Tip:
Your district just upgraded to new programs. These could be email and calendar programs or anything else. It is your job to train your teachers on these new programs. You know that some of your teachers are attached to their email systems and are not going to like to let go. How do you sway them to learn and use the new programs?
- Admit that all change is difficult right from the beginning. You can start with a joke or story about how people were fine with their horses getting them to where they needed to go so why did they need an automobile or come up with another invention that made a lot of difference.
- Emphasize the “carrot not the stick.†If training is mandatory, find all the reasons why what they are going to learn and how it will help them be more effective in their jobs.
- Offer “just-in-time†opportunities at their own desks at a time that is convenient for them. If they can work on their computer and have you sit by their side as they make the changes, they will be more accepting.
- Offer a variety of opportunities to learn the different programs: i.e. before school sessions with you, lunch and learn where they bring a bag lunch, after-school sessions, or an online tutorial.
- Create or share a step-by-step tutorial in print form that your teachers can refer to.
- Once a week or so, send tips about how to use the new programs in their email with links to the district’s website where all tips or tutorials are archived.
Submitted by:Barbara Bray
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