Prepare to hire tech staff

Schools should prepare to hire tech staff

How can school board members support digital learning? By replacing myths with facts, having high expectations, and offering grace. They also should be prepared to hire additional technology staff.

Those were among the suggestions in a breakout session at the Annual Conference titled, “7 Steps for School Board Members Supporting Digital Learning.”

Cathi Swan, director of the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative, said school board members should help dispel the myths associated with digital learning: that students can’t learn without a teacher in front of them, that technology will replace teachers, and that technology isn’t necessary because

previous generations turned out fine without it.

The realities are, students can learn remotely if conditions are right, teachers’ roles always change but their relationships with students remain vital, and students must understand technology because most professions now require it.

Swan said school board members must also support continued investments in technology, including hardware, software, internet access, and technology support staff.

“I can assure you, and this is not a popular thing to say, but I can assure you that the technology staff you currently have is more than likely struggling with manpower to support all the new hardware and all the new software and kids all over the place, and teachers teaching from different places,” she said.

Other steps school board members can take include: – Supporting high quality and high expectations while encouraging teachers, students and parents to improve their digital skills – Expecting policy revisions in attendance, technology usage, discipline and scheduling based on students’ needs and their families’ requests – Advocating for increased broadband access – Supporting educators, students and parents with additional training and resources, letting the district work its plan, and being a calming influence

Finally, school board members should offer grace to others during this challenging time.

“Change is hard,” she said. “This is new. We’re in a pandemic. We expect better, but we have to give grace because no one was ready for COVID-19. … Everyone is doing the best they can with the information and resources they have.”

Successful online students have six traits, said Candice McPherson, director of design and development for Virtual Arkansas. One is academic readiness because if a student was already struggling to remain at grade level, a change won’t

DIGITAL LEARNING. Cathi Swan, director of the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative, speaks.

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