1. Name of technology coordinator being interviewed. What is your title?

What
type of degree is required for your position?
-0:00 okay
0:01 all right
0:03 so we are going to give up with the um
0:05 interview and so I'm going to ask just
0:07 13 questions but it shouldn't take any
0:10 more than
0:12 about 20 minutes so um just do you the
0:15 best that you can with answering the
0:16 questions and just
0:18 feel free to answer any information or
0:20 thoughts that you may have
0:22 in connection to technology um side of
0:25 being a meti okay
0:27 all right so what is your name um your
0:30 title and what degree was required for
0:33 your
0:34 position
0:35 okay
0:36 my name is shalonda pass cameron and um
0:40 my title is a METI in fulton countty schools
0:44 and the degree that was required is that
0:47 I needed a um
0:49a library and science ummm
0:52i think it was
0:53library and technology it's library and
0:56media technology
0:59so if you want me to be you know like
1:01specific I would have to look it up but
1:04I think it's the
1:05school library
1:08media
1:11and technology
1:14certification or
1:16degree
1:17or you could have a degree in um
1:20
technology
 1:22
but I have the I have a degree i have a
1:24
i have a master's degree and i have a
1:28
certification in
1:30
libraries library and media technology
1:33
okay

2. What are your job responsibilities?

-
1:34
Umm within your role
1:36
with being a metii are there any other
1:39
additional roles that you played as in
1:41
connection with technology in the school
1:44
yes i'm the device coordinator
1:46
and what are your job responsibilities
1:49
as a device coordinator?
1:51
so my device coordinate as my
1:53
responsibilities as a device coordinator
1:55
is to make sure that technology um runs
1:59
smoothly at Sandown middle school
2:02
meaning that technology is available for
2:05
all students that technology ummm
 2:08
issues and
2:11
device issues are taken care of and
2:14
addressed on a daily manner umm
2:16
also i am over the
2:20
deployment of the
2:22
other devices i also work on the testing
2:25
team with devices um because i have to
2:27
make sure that um
2:29
you know all the devices are working i
2:32
work hand in hand with our sts which is
2:34
our
2:35
our technology specialist our student
2:38
technology specialist
2:40
and um
2:42
so it's just make this really just to
2:44
make sure that technology is up and
2:46
running um on the student side um
2:50
of technology and as a meti i support
2:53
teachers with technology as well um as
2:56
 the sts so
2:58
okay that is basically our
3:00
responsibilities
3:01
those are our responsibilities
3:04
3. How are you meeting the needs of faculty and staff during the transition to
remote learning this semester?
-great and that brings me also to the
3:06
question of how are you meeting the
3:07
needs of faculty and staff
3:10
during the transition from
3:12
when we went to the pandemic with remote
3:14
learning or even the transition from
3:16
remote learning to back to school
3:20
well
3:21
with remote learning, i had to make sure
3:24
that the students had devices so i had
3:28
to um
3:29
I had to come up to the school during um
3:32
the pandemic
3:34
and get devices ready for students
3:37
um and then i also volunteered to work
 3:39
at a hub
3:41
but
3:42
basically what happened during the
3:44
during the pandemic um Fulton county put
3:47
together devices um
3:50
and had them at I think five different
3:52
locations they were called device hubs
3:55
and after the metis were no longer on
3:57
campus or we could not return to campus
4:00
students were able to pick up devices
4:02
from there since we've been back in the
4:04
building um those students who had
4:07
devices that were broken or damaged or
4:10
whatever we've had to make sure that
4:11
they got you know new computers
4:14
um
4:15
and that every student
4:17
had a computer and we try to encourage
4:20
that they pay their fees so they can
4:22
 receive a replacement computer but
4:25
basically, it was just when they came
4:27
back in the building, we had to make sure
4:29
that their technology was working
4:31
properly we also had to make sure that
4:34
if they did not have
4:38
internet at home we could provide a hot
4:40
spot during remote learning
4:43
so I basically had to just keep the
4:46
records um and reconcile records in our
4:49
in our system that we use to um check in
4:52
and check out devices

