How did we use TIM TOOLS to upskill our staff?

Anurag Choudhary
    Technology Integrator
    Stockholm International School

Stockholm International School in Sweden has been using TIM Tools to measure and guide the use of technology in education over the past three years. Their technology integrator, Anurag Choudhary, describes how they used various aspects of TIM Tools to design their very own training program and their IT Driver’s license for the staff.

Like most leading international schools around the globe, the SIS student population includes a large number of diplomats’ children among the 58 nationalities represented. It is not unusual for students to be in attendance for only a few years before their parents move on to a different country. Also like many international schools, the teaching staff is highly qualified, but prone to be in Anurag’s words, “globetrotters,” moving from one school to another in different parts of the world every few years.

Given the frequent turnover among SIS’s staff of 148, it was necessary to devise a clear statement of technology competency expectations for their teachers. Rather than just listing all of the expectations in a dry professional development plan document, the Edtech team came up with the idea of an “IT driver’s license.”

Using insights gained from the administration of their first Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS), five key competencies were identified as necessary for teachers to receive their IT Driver’s License.

  1. Devices. The teachers are expected to be able to use their hardware effectively in their teaching. The school encourages and pays for their teachers to receive internationally recognized certifications for each component where available—in this case it is Mac and/iPad badges from Apple Teacher.
  2. Software. The teachers are expected to be able to effectively use the available software. This requirement is tailored to the specific department. For example, teachers in the Art Department are expected to be proficient in Adobe products. Since the G Suite is used across all departments, the school encourages and pays for all teachers to earn Google Certified Educator Level 1.
  3. Learning Management System. Their LMS is ManageBac, which seems to be the system of choice for most international schools. Since there is no ManageBac credential, the teachers complete a self-evaluation checklist.
  4. Digital Citizenship. This program includes online safety, privacy, tips to handle online bullying, data protection, digital footprints, copyrights and more. Teachers earn the Common Sense Educator Certificate to meet this component.
  5. Technology Integration Matrix. Each teacher is expected to complete the TUPS twice each year and a TIM-R reflection on a lesson at least twice per year, but preferably on one lesson within each unit. The reflections can also be completed at the departmental level during monthly lesson-planning meetings.

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