Learning & Leading Through Technology

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If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It with Ed Tech

Robert Pronovost is on a mis- sion. His goals are to prepare students for high school’s digital culture, share tricks of the trade, and persuade businesses to support education—all while improving his own teaching methods.

“I am in constant pursuit to improve my practices,” says Pronovost, who worked as a second, fourth, and sixth grade teacher at Belle Haven Elementary in Menlo Park, California, USA, before taking on the role of STEM coordinator and technology integration specialist at the Ravenswood

City School District.

Back when he was a teacher, Pronovost lived by the motto: “If students can dream it, we will do it.” He admits that this was a leap of faith, considering that some of the technology was as new to him as it was to his students. As students watched him learn, they became more willing to take risks themselves.

You might consider a school district in the heart of Silicon Valley to be one of the most likely places to dream it and do it with technology. But that wasn’t the case when Pronovost, who was an ISTE 2012 Emerging Leader, first took a teaching post in 2007.

Technology companies surround the school, but the classrooms were extremely outdated. Even though Belle

Haven had a relatively new computer
lab, it lacked funding for a computer
teacher and technical expertise across
the school. Meanwhile, surrounding
districts were rolling out iPad and
laptop carts, and their students were
engaging with interactive whiteboards
and sharing news by Twitter and Face-
book. Pronovost knew that he and
Belle Haven had to prepare students
for a world immersed in technol-
ogy—especially those who might go
on to attend high school in tech-savvy
districts nearby.
“As an educator who feels comfort-
able with the evolution of our digital
culture, it’s my responsibility and
privilege to support my students, their
families, and our school to be pre-
pared for the technological direction
we are heading as a society,” he says.
It was this feeling of responsibility
that led Pronovost to reach out to nu-
merous companies, including Apple,
Microsoft, and Luidia, to secure com-
puters and interactive whiteboards for
the school. He also facilitated train-
ings for his colleagues. In 2008, with
sponsorship from local companies,
Pronovost started the Belle Haven
chapter of MOUSE Squad ( bhmouse
squad.weebly.com), a national after-
school youth technology education
and training program. This resulted
in 50 laptops for K–3 thanks to a part-
nership he and the Squad built with
Facebook. Tyco Electronics also sup-
ported the program.

“In our MOUSE Squad, students truly began understanding the technology they use and developing the responsibilities that come with being digital leaders,” Pronovost says.

The MOUSE Squad helps teachers start using technology by solving technical problems and demonstrating

how to use technology effectively in class. Getting teachers the tools they need is one of the ways Pronovost is working to close the digital divide.

“Digital equity is definitely an important part of what I do,” he says. “Some teachers currently only have an overhead projector with pens, if that.”

When Pronovost isn’t facilitating workshops, presenting at ed tech conferences, or mentoring his colleagues, he enjoys supporting and challenging the like-minded educators he has come to know. Part of that includes sharing what he has learned through You Tube videos and engaging with ISTE members.