4. How are you meeting the remote learning needs of students and parents?

4:54
okay and as far as teachers and faculty
4:57
staff did you have any roles with
4:59
working with them with technology
5:02
so I supported them with teams as much
5:05
as you know I could anything that they
5:07
needed help with um I also went into
5:10
some ela classes
5:12
um
5:14
during you know during teaching science
5:16
and social studies classes I dropped in
5:18
and you know whatever would then do
5:20
whatever I could as far as support was
5:23
needed um if they have questions
5:25
sometimes kid students had questions
5:27
sometimes teachers had questions about
5:30
you know they couldn't hear the sound or
5:32
whatever so I may troubleshoot in that
5:34
manner
5:35
also, I attended um plc's during the
5:38
remote doing remote learning just to
5:40
ensure
5:41
that um those ran smoothly and to keep
5:43
up you know keep up with everything that
5:45
was going on um remotely
5:48
you know academically in language arts
5:51
ela
 5:52
okay

5. What are typical daily activities for your job?

5:53
um as far as
5:55
the daily activities what does the sts
5:59
or device coordinator do
6:02
what are some of the activities that you
6:03
do on a day-to-day basis
6:06
so basically we address um
6:08
technology issues for during our
6:10
technology um during our technology
6:12
hours sts they fix the computers um if
6:16
they're able to if they're not
6:18
they send them out um
6:21
to
6:22
to either our vendor or to the device
6:24
hub
6:25
but the first step is to go through the
6:28
media center to kind of troubleshoot and
6:32
see if we can fix the computer like if
 6:35
it's just a simple fix with internet or
6:37
something that's an easy fix um
6:40
myself or my para
6:42
we do that on a daily basis if not we
6:45
submit a ticket and then the sts picks
6:48
up the devices and looks at the tickets
6:51
and they try to
6:53
handle whatever the issue is and if they
6:55
can't
6:55
you know they follow the process of
6:57
sending them out to be repaired

6. Do you have a budget that you control? How do you make decisions on
selecting resources for your stakeholders?
7:00
okay and as far as budget do you have a
7:02
budget that you control
7:06
of course, I have a budget that I control
7:08
as far as the media center
7:10
um
7:12
so under the media center I have
7:16
two accounts or three accounts basically
 7:19
and so yes I do have I do have a budget
7:22
that I control
7:24
and as the device coordinator, I work
7:26
along with the sts
7:29
for any
7:30
things that we need as far as technology
7:33
um
7:35
maybe like a broken keyboard or a mouse
7:38
or anything like that
7:39
in our labs or
7:42
anything that teachers may need
7:45
then I request them along with sts
7:48
through a technology budget
7:51
Okay
7:52
um how do you make decisions on
7:54
selecting resources for your
7:56
stakeholders so
7:58
um
8:00
i
8:00
 just maintain the resources that were
8:02
currently available and then I do a
8:04
survey of things that teachers need also
8:08
I take note of what teachers ask for
8:10
that you may not have
8:12
so then I that's that's something that i
8:14
take to my uh media committee um just to
8:18
try to figure out if that's something we
8:20
need to do at large or if those are just
8:23
you know individual
8:25
requests that we don't need to buy or
8:27
invest in as a school
8:29
okay that sounds great sounds like you
8:32
really have a good
8:33
communication line and
8:35
relationship with the faculty
8:37
and
8:38
stakeholders at your school

