Day in the Life of an ITRT
As an ITRT in a rural
school division, I work
in three K– 7 schools.
My week is broken up
into segments: I spend
one day a week at each
school and float on the
other two days depending on where I am
needed.
I usually get to work between 7:00 and 7: 15
a.m. I set up my laptop and quickly review
e-mails and go over my tasks for the day.
These tasks might include meeting with a
teacher before school to set up a lesson,
demonstrating a piece of technology to
a teacher, creating a lesson in a piece of
software such as SmartNotebook, finding
a resource on a specific standard for a
teacher, demonstrating to a principal how to
do something on her computer, or teaching
a small- or large-group workshop.
Once school starts, I usually check in
with the computer lab assistants to see
how things are going there. I often attend
grade-level meetings or meet with teachers
during their planning periods to coordinate
lessons involving specific pieces of
technology, or to help set up and teach
some piece of technology they will use.
My day usually ends with an hour-long
professional development workshop for
teachers on some type of technology.
Recently I did an hour on the latest version
of Google Earth and how teachers could
use it in a classroom.
We talked about how
a first grade teacher
might use the application
differently than a seventh grade
teacher, and I demonstrated how this
might look. Teachers come away from
these workshops with new ideas, new
knowledge, and hopefully more confidence
in their ability to use technology with their
students.
I am fortunate that I have the freedom and
flexibility in my position to maximize the
support I offer teachers. It’s a great job!
—Sean Sharp,
Floyd County Public Schools
Technology support staff. These positions provide centralized, school-based, and/or regional support for
information networks, such as help
desks. These positions are responsible for providing network selection,
configuration, installation, operation,
repair, and maintenance. They install
software, troubleshoot problems, and
perform security management. Technology support positions may also
maintain servers, computers, multimedia devices, and networks.
The ITRTs, in coordination with the
technology support staff, share a focus
on improving student achievement
and helping students become prepared
citizens for the 21st century. And so far,
research has shown that the teams have
successfully advanced technology-integration efforts throughout the
Virginia school system.
of Education’s Office of Educational
Technology conducted a study in 2007
that found that classroom technology
use has indeed increased since the introduction of the ITRT program, and
that teachers are beginning to collaborate more with ITRTs on a continuous
and ongoing basis. Remarkably, the
study also found major improvements
in 32% of the subject areas tested by
the Virginia Standards of Learning
(SOL) tests, the most dramatic of
which was in English reading. (
However, it was still too early to determine
the ITRT program’s influence on this
rise in student achievement and to understand which subjects and at what
grade levels this influence is most pronounced, so the study recommended
ongoing research as the ITRT program matures.)
Virginia Tech and researchers K.M.
Hooker and J.S. Streich have also
identified areas of success related to
the ITRT and technology support
positions in Virginia’s schools. These
studies confirmed that ITRTs do focus
on technology integration and are well
qualified, and that teachers are beginning to integrate technology into their
classrooms successfully. They also
verified that collaboration and communication are major reasons for the
ITRTs’ success.
ITRTs at NECC 2009
Making Progress
ITRTs have proven to be a tremendous resource for assisting teachers
with technology integration, for
training teachers to use technology effectively, and for assisting with
curriculum development as it relates
to ed tech. The Virginia Department
NECC 2009 will offer plenty of opportunities to learn more about Virginia’s ITRT
program, including a strand of sessions sponsored by the Virginia Society for
Technology in Education (VSTE), an ISTE affiliate. Search the online program at
www.iste.org/necc as NECC approaches for specific session days and times.
VSTE is also hosting an ITRT Pavilion. Part playground, part lounge, this pavilion
is the place where anyone involved with technology integration and training can
learn about the ITRT program in Virginia. Join in to hear short presentations, participate in
impromptu discussions on topics of interest, and interact with ITRTs.
