Patricia Brown started her role as director of technology for the Ladue school district in Missouri in July and already has big ideas on how to effectively use technology in the classroom.
鈥淚 do believe we now have this opportunity to really look at our systems, at what we鈥檝e been providing educationally for our students and for our teachers and for our parents鈥攐ur community as a whole, all the stakeholders,鈥� Brown said. It鈥檚 time to 鈥渃hallenge some of the things that have always been鈥� and think about how schools can improve education for all kids.
Brown is not new to the ed-tech space. For 11 years, she was the instructional technology coordinator for the 4,300-student school district. And she鈥檚 currently a board member for the nonprofit International Society for Technology in Education.
In her 21-year career, she鈥檚 racked up awards for her work as a technology integration specialist: She earned the Ladue school district鈥檚 Excellence in Education award in 2021, was part of the Apple Distinguished Educators class of 2019, was one of the National School Board Association鈥檚 20 to Watch educational technology leaders in 2016, and has been named one of the top ed-tech influencers by EdTech Digest in five different years.
Here鈥檚 what she had to say in a Zoom conversation with Education Week about what鈥檚 next for technology use in the classroom, what the biggest tech challenges are for schools, and what her priorities are in her first year as tech director for Ladue.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What is your philosophy when it comes to using technology in the classroom?
For a long time鈥攅specially early on, when we were first adopting the use of technology鈥攊t was always about that 鈥渨ow,鈥� that cool thing you can do. I remember thinking around the time when we first adopted iPads, and it was always the whole mantra: 鈥楾here鈥檚 an app for that.鈥� We were just pulling so many resources, so many tools, so many apps, where it was completely overwhelming for a teacher. So I started to think about what do we actually want students to do with the technology? What can technology do? Where can it take us? Where can we provide those opportunities for our kids to be creators and producers and critical thinkers and not just consumers of technology?
For me, when I鈥檓 using technology with my students, it is not an add-on. It鈥檚 not just a cool thing that you do. It鈥檚 integrated in the classroom, where it鈥檚 a part of the curriculum and it鈥檚 a part of the learning process. We learn with technology, we learn through technology, we allow it to provide opportunities that we wouldn鈥檛 have [had] before.
As hard as these last three years have been on the educational system, I do believe it has created opportunities for us to provide a level of engagement for our students that we haven't had before.
Equity is a big part of my philosophy. I feel like when we鈥檙e utilizing technology as just a consumption tool, we are providing inequity for our students. The real goal is to provide those opportunities where they can invent, they can create, they can produce, they can connect and communicate with people outside of the four walls of their classrooms. That鈥檚 a really powerful thing that we鈥檝e learned through COVID. As hard as these last three years have been on the educational system, I do believe it has created opportunities for us to provide a level of engagement for our students that we haven鈥檛 had before.
I know that every student doesn鈥檛 learn the same way, but what technology allows us to do is to differentiate [and] provide those different opportunities for our students. It allows teachers to have a more efficient way for them to grade papers, for them to roll out curriculum, for them to interact with their students, for them to create more innovative projects.
69传媒 continue to push technology use to the next level. What does that mean for education? Where do we go from here?
What we鈥檙e left with, as we journey through this pandemic, is we have a generation of students who are very different from the pre-COVID times, meaning their level of engagement is something that we struggle to keep in line with what we鈥檙e doing as educators. So one of the main things that is going to shift in the education format is the focus on student engagement, but also the focus on balance鈥攈ow you balance the use of technology in classrooms and the amount of resources and media and 鈥渄istractions鈥� that exist now with having a student to focus.
When it comes to technology, I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to be more technology. I think it鈥檚 going to be: Let鈥檚 look at what we already have. Let鈥檚 look at how we can utilize these resources to the highest potential and what we can create from what we have. Video is going to be a huge part of that, for students to be able to show what they know in more unique and creative ways.
You鈥檙e going to look at other ways that you can engage鈥攅ven learning management systems and using different ways for students to turn in assignments. You鈥檙e going to have some non-traditional classrooms.
I think it鈥檚 going to be more of a customized way of providing education for our students because I do think we have different kids now, so we have to meet their needs.
What are the biggest tech challenges that schools are facing right now?
One of the biggest tech challenges that most schools are facing is still struggling with providing the resources for students and for teachers.
What we鈥檙e suffering from now is virtual burnout. I鈥檓 actually doing a study and working on my doctorate, so one of the things I wanted to know is: Teachers鈥� and educators鈥� experience in COVID, did it build confidence in their use of technology? And are they using technology more efficiently and more frequently in our classrooms because of COVID?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes, there is more confidence in their use of technology. I think teachers are more willing to take some risks. [But there鈥檚] a certain group of teachers where they鈥檙e like, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want anything to do with that because these last two years were hard, so I want to take a break from technology and I really just want to go back to basics.鈥�
So I think the challenge for education is going to be to find that balance: How do we know when to use technology and how do we know when we need to go back to basics?
How do you address tech burnout among teachers?