7. Have you had an opportunity to impact technology implementation

throughout your school? Would you describe a specific example?
 8:41
as far as
8:43
implementation have you had an
8:45
opportunity to impact technology
8:47
implementation throughout your school
8:51
so when you say impact technology um
8:55
in what capacity do you mean
8:58
as far as getting technology out do you
9:00
mean physically or do you mean
9:02
um some type of platform that we're
9:05
using what what is that what are you
9:07
asking um as far as um
9:10
I guess
9:11
using the technology within the media
9:14
center or how the students use the
9:16
technology in the media center or how
9:17
they use it
9:18
within the school or
9:21
how you encourage teachers to use the
9:22
technology
9:24
that type of implementation
9:26
so that's mandated by the by our
9:28
district so that's not really a choice
9:30
we use technology on a daily basis
9:33
so that's something that is expected
9:36
that's the expectation
9:38
so
9:38
do I support that meaning through the
9:41
media center do I show them how to use
9:43
our um
9:45
our apps um through class link and how
9:47
to access those absolutely but also that
9:50
is just an expectation because students
9:52
have to use that we're a one-to-one
9:54
device school
9:56
I mean districts so therefore computers
9:59
using technology on a daily basis is an
10:02
expectation and I do support that and
10:05
anything that students don't understand
10:07
or teachers need help with implementing
 10:09
or understanding how to access then yes
10:12
I support that okay
8. Does your school have a technology committee?
10:14
does your school have a technology
10:16
committee so informally yes we do we
10:20
have
10:21
a couple of students that work along
10:23
with
10:24
the sts and myself to kind of
10:27
troubleshoot and work together on
10:30
a committee to
10:32
just
10:33
so
10:33
we get together when when we need to
10:36
assemble for either device checks or
10:40
if we need a quick fix with trying to
10:43
check to see if students
10:45
computers will
10:48
will need an update or either a reset or
10:52
or they're having or if they're having
 10:54
battery issues so we do have a small
10:57
technology um
10:59
we do have a small technology committee
11:02
um that is kind of informal but we kind
11:04
of assemble when needed
11:06
okay

9. How are technology decisions made?

11:08
and um how are the technology decisions
11:11
made is it made executive executively
11:15
from the admin or from above admin or
11:19
would you say its all
11:21
in that technology committee
11:25
realm that makes the decisions
11:27
so as far as technology decisions if
11:30
we're talking about devices that is
11:32
above
11:33
our admin that is a district thing as i
11:36
said we are a one-to-one device district
11:38
so
 11:39
those for devices and how we're using
11:42
the technology that is from our district
11:46
so that's above my admin but for
11:48
technology decisions based on whether or
11:51
not you know how you know like if we're
11:54
going to need
11:57
headphones or if we need
11:59
that support technology or if we need
12:02
more mice
12:03
or if we need new keyboards you know
12:06
technology tools that can be made on
12:08
this at the school level um it can be
12:11
made from admin down to the sts and
12:15
myself and we take it to the media
12:17
committee
12:18
to discuss
12:20
okay
12:20
I love how you explain that that really
12:23
put into perspective how the decisions
12:25
 were made and like usually in my head i
12:28
think all the decisions are made like
12:29
with the
12:31
above the admin
12:33
of by the technology hub or you know by
12:36
the superintendent when they do the
12:37
technology plan but it just
12:40
it makes sense to how you know the
12:42
little technology is decided and things
12:44
of that nature
10. What is the best part of your job? What do you find to be the most
challenging part of your job?

