I love my job and I love my department. For starters, my boss believes we should, “follow our passions,” in our job. When I started my job as a Digital Learning Support Specialist with the Instructional Technology team, I quickly noticed gaps that needed to be filled with the skills and passions I possess. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was looking for areas of nonconsumption.
One area of nonconsumption
While my team is intentional in their work with teachers on campuses, one noticeable area of nonconsumption is the professional development of administrative assistants. Administrative assistants in our district often:
- Have varying degrees of technological capabilities
- Have varying levels of education
- Only receive on-the-job training specific to their boss’s wants or needs
- Don’t receive training aligned with our district’s technology goals
My most important observation? Admin assistants desperately want to learn and grow with technology use. Why not harness that natural desire to grow an underserved population?
Insourcing for professional development
Okay, I recognized the area of nonconsumption. Now what? I began to brainstorm how I can bring meaningful professional development to adult learners who are not in a traditional PD setting. I am not about to reinvent the wheel here. However, the Google for Education Certification is specifically designed with teachers in mind. I realized that I am going to have to be the primary resource for this audience.
Part 7 — Disrupting Higher Education explained insourcing professional development instead of outsourcing it. Specifically, the video mentioned that insourcing could provide:
- Exactly what the intended audience needs to know
- The precise moment that they need to know it
- Customized training to their business
- Flexible and responsive training opportunities
What is my role then?
As I think about this area of nonconsumption, I want to consider how I can use technology as a vehicle to insource in this area of nonconsumption. My goal is to connect the administrative assistants to rich, unique learning opportunities that fulfill this Job to Be Done. As I consider the most beneficial way to organize this opportunity, I think of what I learned in Disrupting Class – Part 3: Disruptive Innovation in Education. Considering the framework provided, I will:
- Begin at the end. Define outcomes.
- Make technology the slave to your strategy, not the other way around.
- Harness the power of time, place, path, and pace for student personalization.
- Personalize for [my] circumstances.
Questions
What do the admin assistants need to learn? How can I come by this information? Can I use the January 4th professional development day as an opportunity to pre-assess?
How can I test and assess and give real-time feedback?
What will the structure look like for this very non-traditional opportunity?