Restructuring the Digital Learning Team
This spring, the curriculum and digital learning teams were faced with an unfortunate surprise. Due to financial issues, GCISD is moving away from the coaching model. While I’m not technically a coach – my title is Digital Learning Support Specialist – I will be affected by this change. That is, the resources, tools, and training that I create must be more efficient and reach a wider audience more effectively than it does right now. Next week, my team and I will meet to discuss what our future holds.
Brainstorming Problems
Right now, one of the services I provide is a Lunch & Learn for the administrative offices and a newsletter for all administrative assistants. My problem brainstorming started with these ideas:
- Efficient use of Google Workspace
- Google Storage
- eSignatures
- Differentiation
While I was watching the readings and videos for this discussion board, I thought about how my department – the Technology Department – uses Google Spaces efficiently to communicate. Each space has a specific purpose that acts as a professional learning network for various groups within our team.
Descriptions of the Google Spaces:
- System Alerts – This is a bot that notifies users of changes to status changes in any system that we support.
- Support Questions – Put all questions here! This is a great resource for help. There are no stupid questions!
- Tech Services – All Staff – Anything that applies to everyone in the department (ex. EOY meetings, chili cookoff, scheduled outages, etc.).
- Tech Center Staff – A chat space for announcements that affect technology staff housed at the admin building.
- Tech Alerts Only – Critical and/or time-sensitive alerts.
- Sidebar – Hehehe you’ll just have to add it and find out.
- Encouraging Thoughts – Post encouragement for the technology department.
Solving the Problem with PLNs
Based on this, what if the admin/admin assistants could lean on each other for tech support? What if they had a professional learning network? How might we use Google Spaces to create self-sufficient communication and PLN for admin assistants? Why might I do this? For starters, we’re going to have to tighten up since we lost a few teammates. That is, I am a more limited resource. Admin assistants can learn to lean on each other for tech support. Thoughts I had: What if I create the first Google Space? I would rather have them lean on one another. However, if I’m in the space, I could quickly and easily answer questions that others didn’t know. This could also drive my Lunch and Learn curriculum.
How can action research help me?
According to Action Research Communities: Professional Learning, Empowerment, and Improvement Through Collaborative Action Research (Mertler, 2018) “The main goal is to address local-level problems of practice with the anticipation of finding immediate answers to questions or solutions to those problems.” The beauty of action research is in its intentionality. By working through the four phases – plan, act, develop, and reflect – I can address the local problem of a need to support admin and admin assistants with a smaller team (Mertler, 2019). Since this research method is cyclical, I can keep working on this problem by repeating the process until it is resolved. The data-driven nature applies research methodology to a problem that I can address and effect.
My goal during 5315 is to create a detailed, meaningful plan that, I can implement once the 2022-23 school year starts. I will act, develop, and reflect during 5320 and my capstone project.
What does your plan look like?
References
Mertler, C. A. (2018). Action Research Communities: Professional Learning, Empowerment, and Improvement Through Collaborative Action Research. Routledge.
Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators. SAGE Publications.