It鈥檚 been a challenge because as a tech person, a tech coordinator, to now a tech director, of course, technology is always at the forefront of my mind and it鈥檚 my job. However, I am very connected with my human side as well, as a teacher, as an educator, as a parent, and I always look at perspectives and different lenses. I get down to the why. Not 鈥渙h, they just don鈥檛 use technology,鈥� and leave it at that. What is the root of the problem? Is it because they鈥檙e burnt out because everything they鈥檝e tried to use doesn鈥檛 work that day, and it鈥檚 just frustrating? Or is it that they鈥檝e been using this tool nonstop and want to do something different but don鈥檛 know what to do? Just asking those right questions, asking those whys.
Of course, you鈥檙e always going to have some people who are absolutely anti-tech. But in general, getting to the root of the why is always helpful for me because then I can say, 鈥淥K, I have a recommendation. Let鈥檚 try this.鈥�
Professional learning is so important. I鈥檓 a proponent of having unique ways that teachers receive professional learning. I love to do lunch and learn, where I just invite teachers in for a 15-minute or 20-minute drop-in where I鈥檓 going to teach them something new, but they鈥檙e bringing their lunch and they鈥檙e chit-chatting or talking and asking questions, and it鈥檚 just an informal way. Playdates: I鈥檝e had teachers go to the Apple Store and just kind of play around with the technology and learn that way. Kids like to learn through play. Teachers do, too.
What should quality technology use look like? And what should it not look like?
I鈥檒l start with what it doesn鈥檛 look like. It doesn鈥檛 look like kids sitting on their devices, not interacting with each other at all; working on a drilling practice app, where they鈥檙e practicing their math skills, and that鈥檚 pretty much all they do; or they鈥檙e using their technology for testing purposes only and the only time they bring out the technology is when they鈥檙e getting ready to take a test or they need to do an assignment that鈥檚 independent.
What it looks like is looking at the curriculum and finding natural ways to integrate technology. Not taking the technology and then trying to fit the curriculum in, but instead taking that curriculum and looking at a different way that I could instruct my students鈥擨鈥檓 going to use the technology to create a really engaging slide deck to engage my kids. I鈥檓 going to embed some videos. I want to embed some GIFs into my slide deck. I want to add Nearpod. I鈥檓 going to add some interactive components as I鈥檓 instructing or lecturing my students.
[Quality technology use] doesn't look like kids sitting on their devices, not interacting with each other at all.
Once the students are instructed and they get the information that they need from you as an instructor, how do they apply that knowledge? Are they able to take that knowledge and create a video? Are they working collaboratively with a partner or group in designing a STEM challenge that integrates with what they鈥檙e learning in science? Are they going on hunt because they鈥檙e learning about arrays in math class, so they鈥檙e walking around their school with their iPads taking pictures of natural arrays that they see around the building? Are they creating a stop-motion video of the change of states of matter?
How do they apply [the learning]? Are they creating, producing, developing things? Are they able to take the knowledge that they have and use it in a natural way?
How should ed-tech leaders determine which tech tools stay and which ones go?
It really depends on the demographics of your students, your budget, what you have available. It really comes down to what works for you, what works for your district, what are the challenges that you have, and what technology resources and tools can be that solution for you.
I do think it is very important to be proactive in making sure that you鈥檙e staying abreast with the new things that are created that are helping to make learning more accessible and feasible.
We in our district have Apple devices, which I absolutely love, but we also have Chromebooks that we also love, and they fit our purpose and our needs. So I just really think it comes down to evaluating what your needs are in the district, looking at your budget.
[When it comes to the budget] sometimes districts allow their budgets to dictate the type of resources and technology that they have, when in fact I think it should be more of: Let鈥檚 evaluate what鈥檚 the best tool and the best resource for our district, and then let鈥檚 find a way to pay for it.
I think that it鈥檚 important to continue to use resources that are going to open up opportunities for our students to collaborate, to connect, to create, and share. So whatever that tool looks like for you, I say, use it.
What are your biggest priorities this school year?
One is data privacy and security, making sure that all of our data is secure. There are a lot of things going on in the world right now and not-so-honest people who are targeting different districts, so that鈥檚 number one priority.
The other priorities I have are making sure there are systems and processes in place for the use of technology throughout the district. One cool thing is, taking on this role, I had the opportunity to join in the curriculum and instruction department. Technology is now a part of curriculum and instruction, which is a perfect marriage to me because it allows [technology] to be a part of the conversations that happen in curriculum, and curriculum to be a part of the conversations that happen in tech. We鈥檙e working collaboratively for the same goal, and we鈥檙e making sure that our students and our teachers are knowledgeable about the resources that are available. So my priority is making sure that this process and the seamlessness of the marriage between curriculum and technology happen as best as they can.
Innovation is also another priority, making sure that we鈥檙e pushing the needle and pushing our students and our teachers to be future ready; making sure that the training and the resources and the technology that we鈥檙e using is state of the art, up to date, available, and ready for all of our students and our teachers.
