, and it is better to know whether this could become a point of contention before hiring them.

Many districts have varied technology integration patterns based on the attitude of the building-level leaders. How early-career educators perceive your technology integration views matters greatly.

Access

So that your early-career educators feel supported, do your best to set your teachers up for successful technology integration by checking the classroom to see if all tech tools are working appropriately (including teacher/student devices, projectors, televisions, and any tool that teachers have to support learning provided by the district).

Consider making this part of your summer planning by sending a questionnaire to your teachers at the end of each school year to ascertain classroom needs. By being proactive in checking that each room is equipped well, you will be more able to hold teachers accountable for use across the board.

Before school begins, confirm that your early-career educators have access to all the platforms they will need daily. To ease anxiety, give them time to log in and see how to navigate the platforms.

Professional Development

Support early-career educators by planning a professional development session or creating an online resource to help your teachers consider what will help them integrate educational technology in their classrooms in an intentional way. Going over these key factors with every new hire will help you to know that all your teachers are on the same page of technology integration understanding. Below are some suggestions.

• Help teachers to consider the value of acceptable use policies at the classroom level.
• Ensure that teachers master the idea of classroom management in a tech-rich environment by being mindful of potential off-task behaviors and planning proactively.
• Explain the 4 Cs of Technology Integration (creation, consumption, curation, connection). Encourage your early-career teachers to start by choosing just four tools to integrate into their classroom that would allow students to create, consume, curate, and connect. When they set this simple expectation, any lesson plan they can imagine could be supported by technology.
• Introduce them to tech integration models to consider. This can seem like an overwhelming task, but showing early-career teachers how to critically think about technology integration will help it to feel less like “one more thing.”
• During teacher training, make sure your new teachers are aware of district-level educational technology tools they have access to. Create a resource that allows them to see important edtech information. This might include links to the tools available, who to contact for technical support when things are not working correctly, and where to go quickly when they need help.

Lastly, explain what continued tech support looks like. If you have building-level teachers who can answer edtech questions, share who these experts are.

Creating a culture of expectation coupled with the safety of genuine reflection and adjustment will help new teachers feel more at ease in implementing technology in their classrooms.