Educational Technology and Innovation Specialist

Description

Position/Title:  Educational Technology and Innovation Specialist

Appointment:  School Year 2022/2023

Reports To:   Director of Technology & Library Services

Laurel School seeks talented faculty who will put our students first and strive to make a difference in their lives.  We seek to attract culturally and academically diverse faculty who thrive on being engaged participants in our community and are committed to anti-racist education and the development of young women as authentic learners and leaders.   The most successful candidates are solutions-driven, are willing to listen to learn, embrace iteration and practice as a necessary part of the product, see opportunities before problems, and thrive in a fast-paced, forward-thinking educational environment. Laurel lives our mission: to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world.  We continually challenge our community to question existing paradigms and to dream, dare, and do.    

Position Summary:

As a member of the Technology and Library Services team, the ETI Specialist will have a strong background in classroom teaching with the desire to work with all grade levels, experience with the principles of innovation and design thinking, and a passion for working with faculty to ensure creative, thoughtful, and appropriate uses for educational technology. Personal qualities such as curiosity, flexibility, versatility, and resilience are desirable, as is a willingness to tackle new challenges with an open mind and to work collaboratively with students and faculty alike.

This position requires highly developed communication and organizational skills with demonstrated success in a school setting requiring collaboration, cooperation, initiative, collegiality, and flexibility in adapting to changing educational and technological needs. Experience training adult professionals is desired. Four weeks of on-site preparation in addition to the standard school year contract are required. Two of these weeks fall immediately after the end of the academic year and two weeks fall immediately before faculty return for the new school year.

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Teach Middle School Computer Science, Grades Seven & Eight.

• Co-teach occasional computer science, computational thinking, and robotics classes for PreK-Grade Six.

• Co-teach digital citizenship lessons school-wide.

• Act as a guide and coach for all faculty, encouraging, inspiring, and supporting them in the exploration of innovative and purposeful uses of technology.

• Create engaging, successful training sessions for teachers and students of varying skill levels.

• Create training documentation on using and accessing Laurel-specific systems.

• Support teachers with our LMS and develop best practices, expectations, and tools.

• Design, coordinate, and provide technology-related professional development for faculty on both a planned and “just-in-time” basis.

• Research and bring to the classroom suggestions for innovative technologies, projects, and other resources.

• Enthusiastically champion successes of students and faculty in their achievements with technology integration across all grades and subjects.

• Articulate a compelling, energetic, and compassionate vision for educational technology.

• Provide support for student-centered technology initiatives.

• Provide technology-centered curricular support for teachers school-wide.

• Provide practical application of current trends and methodologies in instructional technology, such as instructional design theories, TPACK, and SAMR.

• Create, coordinate, and execute training for the K-12 One-to-One program.

• Function as a collaborative member of the Technology & Library Services department, assisting where needed.

• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree with majors and/or extensive coursework in Instructional Technology or a related discipline and have at least 3-5 years teaching experience. The successful candidate will also possess a positive attitude, excellent written and verbal skills, strong organizational skills, and proven success within a work setting that requires open collaboration, cooperation, and collegiality. The candidate must possess or acquire and maintain a State of Ohio issued teaching certificate. 

Salary:

Laurel offers competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package.

Work Environment  

Laurel School is a dynamic, forward-thinking, K-12 girls’ school with a co-ed pre-primary division, where every child is well known. As a Facing History and Ourselves School, Laurel is fully committed to equity and inclusion; we actively seek a culturally diverse faculty and staff.

Laurel teachers are committed to:

• The study of research on girls’ education and integration of this knowledge into classroom practice

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

• Anti-racist, multicultural education

• The academic and social development of girls

• Working with each girl to fulfill the school’s mission

• The creation of an inclusive classroom community

• The integration of community-based learning projects at the classroom level and as a part of the whole school community

• Involving parents as partners in the educational process

• Outdoor education and sustainability

• Flexibility and openness to new ideas

Laurel enjoys an outstanding local and national reputation and is home to the Laurel Center for Research on Girls. In a highly competitive school landscape, Laurel is fortunate to be a school of choice in Cleveland. Our emphasis on the whole child and our legacy of excellence in the teaching of girls set us apart. Located in Shaker Heights, OH (15 minutes from downtown Cleveland) with an additional rural campus 17 minutes away, the school has an urban/rural advantage. The work environment is noted for being family-friendly and flexible. The feeling in the school is joyous, collaborative and innovative. Our curricular philosophy emphasizes community-based, interdisciplinary and experiential learning. Collaboration and reflective practice are key to pedagogy at Laurel. The school is fully committed to a culturally diverse faculty and student body. 

Laurel School is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities to all personnel and applicants for employment without regard to race; color; religion; sex; gender identity; national origin; handicap or disability; sexual orientation; or status as a veteran, Vietnam era, or special disabled veteran.