Title One Schools
Technology Resource Teacher

Meet Matt Rowland, the Title One Technology Coach

Matt assists Title One schools with integrating technology into the curriculum. This includes working with site leadership on new purchases and organizing existing equipment, researching new learning programs, providing staff development on how to use existing tools and programs, providing one-on-one teacher support for lesson planning and modeling effective technology integrated lessons, and assisting teachers with the implementation of technology enhanced lessons.

He currently only works with Program Improvement Title One elementary schools. His current schedule is as follows: Greer Elementary on Mondays, Edison Elementary on Tuesdays, Howe Avenue on Wednesdays, Kingswood on Thursday mornings with the afternoon dedicated to providing professional development during collaboration time at all the schools, and Dyer-Kelly on Fridays.

Matt believes that technology is the new language of our students. They, for better or worse, grow up in a social environment that focuses on the television/computer screens and provides instant access to information. He believes that schools need to meet students where they are or risk sliding further into obsolescence. However, he also believes that schools should be thoughtful about the two different paradigms of education that need to be reconciled in the classrooms: teacher centered and student centered. The former is the traditional “sage on the stage” model with the teacher delivering the required information and skills to their students. Student centered learning puts the teacher in the “guide on the side” role who creates learning experiences for their students and then assists the student in accessing and synthesizing information in real world tasks. This is commonly known as Project Based Learning (PBL) and has its roots in the learning theory of Constructivism. Matt believes the most successful classroom approach is a mix of these two styles and technology is an ideal compliment to both.

Matt's background is rich in both teaching and technology. He taught sixth grade at Billy Mitchell Elementary for nine years and during that time he served as Technology Coordinator. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Educational Technology through the iMET Program at CSU, Sacramento. After he obtained his Master’s Degree he participated in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher and Master Teacher Programs. As a part of those programs he taught in Shiojiri, Japan for one summer and developed distance learning activities for San Juan Unified students. Matt began as the Title One Technology Coach in 2007.

Matt hopes to assist staffs in developing an organized approach to, and sustained focus on, technology planning and technology enhanced lesson design. Ideally, he hopes teachers will develop areas of expertise regarding specific technology tools or applications. Teachers then will provide their students with a balanced mix of direct instruction and engaging project based lessons that showcase their content area knowledge while developing their problem solving skills.