For my second artifact, I chose the Technology Walk-Through Tool, which allows technology leaders to quickly go into a class and give feedback in a nonthreatening way about how technology is being implemented. Teachers tend to be hesitant about being observed, but this tool is non-evaluative in nature and is not intended to judge a teacher's class in any way.
Too often, teachers hesitate to open their classrooms to others. In general, teachers giving one another feedback can be incredibly valuable. When I was a classroom teacher, years ago, I worked with a new teacher one year, a career changer who was eager and very motivated. He spent two plan periods every week visiting other teacher's classrooms. This teacher would sit in on anything you were teaching and take notes the entire time. Then he wanted to discuss what he'd seen. Often, he had compliments, suggestions, and lots of questions. Upon request, I visited his classroom multiple times and gave the same kind of friendly feedback. I found it far more valuable than any formal or informal observation from an administrator, and I ended up visiting the classrooms of more teachers in my building. I found that I always learned something valuable, and I was usually able to make a suggestion or two in addition to reassuring a teacher about some of the wonderful things he or she was doing.
Technology is a perfect example of how informal, non-evaluative walk-throughs can give teachers feedback about how they're utilizing technology. Also, they can get information about new ways to incorporate existing technology, and ways to make technology use interactive and engaging. The template in the link allows the observer to organize his or her thoughts in a cohesive way. Hopefully this tool can lead to some very productive conversations about technology usage in classrooms.
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