Sean Sharp’s ITRT Blog

Instructional Technology Resource Teacher: Guidelines for Teachers and Administrators

This was released yesterday and though I haven’t had enough time to go through it all, it does say something about my position in a rural school division here in Virginia:

One of the principal findings of the Virginia Tech study (2007) was that ITRT are spread too thinly, particularly in rural areas (p. 36). Ideally, there should be one ITRT per school or per two schools; this would require increased funding for additional positions in rural areas. Even when ITRT are spread too thinly, they can be used more effectively through organization and planning. When an ITRT is split between locations, effective planning is essential. For instance, ITRT can conduct face-to-face training at centrally located sites; information about these sessions needs to be disseminated widely in advance to give teachers and administrators time to plan their schedules. Another strategy is for ITRT to work at a different location each day; again, communication is important so personnel know where the ITRT will be on a particular day.
Another option is to alternate weeks at different schools. This works only if the ITRT has only two or three locations; otherwise, there will be too much time between visits to each school. This strategy also requires advanced planning and scheduling of professional development.

I agree with this wholeheartedly in my situation. Given that there are 133 school divisions in Virginia, everyone’s experiences in this position are probably quite different. I travel to three schools each week, and then float as needed on the other two days of the week. It keeps me busy and at the same time I have to work at being organized to stay on top of everyone’s needs for technology integration and support.

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