Why Technology Doesn’t get Implemented (And What To Do About it)

Recently there was an article that was passed around at BookNook about the Six Unforgivable Sins of Teacher Professional Development. One stood out to me – Trying to Flash Credentials You Don’t Really Have – basically saying “I was a teacher too.” The reason it stood out to me is that I can never say it – even though I train teachers a lot, I was never actually a teacher.

But, my team and I train somewhere around 500-1000 educators and education leaders a year. We’re becoming experts at implementing software at schools all across the country. And while most of our implementations go amazing, we see a few themes when they don’t go so well.

Because we believe in technology and the power it can have to help educators and students, we want to share with you the biggest ways we see technology fail in schools – and then we’ll talk about ways to prevent this from happening so that the technology your school just purchased gets great use!

IT Problems
I must say, IT gets a bad rap. Their job is to keep everything secure and humming along. So, every time you introduce something new into their arsenal, they have to make sure that it fits with everything in your current tech stack. And, they’re not bad at doing this – the average large district has over 700 technology applications in use! IT works hard to get this up and running and compliant.

But, to get all of this done, one of the first things that school leaders need to do with new technology is tell IT. File a ticket, remind them, email them, call them – all of these things are needed to get the application ready for use on day one. This is often an afterthought – because educators are excited about getting the technology to help their students.

To solve this, send an email or file a ticket as soon as you buy the software. Don’t wait to even schedule the PD, get the ticket in the system right away. If the company that you bought the software is really awesome (like BookNook #shamelessplug), then they’ll even follow up with IT for you and tell you what to say. This way, you can be in the process of getting all the checks done and installation taken care of so you have ample time to test before the big launch day.

No Carrots, No Sticks (Hint: Don’t use sticks)
Teachers have a lot on their plate. Like, a lot. A lot a lot. We all know this, yet they still get more placed on their plate each year. And it’s tough! So, when brand new technology is rolled out, it can be very hard for them to think about adding it into their daily or weekly flow, even if the data behind the technology shows meaningful progress for students.

People (not just teachers, but everyone) need a reason to change their flow. There needs to be either an incentive (a carrot) for using or a consequence (a stick) for not using the application. We’re a much bigger fan of carrots than sticks here at BookNook – just look at our game Feed the Animals – where you have to feed the rabbit carrots.

One of the things that we do is contests – they’re relatively easy to run, but they’re focused on getting teachers to read with their kids. We love those kinds of contests. Building and District leadership can do this too – for example, setting the culture of using 2 minutes at the beginning of staff meetings to recognize teachers who are implementing new programs well. Give out a few gift cards for the best users. Celebrate them! They’re helping students out anyways, so they should be celebrated! And these don’t have to be expensive. But a little appreciation and public complimenting can go a long way.

Lack of Teacher Buy In
This is probably the most “well, duh” issue, but it’s often still overlooked. If teachers aren’t bought in that this will help their day, or help their students, then they are not going to implement technology. We find this is one of the largest misses by School Administration in getting teachers to use the software that you’ve just purchased for your school.

The best way to combat this is to start early. Tell your teachers that you’re going to try something early on. If it’s going to be live in the new year, let them know before they go away for the summer. If you’re starting after winter break, let them know the change is coming in November. Get everything ready early so that you can ease teachers into the new software.

But don’t stop there! You have to show the benefits. Get as much material from the company producing the software (they should have this for you) and show your teachers what the data shows, why they should be using the software, how it will make their life and/or day easier or benefit your students.

Finally, you should find one champion within your staff to be the person to lead on the new technology. We find that one teacher who can talk about the benefits of new technology among their peers goes a long way inside the building.  They can be an internal promoter for your other teachers, and show how they’re using the technology to their and/or their students’ benefits. Finding this person early is going to be key, because you’ll have to sell them on being the advocate and also showing them the benefits of using this awesome new technology.

Finding Success
Look for people who are supposed to help you find success with any company that you choose to buy technology from. Ask hard questions about the support you will receive and how much engagement you get with the company after you’ve made the purchase. Here’s a list of example questions that you should ask while you’re purchasing technology about how you’ll be supported in implementing this technology:

• How do you support me in making sure there is adoption across my staff?
• How long is the training for my staff and do you have retrainings?
• What kind of support do you provide for technical issues?
• How do you recommend we track success with your product?

Making sure that technology has gone through IT, has promoters within your staff, and has a culture of being incentivized are all ways to make sure that technology is implemented in your school and ensure that you get the maximum return on investment in your purchase.

So my question is, for a non-teacher, how did I do?