Leading EdTech: Keeping Educators at the Centre

Jacob Rosch, Assistant Director of Education Technology at Nord Anglia Education

Jacob Rosch

Jacob Rosch is the Assistant Director of Education Technology for Nord Anglia Education and Collège du Léman International School. He is passionate about using technology to enhance students' learning experiences.

Jacob specialises in instructional design, professional development, and educational software integration to bring innovative technology initiatives to institutions.

He has held teaching and leadership positions in schools in the USA, UK and Switzerland and holds a master's degree in education from Hamline University. 

Five Guiding Principles for Leading EdTech

Educators are asked to use some of the worst software ever developed. Edtech platforms can be unintuitive, buggy, and poorly designed. Blaming teachers for not understanding them is unfair. Additionally, educators may struggle to see the value of using a particular software chosen by their institution in the first place. Leadership's solution can be to provide teachers with more 'training', resulting in a one-size-fits-all workshop with most attendees not knowing why they are even there. Can you relate? 

Through my years of launching and sustaining edtech platforms, I have learned, often through trial and error, what works to plan, purchase, train, maintain and reflect on them in schools. These are five guiding principles that have helped me to prioritise and navigate Edtech leadership:

1. Nobody wants to use your tutorials

Therefore, make them short, snappy, and bespoke to the situation even if you stumble on your words or your grammar could be better. When you tell people to check chapter seven of your carefully crafted 'help' guide or skip to minute sixteen of your semi-professional recorded video explanation, they just won't.

2. Prioritise courses over one-off workshops

Make a synchronous course that leads with pedagogy. People find it challenging to sign up for one-off workshops on edtech tools. However, teachers might sign up for a course with three to five sessions on interesting educational topics. You can base the technology skills you want participants to acquire around that particular concept.

3. Partner up!

Seek out people in your institution to co-design opportunities. Other school leaders are dying to make things happen, too. Find those people, and see if you have any key initiatives that align and join forces. By embedding edtech into key initiatives, teachers will see what it can do in action and be more likely to try it with their students.

4. Share the data

Encourage teachers to use your school's technology but be open and honest about what you see on your admin dashboard. Whether usage data is going up or down, ask people why they think that is in one-to-one or small group settings. Don't jump in, let them talk. Then, think about what they said. If things aren't going well, they will probably tell you why and give you some good suggestions. 

5. Be a friendly human

Make sure you connect with the people you work with. Teaching is stressful, and learning to use technology can add to that stress. People should see you as someone who can solve problems and reduce anxiety, not hand out more work and pile on the pressure. Everyone is on a learning path. Take time to listen to people racing ahead and take a step back for those who need to go through it all one more time. Try to remember that their main job is teaching, not technology and just because someone struggles with your school's tech doesn't mean they are a poor teacher.

It's important that the tech platforms used by schools are easy for teachers to use, and that the training they receive is engaging and focused on collaboration. However, this isn't always the case, which is why it's more important than ever to have the right people in charge of planning, purchasing, training, maintaining, and reflecting on educational technology. If you're looking for a leader for your education technology initiative, prioritize those with pedagogical expertise. Based on my experience, these individuals are best equipped to understand and navigate the software and educational challenges that educators face on a daily basis.

EdTech

Educational Technology