Over the past few years, I have found that introducing a new edtech tool to reluctant teachers and administrators often takes a soft, persistent, and sometimes tricky approach. It’s never a quick process and find myself putting in a lot of time to gather buy-in. You likely encounter resistance from the usual troglodytes luddites, but what about the others? They might be reluctant for reasons that could include:
- Fear of the unknown
- They were not successful at tech integration in the past
- They are feeling overwhelmed and don’t want to learn something new
- Learning something new takes time they just don’t have
- They feel they’ll never catch up to the kids so why bother trying?
So how can you overcome this reluctance and get them engaged by your latest personalized learning tool? The first rule is not to guess at what they might be thinking. I’m no mind reader, but I often find myself assuming what other people are thinking. This is a bad habit to be in because reality is that my perspective on edtech relies heavily on my own personal experience. So make sure you go to those who will be impacted and involved in your idea, explain the topic to them in general terms, and ask for feedback. You’ll find out very quickly and easily what the immediate areas of agreement and disagreement will be. This can be done in a large group setting, but I have found that I achieve greater success in one-on-one or small group settings.
Six Questions You Should Ask During Your Initial Discussion
- What would you like to change when it comes to (fill in the blank)?
- What do like about the current situation that you’d keep intact?
- What is most important to you?
- How can this be useful to you?
- What do you need from this?
- How would you proceed with this to make it work?
These questions will help you get good information from the stakeholder. By taking the time to ask these questions, you are able to determine their personal needs and can also craft your message to suit the individual. By taking the time to gather individual input, you are showing them that their opinions are warranted and valid. This will generally lead to greater buy-in over time. Additionally, this process can also produce early adopters who will be advocates for the tool among their peers.
What are some ways you go about bridging the gap and introducing the latest and/or greatest at your school?
You have some great ideas here and I am going to bookmark it! I have had some success by finding those teachers that have some interest and mentioning something a few times. Eventually we get to the point where they ask about it and I can set up a time to share with them. Very inefficient, I know, and you can’t count on it. But I have had some small success…just keep pluggin’ away!