The roll-out of new innovations doesn’t always go to plan. Ben Case, education advisor at childhood education platform Tapestry, sets out how to get nursery staff onboard with new technology

Technology in early years: inevitable, essential, and sometimes, a little intimidating. Does this sound familiar? I admit I’m a self-confessed ‘techy educator’ and love nothing more than trying out new software, but many in the sector visibly shudder at the thought. 

Technology has the potential to enhance children’s learning and streamline our work, even if it can feel daunting. However, how technology is implemented, and how closely you focus on getting staff on board the ‘tech train’, may make the difference between success and failure. If you or your team struggle with tech, my aim here is to offer you ways to ensure everyone is on the same page. 

Understanding the problem 

The amount of technology available to help with various aspects of the job, such as administration, communication with parents, and learning journals, has grown significantly in recent years, and it’s likely to continue. With so many options, it’s essential you start by clearly defining your needs and the problems you want the technology to address. 

Getting staff involved is an important first step in successful technology implementation. Although it’s tempting to feel that talking to staff will delay procurement, it’s essential if you want to ensure the technology fully meets the needs of your setting. Staff are a mine of information and also offer important, different perspectives. Questions you may wish to ask include: 

• How do they currently undertake the task(s)? 

• What do they feel helps them most?

 • What do they find complicated to undertake?

 • What takes lots of time, and what is quite quick to undertake?

 • Do they have any examples of where they need to ‘copy and paste’ information from one software system to another? 

• What do they wish the technology could do, and how would this help them in their role? 

Collate the information staff provide into a document and share this with them. Be clear that you’d welcome any feedback or further ideas. 

Free trials – a chance to try before you buy 

Once you have a clear list of software requirements and are confident these will meet the needs of your staff, undertake some research to find the options that are most relevant. Take advantage of the free trial of the product, and any introductory webinars, so you can check that it works in the way you expect. 

You may well need to trial five or more options, so it may not be sensible to ask staff to try them all. However, if you have a volunteer snap up their help. Throughout the process keep staff updated and reiterate that you’re looking for technology that will meet their needs. 

Tips for getting the most from a trial: 

• Most trials are for a limited period of time so ask for help from the company. If you need more time, ask the supplier if they can extend the trial which is sometimes possible. • Think about how easy the technology is to use. Is it plug and play, or did you need to watch countless help videos even to get started? • How helpful is customer support? Is it quick to respond? • Check that the features most important to staff are present and easy to use. • Find out what training resources are available to support implementation.

Introducing new technology 

Once you’ve procured your chosen software and you’re ready to implement it, staff involvement becomes even more important to success. I have experienced lots of technology being poorly introduced. Most common was a quick demo to show what the technology could do and staff were then expected to work the rest out for themselves. 

People bring a wide range of views and perspectives to technology and this is normal – we adapt to new things in different ways. The innovation adoption curve describes five types of behaviour from innovators (me for instance) to much larger groups like those described as early or late majorities. In other words, some people jump right in, while others are a bit more hesitant. As a manager, you need to understand where everyone’s coming from and ensure they have the right support. 

Start by introducing some training options. Don’t assume staff all need the same level of training, or the same type. Here are some options you may wish to build in: 

• An introductory demo session for staff (small group or the whole team if feasible) taking a tour through the technology. 

• Training videos provided by the vendor can be great for staff who are fairly confident about using technology and happy to learn on their own as they need. 

• One-to-one training sessions offered by a colleague who is a more confident user of the technology. 

As well as training, selecting who is trained first can be helpful. Starting with the more ‘techie’ staff means that they can be asked to support others who may need more training. They can then offer general encouragement and positivity about the new technology. 

It’s also worth considering training staff in the key functions of the technology and allowing them to feel confident using these. Once these feel established, you can then introduce more complex or less frequently used features through short tutorials or by sharing relevant video tutorials. 

Revisit and fine tune 

As new technology gets adopted it’s important to continue to provide support and fine-tune. Share examples of how staff are successfully using different features to improve their work, or to benefit the children. Allocate regular slots for staff to explore the different features and functionalities without the immediate pressure to use them. 

It’s not uncommon for staff to use technology to solve problems you’d not considered. This is really exciting and means you will get even greater value from your investment. However, it’s also important to ensure that staff are using the technology for its core purpose. For instance, if the system is aiming to help staff with supporting children’s development, then it’s important they add the necessary information, for instance logging key moments and sharing information with colleagues. Without this, the system can’t reach its potential. 

Also, stay in touch with the supplier and articulate any issues your staff encounter and suggest how things could be improved. At Tapestry, we find this feedback invaluable, and it has a direct influence on the features we choose to develop. 

So, how do we ensure a smooth journey on this particular train? By bringing our staff along for the ride, valuing their input, and making sure they feel supported. When we do that, we can unlock all sorts of benefits and make our nurseries even better places for our children to learn and grow. Because ultimately, ensuring everyone has their ticket and enjoys the journey on the tech train is what it’s all about, isn’t it?