At the end of this academic year, my fifth in the position as Educational Technologist, I was included in the Administrative Evaluations wherein teaching faculty respond to a dozen or so questions about various members of the school administration. In the absence of a Director of Technology, my name was included in that survey this year for the first time.

Embedded below is the file that I was given; the only edit I did was to redact the name of one teacher who’d signed their free-form comment.

Educational Technologist evaluation

I am grateful for the many complimentary things that most of my colleagues wrote. I do indeed feel appreciated — and I appreciate that. But what’s stuck with me the most in the past two days since getting this feedback are the negative responses.

Of those critiques, two stood out; the first I reject, the second I resolve to continue addressing.

First, the remark about me not being knowledgeable enough in all the academic disciplines to offer assistance is true. I am not a content area expert outside of Psychology, World History, and Public Speaking; nor am I an instructional expert in STEM, World Languages, or physical educational fields — my instructional experience and expertise is limited to the Humanities. I concede this point. After reflection, I’m relatively okay with that too. The role of Educational Technologist is not to be a content area expert in everything, nor can I be an expert in instructional design for every discipline. My area of expertise is in technology integration. If a teacher explains to me their educational outcome, and explains to me how they have traditionally taught to that outcome, I can help them integrate technology into process — incorporating so-called 21st Century skills into the discipline-specific goals.

Second, the remark about a condescending attitude turning a teacher off to attending classes or asking for help hurts. I am well aware of how people in general are leery about asking for help with something they do not know or cannot do, and I am doubley-aware of how that discomfort is amplified in relation to technology. If someone self-identifies as being technically unskilled, I know how awful it is to seek help. I try very hard to make folks who commit to learning feel welcome, comfortable, and ultimately successful. Clearly, I have not been entirely successful in that with everyone — and I therefore resolve to try harder, to do more, and to be better at this delicate part of the job.

I know that this is an area of growth for me. I have high standards for myself, and I know that I hold others to similarly high standards. That is very different though than being judgmental. I expect everyone to work hard at anything and everything they want to succeed at — but I don’t think less of anyone who cannot reach those standards. I run, but I don’t think less of myself for not being Usain Bolt-fast, and I don’t think less of others who are not as fast as I. By the same token, I do not think less of those who cannot do as much with technology as others. I need others to see that about me though; just because I have high standards and high expectations does not mean I am judgmental.

All in all, as odd as it was that I was included in the Administrative Evaluations along with the Principal, Assistant Principals, and program directors, I’m glad that I was given this feedback from my colleagues. It gives greater impetus and motivates me more to focus on how I am perceived by teachers.