Diversity
Embracing Diversity
Embracing Diversity
Tracy Efaw
Kennesaw State University
As a technology facilitator, it is incumbent upon me to ensure that the use of technology in schools reflects a deep commitment to acknowledge and embrace the vast array of differences found in our schools today. Knowing and understanding that diversity includes, but is certainly not limited to age, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, geographic region, giftedness, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status is very important in ensuring that every teacher, administrator, and student gets the assistance they need to be successful in embracing technology. Technology must be a vehicle for enhancing cultural understanding and increasing global awareness.
To be an effective leader in technology, I must be able to meet and understand people where they are in their journey to technology proficiency, particularly working in a Title I school as I do, where diversity is prevalent. It is important to maintain an open mind and a willing heart in order to help people with the knowledge and skills they must acquire to successfully integrate technology into their daily practices at their prescribed levels of mastery. I also must be a very good listener and empathizer. Frequently teachers and students alike express frustration on many levels in their efforts to utilize technology. It is important for me to exercise patience, and to encourage them to stay the course, regardless of the challenges that they may face in any given situation.
I also need to be proficient myself in the things I am teaching others. I need to stay on the cutting edge of technology innovation by staying current on technology news and educational applications. I need to be aware of the challenges of technology use for more seasoned teachers who might not be as comfortable with technology. I need to ensure that I am reaching people who are economically disadvantaged, while bridging the digital divide with innovations in my own school, like BYOD and iPad initiatives. I need to be aware of the latest and greatest in assistive technology for students who need help with hearing and vision, and I need to make sure our ELL students have technology tools to help them learn to function well in an English-speaking classroom.
Some of the ways I have implemented technology in our world of diversity at my school are listed below:
These are just some of the amazing projects I was able to accomplish over the last two years at our school. There are more. The most important lesson I have learned through this experience is that everyone gets the opportunity to learn and grow, no matter who they are or where they come from. Developing this kind of awareness and sensitivity has made me a better teacher and a better support for teachers and students alike.
Tracy Efaw
Kennesaw State University
As a technology facilitator, it is incumbent upon me to ensure that the use of technology in schools reflects a deep commitment to acknowledge and embrace the vast array of differences found in our schools today. Knowing and understanding that diversity includes, but is certainly not limited to age, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, geographic region, giftedness, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status is very important in ensuring that every teacher, administrator, and student gets the assistance they need to be successful in embracing technology. Technology must be a vehicle for enhancing cultural understanding and increasing global awareness.
To be an effective leader in technology, I must be able to meet and understand people where they are in their journey to technology proficiency, particularly working in a Title I school as I do, where diversity is prevalent. It is important to maintain an open mind and a willing heart in order to help people with the knowledge and skills they must acquire to successfully integrate technology into their daily practices at their prescribed levels of mastery. I also must be a very good listener and empathizer. Frequently teachers and students alike express frustration on many levels in their efforts to utilize technology. It is important for me to exercise patience, and to encourage them to stay the course, regardless of the challenges that they may face in any given situation.
I also need to be proficient myself in the things I am teaching others. I need to stay on the cutting edge of technology innovation by staying current on technology news and educational applications. I need to be aware of the challenges of technology use for more seasoned teachers who might not be as comfortable with technology. I need to ensure that I am reaching people who are economically disadvantaged, while bridging the digital divide with innovations in my own school, like BYOD and iPad initiatives. I need to be aware of the latest and greatest in assistive technology for students who need help with hearing and vision, and I need to make sure our ELL students have technology tools to help them learn to function well in an English-speaking classroom.
Some of the ways I have implemented technology in our world of diversity at my school are listed below:
- Working with teachers to plan technology lessons in differentiated groupings of students by their academic ability. Not only were the lessons scaffolded to accommodate various intellectual levels, students got to choose their own technology innovation to use during the course of the lessons we accomplished.
- Developing and encouraging more collaboration amongst teachers of all ages by way of Blackboard technology.
- Supporting teachers in their learning curve with Common Core by providing resources for them using Blackboard technology.
- Creating a school-wide literacy initiative using Blackboard technology as a support to teachers to develop lessons related to teaching literacy skills in all content areas with a special focus on increasing the reading levels of our minority and low-income students.
- Developing a Data Initiative for this coming school year (2013-14), which will be implemented in our school, using demographic, performance, and subgroup data. This Data Initiative will involve retraining teachers in Data Teaming and Data Analysis through the information we learned in our Data class and related textbooks.
- Utilizing the SWOT analysis we wrote in our program to develop our school improvement plan for 2013-14 based on the new CCRPI requirements.
- Acquiring 2 new iPad classrooms as a result of the Emerging Technologies project I completed. These iPad classrooms will specifically assist our ELL students learn English through the use of appropriate educational apps.
- Modeling and advocating for the use of technology for challenging tasks and higher order thinking skills.
These are just some of the amazing projects I was able to accomplish over the last two years at our school. There are more. The most important lesson I have learned through this experience is that everyone gets the opportunity to learn and grow, no matter who they are or where they come from. Developing this kind of awareness and sensitivity has made me a better teacher and a better support for teachers and students alike.