12:46
um and then finally what is the best
12:49
part of your job and what is
12:51
the most challenging part of your job
12:54
well the best part of my job is that i
12:56
still get to interact and
12:59
and build a rapport with different
13:01
students um because not only do I work
13:04
with just things in the library but also
13:07
I see those students when it comes to
13:09
technology also I get to greet the new
13:12
students when they come to our school
13:14
because I have to give them a device so
13:17
I get to welcome them there also i just
13:21
get to interact with more students
13:23
because I do more than just
13:26
work in the media center I support them
13:29
with technology
13:30
I help them manipulate through
13:33
different challenges when they have app
13:36
issues
13:37
or concerns about where to find this or
13:40
how do I access that so I just love that
13:43
because I was a prior to becoming a
13:45
media specialist or a meti I was a
13:48
classroom teacher for 20 years so
13:50
if I had to lose that interaction with
13:53
students and those personal um
13:56
you know the personal rapport with
 13:59
students
14:00
I would be sad and so I like that I
14:04
still am able to do that
14:06
using technology and both supporting
14:09
them when they come into the media
14:10
center and this is a place that they you
14:13
know it's a safe place for them to come
14:16
and work and work quietly it's a you
14:18
know so I mean honestly the media center
14:21
is the biggest classroom in the building
14:24
and that is something that I love about
14:27
my job because I still can have a
14:30
learning environment inside of the media
14:33
center um
14:35
you know and I get to kind of create
14:37
that outside of
14:39
the times that you know is not being
14:42
reserved for other things I can kind of
14:44
still build that um
14:47
those relationships with teachers
14:48
because I like to support classroom
14:50
teachers because I know they have you
14:51
know
14:52
a lot on their plates and I also like to
14:54
support their students and kind of kind
14:56
of take them you know um
14:59
kind of kind of take them under my wing
15:01
um just not as the media specialist but
15:05
just another person as a support person
15:07
and that's what I love because I feel
15:09
like I can support I get to the best
15:12
part of being a media specialist really
15:13
is that I get to support everyone in the
15:15
building
15:19
in all capacities
15:21
as it relates to
15:22
you know education whether it's a
15:24
program here a program there technology
15:27
here
 15:28
or um
15:30
you know copying laminating you know
15:32
questions ideas everything so that's
15:36
what I love the most what I find the
15:38
most challenging part
15:40
um is trying to balance um
15:44
the technology side
15:46
of
15:48
my job meaning trying to keep up with
15:50
technology issues
15:52
while also supporting teachers during
15:56
their plcs and during their planning
15:59
because sometimes I'm consumed with
16:03
technology issues because we have so
16:06
many students that have technology
16:08
issues so that's the most challenging
16:10
part trying to
16:12
make sure students have devices that are
16:14
properly working
16:16
that students are you know really taking
16:19
care of these devices
16:21
not breaking them all the time or you
16:24
know
16:25
taking the care that they should or
16:27
being responsible with the devices
16:30
just trying to maintain that part and
16:32
keep up with
16:34
um
16:35
the other aspects of being a media
16:37
specialist um I find technology
16:42
is can be a
16:44
can be a slight distraction from other
16:46
things that I need to do when it comes
16:48
to um just the maintenance of technology
16:52
not technology as a whole but the
16:54
maintenance of technology
16:57
yeah I absolutely agree yeah especially
17:00
as a first grader I had I got a grant
17:02
for like technology tablets I kept
 17:05
telling like hey you know hold it with
17:06
two hands be careful
17:08
and then
17:10
one day I looked at it I was like how
17:11
did y'all jam the stylus backwards like
17:14
now they're all ruined
17:16
so I definitely I definitely understand
17:18
that aspect of trying to like make sure
17:21
these these devices are really kept in
17:24
shape and we can really use them as long
17:26
as possible as a resource for like
17:29
research and collaboration and all those
17:31
different type of aspects I definitely I
17:33
definitely agree with you
17:36
but miss pass cameron thank you so much
17:39
for meeting with me and having this very
17:42
short impromptu meeting um about just
17:44
being a device coordinator and a meti
17:48
and I really appreciate um visiting your
17:51
middle school and your media center i
17:53
told you before like I absolutely love
17:55
your center just
17:57
it's
17:58
it's it's everything that I imagine a
18:01
media center to be
18:03
and with the integration and just
18:04
students being in charge of how they
18:06
want to pick out books or how they want
18:08
to use the technology or how they want
18:09
to use their their time to use the study
18:12
rooms and it's a really a beautiful safe
18:15
space that you have created and curated
18:18
for them um as a meti so
18:21
thank you for
18:22
allowing me to be in your space
18:24
well thank you
18:26