Interview of Site Coordinator #2 - Angela Harris

Technology Center: Rocky Branch Elementary School

Question: Please start by introducing yourself and state your title.

My name is Angela Harris. I am a Instructional Technology Specialist for two

elementary schools, Rocky Branch Elementary and Dove Creek Elementary.

Question: What degrees are required for your position?

I believe it was a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree was highly recommended.
(maybe required) - Think Teaching Certification was required

Question: What degrees and certifications do you hold?

● Associates of Science in Education from Young Harris College

● Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Georgia
● Master of Science in Education specializing in Technology Integration
● Gifted Endorsement

Question: What are your job responsibilities?

RW’s goals for our department are scale complexity, guard stakeholder data, and improve
instruction. As an ITS, we focus mostly on supporting teachers and students with using
technology to improve instruction. This can be through the use of ed-tech tools or the purchased
programs such as ITSlearning, PowerSchool, etc. We provide Technology PL for teachers as
requested via Teaching and Learning. This year our department integrated a Tech Pl Badging
Program. Through a variety of challenges, teachers can submit artifacts showcasing technology
integration/usage and work toward earning badges. As an ITS, we make sure Professional
Learning is given each month to support teachers with these challenges and we monitor the
progress of points/badges by each teacher. We can also work in classrooms with teachers to
support/assist with using new technology or tech instructional strategies, in addition, this year we
are responsible for assisting Teaching and Learning with the county Digital Learners. As an ITS,
we have worked with the Elementary Director of Teaching and Learning to support digital
learning students and digital learning teachers with the use of the Digital Learning platform. We
provide orientation, meet with DL students/parents who need help using the platform and
oversee the Digital Learning Help desk tickets.
Question: How are you meeting the needs of faculty and staff during the transition of some
of the students participating in remote learning?

Most years the ITS has had a schedule of working 2 days a week in 2 different schools and then
working Friday in our office to plan with the additional ITS in the county. However, to provide
support for our DL teachers our schedule was adjusted so we focus on Digital Learning needs of
teachers/students, etc one day a week.

In addition, the first PL of the year we gave our teachers was a “best practice” session of using
ED Tech tools in a Digital or Face-to-Face environment. There were so many unknowns at the
beginning of the year, we wanted to prepare teachers for all tools in case there was a shift to
Remote Learning. We continue to encourage teachers to use and introduce students to tech tools
to support all learners and in the instance, we had to transition to remote learning, students would
already know the tools needed and no new ed-tech tool would need to be introduced once
remote.

Question: How are you meeting the needs of remote students?

As mentioned earlier, one day a week our schedule is set to help meet the needs or assist
teachers/students with digital learning. In addition, we have provided an orientation to digital
learning parents and students. During these sessions, we work with students on how to log in to
the Accelerate Education/Buzz platform, how to navigate the platform, submit work, and use
tools to help them with assignments. There is a document for teachers titled “Students who need
help in Accelerate.” Digital Learning teachers complete this form, and the elementary ITS will
reach out to these students and work with them via Google Meet to help them with submission
issues and to touch base with students to make sure their technology is not interfering with
instruction. In addition, we monitor the Digital Learning Help Desk tickets that are completed
by Digital Learning parents so we can quickly help assist them with any technology questions or
issues that they may encounter.

Question: Do you control or are you involved in making decisions for the technology
budgets for your schools? Please explain.

When funding is available, our director or principals will always ask us for our recommendations
for technology purchases.

Question: How have you had an opportunity to impact technology implementation for
some of the schools in the county, and would you provide a specific example?

In my previous position working as STEAM/Technology integration teacher at my school, I had

many opportunities to help with technology integration. I wanted to really implement robotics
and coding into our school as we had just received our STEM certification. The current principal
was eager to start this. We began to purchase a variety of technology and robots such as Sphero,
WeDo Robotics, BeeBots, etc. Many of our very first “fun runs” were to add new technologies
to our schools to support our STEM initiatives. I worked closely with the principals to find new
technologies that could support STEM education and classroom instruction. We added Virtual
Reality, Robotics, 3D printing,

Question: What was your occupation(s) before that led you to this position?

I have been a teacher for 24 years. For the last 5 years before this position, I was the
STEM/Technology integration teacher. I assisted teachers and worked with students to find
ways to integrate technology with state standards and STEAM education. Eventually, the
position was changed to just technology integration and engineering since we wanted to make
sure there was a focus that STEAM did not just happen in my classroom, but in all classrooms in
the building.

Question: How long did you serve in that position(s)? 5 years

Question: What part of your job do you enjoy the most? Working with the teachers or having
the opportunity to go into classrooms to work with students and teachers. I also love when
teachers get excited to show me something new they tried in the classrooms.

Question: What is the most challenging part of your job? Well as my first year in this
position, the main challenge has been learning so many new aspects and programs of the job and
confidently helping teachers when I have not been 100% certain myself. Another challenge is
that I want to help teachers so badly so quickly. And that is not always possible. I remember
what it was like to try using technology in a lesson and then all of a sudden it didn’t work or
there was an issue. I want to help them as quickly as possible, but that is not always possible. It
is often a challenge to try and quickly put out all of the little fires that pop up everywhere. I don’t
want teachers to feel unsupported or not want to try technology because of issues that often
occur.

Question: How have you made improvements to an organization throughout your prior
roles? I hope that through my previous position, I created a desire for teachers and students to
find creative ways to use technology to teach grade-level state standards. Through robotics,
coding clubs, conference presentations, and other activities, I hope that teachers see the value of
technology integration and the impact of student engagement. My main focus was keeping
technology tied to state standards. I knew teachers would not “buy into” these technologies if it
did not assist with teaching state standards or helping students demonstrate his/her knowledge of
state standards.
Question: Do you have any tips or recommendations for someone who is aspiring to be an
Instructional Technology Specialist?

My recommendation is to work to create connections with teachers and a trust so that they feel
comfortable coming to you and working with you. Take the time to check-in, reach out, and find
ways to help as much as possible. In addition, keep up with current and new technologies that are
being implemented and shared. When introducing new tech tools, I try to create a few things or
ideas for teachers first that use a specific edtech tool, then lead them to use the tool to create
specific content for their class. This gives them a chance to use the tool in class with students
before trying to learn how to use and create all at one time. Continue to stay up to date on
current best practices with technology.