What do you do if your staff is resistant to learning new technology?

1 Identify the barriers

The first step to overcoming resistance to new technology is to identify the barriers that prevent your staff from learning and using it. Common barriers include a lack of time and resources, confidence, support, relevance, and motivation to learn and practice new skills. By understanding the reasons behind your staff's resistance, you can customize your approach and address their individual needs and concerns. This will allow you to provide the necessary resources, guidance, alignment, and motivation to help them successfully integrate the new technology into their work.

2 Provide the benefits

The second step to overcoming resistance to new technology is to emphasize the benefits it can bring to your staff and their students. Such advantages include improving student engagement and achievement, enabling teacher collaboration and communication, encouraging teacher creativity and innovation, enriching teacher professional development and growth, as well as increasing teacher efficiency and productivity. By emphasizing the positive outcomes and opportunities that new technology can provide, you can motivate your staff to learn and use it.

3 Model the behavior

As an educational leader, you can model the behavior that you want to see in your staff by demonstrating your own use and mastery of new technology. Share your own challenges and successes with learning and using new technology, and seek feedback and suggestions from your staff on how to improve your use of new technology. Additionally, recognize and celebrate your staff's achievements and progress with new technology, and encourage and facilitate peer coaching and mentoring among them. By showing your staff that you are also learning and growing with new technology, you can build trust and rapport with them, as well as foster a culture of continuous improvement.

4 Create the conditions

As an educational leader, you have a key role in creating the conditions that enable your staff to learn and use new technology effectively. To do this, you should provide adequate time and resources for your staff to access, explore, and practice the technology. Additionally, you should offer ongoing support and guidance through training, coaching, and feedback. Furthermore, it is important to set clear expectations and goals for your staff on how and why to use the technology. Offering relevant and meaningful opportunities for your staff to integrate the technology into their curriculum and pedagogy is also essential. Lastly, providing incentives and rewards can motivate your staff and acknowledge their efforts and achievements. By creating these conditions, you can reduce barriers to new technology and increase its benefits.

6 Review and refine

As an educational leader, the sixth and final step to overcoming resistance to new technology is to review and refine your approach and results. This means collecting and analyzing data and evidence on the use and outcomes of new technology, seeking feedback from your staff and other stakeholders, addressing any gaps or challenges that arise, celebrating and communicating achievements, and planning and implementing any changes or adjustments that are needed. Through this process, you can ensure that new technology is meeting your goals and expectations.