3.5 Basic Troubleshooting
Candidates troubleshoot basic software and hardware problems common in digital learning environments. (PSC 3.5/ISTE 3e)
Artifact: Technology Coaching Journal from ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Innovation
Reflection:
For my artifact for standard 3.5, I chose the technology coaching journal from ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Innovation. In the creation of this artifact, I engaged in technology coaching sessions with two of my colleagues at school. Through those coaching sessions, I assumed the role of technology coach. While coaching my colleagues, I was tasked with balancing my personal relationships with each of them while impersonally and impartially assessing their classroom practices in searching for methods that they could include to improve their practice. The artifact was created independently by me, but the overall experience would not have been possible without collaboration with my colleagues who I coached as well as the advice of the other students in my class and my professor.
While the overall focus of the technology coaching experience was on finding ways to improve the way my colleagues use technology in their classrooms, many times, the coaching sessions included troubleshooting of hardware or software to ensure that the technology solutions that I suggested worked correctly and consistently. To that end, I helped ensure that both colleagues’ computers were up to date so that the software that they used worked correctly. In one case, the computer was missing a flash plug-in. While I was not able to correct the problem without county administrator access to our network, I was able to guide my colleague through the process of requesting the update through our district’s tech support help desk system.
Prior to the beginning of the technology coaching experience, I assisted one of my colleagues in having a Smart Board installed in his classroom. While the school had purchased the board previously, a different brand had been installed in his classroom by mistake. I researched the process for removal of the old board and installation of the new board. I then assisted in removing the old board, installing the new board, adjusting the projector to the proper size, and testing the functionality of the new Smart Board.
One thing that I learned from the experience of completing this artifact was that if there is the chance for a problem to surface, it will surface. In many of the cases in the course of technology coaching, even after a problem had been fixed, it resurfaced. To that end, I found it particularly important to test all technology that will be used in the classroom to ensure that it works properly. In the future, I will work to ensure that such tests are performed since some of the troubleshooting that went along with this coaching occurred with students in the classroom.
The impact of this artifact was on both the professional learning of the teachers involved as well as the classroom experiences of the students. The professional learning impact came, and was assessed, by the increase in the effective and meaningful use of technology in the classrooms of the teachers that I coached. Student learning was impacted as well by the additional use of technology, though assessing that impact was more difficult.
For my artifact for standard 3.5, I chose the technology coaching journal from ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and Technology Innovation. In the creation of this artifact, I engaged in technology coaching sessions with two of my colleagues at school. Through those coaching sessions, I assumed the role of technology coach. While coaching my colleagues, I was tasked with balancing my personal relationships with each of them while impersonally and impartially assessing their classroom practices in searching for methods that they could include to improve their practice. The artifact was created independently by me, but the overall experience would not have been possible without collaboration with my colleagues who I coached as well as the advice of the other students in my class and my professor.
While the overall focus of the technology coaching experience was on finding ways to improve the way my colleagues use technology in their classrooms, many times, the coaching sessions included troubleshooting of hardware or software to ensure that the technology solutions that I suggested worked correctly and consistently. To that end, I helped ensure that both colleagues’ computers were up to date so that the software that they used worked correctly. In one case, the computer was missing a flash plug-in. While I was not able to correct the problem without county administrator access to our network, I was able to guide my colleague through the process of requesting the update through our district’s tech support help desk system.
Prior to the beginning of the technology coaching experience, I assisted one of my colleagues in having a Smart Board installed in his classroom. While the school had purchased the board previously, a different brand had been installed in his classroom by mistake. I researched the process for removal of the old board and installation of the new board. I then assisted in removing the old board, installing the new board, adjusting the projector to the proper size, and testing the functionality of the new Smart Board.
One thing that I learned from the experience of completing this artifact was that if there is the chance for a problem to surface, it will surface. In many of the cases in the course of technology coaching, even after a problem had been fixed, it resurfaced. To that end, I found it particularly important to test all technology that will be used in the classroom to ensure that it works properly. In the future, I will work to ensure that such tests are performed since some of the troubleshooting that went along with this coaching occurred with students in the classroom.
The impact of this artifact was on both the professional learning of the teachers involved as well as the classroom experiences of the students. The professional learning impact came, and was assessed, by the increase in the effective and meaningful use of technology in the classrooms of the teachers that I coached. Student learning was impacted as well by the additional use of technology, though assessing that impact was more difficult.