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Summary Narrative of Interviews

L. Wimberly Roberson

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development, Georgia Southern University

FRIT 7739: Practicum in Instructional Technology

Dr. Elizabeth Downs

March 26, 2022

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Throughout FRIT 7739: Practicum in Instructional Technology, I had the opportunity to

interview three different technology leaders within three different technology centers. Since my

county does not have technology leaders or centers within the schools, the media specialists

within each school serve as the technology leaders. There are no formal technology programs,

and it is up to the media specialists to ensure technology is integrated into instruction throughout

the schools. For my interviews, I spoke with Mrs. Sheri Pfeuffer, the media specialist at my

primary site Warner Robins Middle School, Mrs. Courtney Flores, the media specialist at my

secondary site Northside High School, and Mrs. Stacy Daly, the media specialist at my tertiary

site Matt Arthur Elementary School. All three media specialists are at various stages in their

careers in the library media programs.

During all three interviews, the media specialists indicated that there was not a specific

technology program or coordinator at their school and that it was their responsibility to serve as

the resident technology leader within the school. At all levels of education, the media specialists

indicated that they had no true input or control over what technology programs are adopted, nor

any control over much of what is purchased for the schools. All three indicated that any

technology that is purchased by them must be purchased using the media center budget and has

to be tied to media center purposes. When asked what they wished for the technology program

within the county, all three media specialists expressed the need for more training for teachers, as

well as a dedicated instructional technology team within the schools. They all agreed that many

people come to them with technology questions they are not trained for, such as troubleshooting

questions, instead of questions related to how to integrate technology into their instructional

strategies. Lastly, all three media specialists felt that much of their time dedicated to technology
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was taken up with putting in work orders for new student Chromebooks instead of helping teach

new ways to utilize the technology.

At my primary site, Warner Robins Middle School, Mrs. Sheri Pfeuffer and I talked a lot

about her responsibilities updating the school webpage. She explained that most media

specialists are also responsible for the school social media pages, but our principal enjoys

managing those, so she is only responsible for the website. She explained that she updates it once

or twice a week to stay current with everything happening in the school. She talked about how

she enjoys trying out new technology, and in order to be a technology leader in the school, she

tends to try things out first with her media center lessons so that teachers can see it in action. She

felt that she had more success getting people on board with integrating new technology into their

classrooms when they are able to see someone else use it first without the worry of messing

something up the first time. She said that after they see it done in the media center, teachers will

come to her and ask how to get started with those tools.

The media specialist at my secondary site, Mrs. Courtney Flores also enjoys trying out

new technology tools to get students engaged in learning, but we primarily discussed the use of

green screen technology. She explained that she has a green screen studio set up in her library

that students and teachers can use for projects or video creation. She felt like the presence of that

resource caused many more students and content teachers to become engaged with technology in

their instructional settings. She felt that it showed just how powerful technology can be with

impacting learning, and that there are so many more possibilities than just online quiz sites.

Since she does not have classes come to the media center for instruction like Mrs. Pfeuffer, she

relies a lot on advertising what she has available in the media center and having tools physically

on display, which is easier to do with the green screen than an online only tool.
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The Matt Arthur Elementary School media specialist had an interesting perspective on

the technology program within the district because she was once part of an instructional

technology team in the county that no longer exists. She works with technology less with the

students than the other two media specialists and more with the teachers as they clearly see her

as a technology expert in the school. They come to her frequently with questions and requests

concerning making graphics and editing social media profiles and websites. She explained that

the majority of her time with technology is focused on device management and troubleshooting.

Many teachers have her be co-teachers in online learning management systems in order to help

them figure out how to answer questions and work tools. She explained that she loves technology

but wishes she could show how beneficial it can be within instructional strategies more than she

is currently able. She also explained that she has to cover a computer course one day a week due

to lack of “specials” teachers.

All three media specialists engage with technology in their schools in very different

ways. However, all three acknowledged that they are seen as technology leaders within their

schools. While they all have different expectations for how they promote technology, they all

also came to the conclusion that the students need more instruction concerning basic computer

literacy skills and that teachers need much more support on how to integrate technology into

their instructional strategies. They all expressed hope that with the county becoming a one-to-one

device county, an instructional technology team will be re-established with more availability to

teachers within each school.