Interview of Site Supervisor

Courtney: What is your name and title?

Janet: I am Janet Hewitt. I am Instructional Technology Specialist.

Courtney: What type of degree is required for your position?

Janet: Really there is, I would think the instructional technology degree is preferred, but
it wasn't required for my position. So, just a teaching certificate is all that is required that
I know of.

Courtney: What are your job responsibilities?

Janet: So, we are required to help teachers in the classroom. We also go from setting
up new technology in the district. We also find technology for the district. We provide
whole school professional development, small group professional development, and
there’s individual professional development.

Courtney: What was your role in remote learning?

Janet: Remote learning was a shock for everybody. So our role was to take the lessons
and get those ready for teachers. We got all of that put on our LMS which is Canvas.
We also supported teachers with troubleshooting who needed help. We didn’t really
support students directly, although occasionally we did have students call us directly.
Really, troubleshooting 24/7.

Courtney: What is a typical day like in your role?

Janet: I don’t think there is a typical day. So, every day is different which is what I really
love about this job. So we go from a typical day would be we come in and have a
morning meeting so we can find out what everyone is doing for the day. We usually
have one or two calls to go help someone individually that needs help. That is a typical
day. We have our office work where we are keeping up with the things we have, the
things we need, answering emails, troubleshooting, and that kind of stuff remotely from
our office. Now, those are changing because now we go into schools kind of assigned. I
take 3, Rachel takes 3, and then Kellie does the high schools. A typical day there would
be we start at the school and do whatever they need.
Courtney: Do you have a budget that you control? How do you make decisions on
selecting resources for your stakeholders?

Janet: We do not have a budget that we control. We do request things at times. So, we
get money from Stuart, we get money from Nick sometimes. The school budgets if
there is something we want for the district. We try to choose resources that have been
vetted by teachers that they have requested. If a free version has been used a lot and
we can see that the paid version would be a better option for teachers, we try to choose
like that. We also try to choose something that is broad that will go across the district
rather han choosing something for just a few grade levels. We do have to do that
sometimes, but for the most part we try to stay broad so that most people will be
covered under what we have. Occasionally we get the impulse for lack of a better
word, so we find a gadget that we want to try out, like the Orboots and Artie Maxes,
things like that. We try to find something that is engaging to kids, something that is
production rather than sitting on an app.

Courtney: What does the technology committee look like for our district?

Janet: Well, it’s a little invisible to be honest. I’m not sure that we have an actually
technology committee. We had DRT (Design Resource Team) which kind of served that
role, which Nick is trying to put back together hopefully after this semester. We do meet
occasionally with technology so maybe Stuart, and us and maybe one or two of his
guys will meet to talk about the technology plan and that kind of thing. But we really
don’t have a team where we have a representative from the school, and us, admin, and
the tech side, we don’t have one.

Courtney: How are technology decisions made?

Janet: I would say that most technology decisions as far as which device the teachers
are going to have, and what is going into classrooms is made by our technology
director. We have a little bit of input in that, in certain years more than others. I would
like to see us having more input, especially what classrooms have.

Courtney: What is the best part of your job?

Janet: My favorite part is usually getting to work with a teacher in the classroom on
something he or she couldn't do by themselves. So something that they can do but is
hard. So that is my favorite, so a couple of years ago we did the host classroom of
Elizbeth Smith. That was a regular once a week thing we would do. I miss the
classroom sometimes, and so it was great getting to see the kids regularly. I do have a
second favorite, so it is when I help a teacher and they have truly went over the hump
of “I got it, this is so much easier now”. Making their life a little bit easier.

Courtney: It’s interesting that you say that because I feel like that is what is the most
difficult with my job. I am a list person and I feel like I’m not getting my list done and that
really bugs me. So it’s interesting to look at it from a positive perspective. Because I am
that way too, I want to use my creativity I want to help people, so that is interesting to
put that in a good way.

Courtney: What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job?

Janet: I’m going to think on this one. I’m going to be politically correct here, but it is the
truth, the most challenging part is finding time to be in the schools with teachers. We
seem to be last on the list with professional development. Literacy gets chunk, math
gets a chunk, social studies and science are way down the list, but then there is us. We
are treated like icing on the cake, but not good icing. And not that it is fundamental,
which it should be. It’s the building block. If you understand the technology, and the
things available to you, you can know how to effectively do your lessons.

Courtney: Yeah, I think that’s relevant from the top down too. When you think about
what we (media specialists) are trying to do with our teachers. Their PLC time is
crammed with literacy and math and data. When do they have time to come and learn a
new tool with me, or bring their kids to the library? It’s just not a prioriity. That’s what I
struggle with, its like, how do I advocate that this is priority?

Janet: This year we have had a little more voice. They gave us an hour a month for
induction. So that is a baby step, but it’s a step I will take.

Courtney: What advice would you give to a new instructional technology teacher?

Janet: I do, I would. And in a role like yours. It would be to go in with an attitude of I
don’t know everything, but I will learn it. I will figure out whatever comes my way. And to
have a giving nature. So not worrying about if this is about me. To be a media specialist
or in my role, you have to have the attitude of its not what I want, but about what you
need, and how can I help you?