Technology Stewards

Ettiene Wegner is well-known (along with several of his colleagues) for developing the idea of a Community of Practice (Cop). CoP is based on the idea that a group of people (the community of actively engaged participants) who are connected by a some actions they share in common (the practice) can become a mutually supportive (the sense of community among the participants). A CoP is not usually a formal group, it emerges and grows in an organic manner; if a school principal announces the years’ professional development initiative is to become a CoP, it will not emerge. If a school principal creates the conditions that lead to the emergence of a CoP, then it may happen.



In 2009, Wenger and two colleagues (Nancy White and John Smith) wrote Digital Habits: Stewarding Technology for Communities. The book proposes technology stewards as individuals within a CoP who are responsible (in either a formal way or an informal way) for ensuring that computers and related technology is used in a meaningful way within an organization.



Technology stewards will be familiar to many educators; an excellent example of a technology steward is the teacher who uses computers in hos or her classroom, shares ideas with colleagues, and talks with technology support people to ensure systems are configured to allow for effective use. The signs that a school needs a technology steward may be unfortunately familiar: Systems that we can’t use. Things we want to do, but can’t. Systems well designed and built but not used to their fullest.



The role of the technology steward in a school will be to work to help technologists build systems that meet educators’ needs and to make sure that educators know and use the systems that technologist build.


Learn more about the book
See Ackerman's review of the book here (scroll way down on the pdf file... my review is the last one in the file!)