While implementing a new technology tool across your school or district can have several exciting benefits, an intimidating hurdle can be how to get staff on board.
How can you overcome staff apprehension and ensure that every teacher, even those that might be tech-shy or hesitant to adopt, is a champion for the new tool?
Here are four tips for migrating teachers to a new tool, including several insights and examples from K-12 leaders that have successfully launched communications tools across their districts.
1. Be Transparent About What the Tool Is & Why You’re Adopting It
When you announce the switch to a new tool, provide staff with as much information as possible. Providing context about exactly what the tool is and what it does will help to avoid overwhelm and confusion.
When launching ParentSquare, United ISD created a page with information about what ParentSquare is, as well as videos and resources addressing questions or concerns. Check out the page here.
It’s also important to share why you are using new technology. Teachers will be much more excited to learn a new tool if they know how it will make their lives easier and help them support student success – be clear about the benefits and the goals it will help the district reach.
Lars Rood, tech integration specialist, Lake Washington School District and Karl Weinrich, coordinator of web services, Rockwood School District, both shared how starting with the “why” behind the platform helped them have a more successful launch.
2. Create a Phased Roll Out Plan
Be prepared with an organized plan for how you’re going to roll out the new tool over several steps. Don’t expect to migrate to the new tool overnight – migration will be a multistep process and your team needs time to get familiar with the new tool.
Lars explained that his team used a gradual approach to roll out. For example, starting with a dedicated launch team, then admins or principals, and finally, teachers, can help you to work out any issues before teachers begin using the tool.
Another approach is to start teachers off with certain features of the tool and gradually train them on more advanced tools as they get more comfortable with it.
Allen County Public Schools shared their advice for a phased roll out: map out all of the features and then create a timeline for rolling each of them out. For example, first train teachers on how to create a post and have them do so by a certain date. Then train them on how to use Secure Document delivery when it’s time for progress reports or appointment sign-ups when it’s time for parent teacher conferences. You can read more about their experience adopting ParentSquare here.
3. Make Support Easily Available
Teachers will be much more apprehensive about a new tool if they feel that they’re on their own learning it. Here are a few ways to provide support to your teachers:
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Assign a Dedicated Support Team: Have a team dedicated to overseeing the launch of the new tool and ensure that some members of the team are available to provide support and answer questions. Be sure that teachers know where they can go if they have any questions or need support.
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Share FAQs and Help Pages: In addition to a team of people to help, have self-paced help pages and FAQs available for teachers to easily find answers to their questions on their own. This can be something that your support team creates on your own, or resources provided by the vendor. (For example, ParentSquare provides self-paced training, FAQs, video resources, and tips for every teacher here – log in required.)
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Provide PD Trainings: Hosting a live or recorded training for the new tool can help teachers get an overview of its features and get their questions answered.
ParentSquare provides Summer Camp for teachers, with training videos and activities to help teachers get comfortable with the platform and learn its features. Summer Camp is a helpful resource for all ParentSquare users, but can be especially helpful for districts that are new to ParentSquare! Find more information about Summer Camp and access all of the 2022 Summer Camp content here.
4. Gather Feedback Periodically
Ensure that teachers know that their feedback is welcomed. Apprehension can come when staff feel that the new tool is mandated and they cannot share if it isn’t working.
Find out what’s working and what’s not working so that you can adapt and make sure that the tool is working well for everyone. For example, Lars did surveys asking which features were working best, what they could do more of, etc.
By following these steps, it will make it easier to get staff on board as champions of your technology tools. We’d love to hear if you have any other suggestions for migrating teachers to a new tool — feel free to share with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn!
Interested in rolling out a new communication tool in your district? Learn more here.
