Sharing best practices involving technology

As educators, we all struggle with ways to avoid reinventing the wheel.  The Internet has certainly helped in this regard - it is the 'go to' place for so many ideas, that - when a new idea hits me, my first step is to search the web and see if and how others have approached it.  But what about great ideas and best practices within my own district and building?  Ironically, the ideas put into practice three doors down the hall often seem more remote than than the ones posted to some blog from across the country.

Why is that?  Teachers tend to be islands - we get mired down in the day-to-day, and our 'free time' - prep periods and meeting block times - are far from free - we're grading, designing materials, contacting parents, updating homework sites, meeting with administration, giving extra help... and, at least in my district, budget constraints have eaten into this time even more - we've lost PD time, so meeting slots that might have been spent collaboratively become times for dealing with administrative issues. 

So, how can we address this, and find time to use the resources closest to us - our colleagues in the building?

In my school system, we've created a stipend-based position, the TTL - Teacher Technology Leader.  The idea is that, in each building,  there are a few educators who try to keep their fingers on the technological pulse, as it were, and help their peers gain experience and comfort regarding integrating the new tools into their traditional toolbox.  

Last year was our first go at this - it was a growing process, and the parameters of the role were ambiguous at best.  Most teachers weren't really aware of our role in the buildings, and - with the TTLs themselves in a bit of a gray area - our skills were under utilized.  So, how do we better use this position to help all teachers work more collaboratively, and stay informed regarding ideas and tools that others have found successful, within the time and budgetary constraints of a system?

Here are some ideas I have...

*I learned that, at the elementary schools in my district,  they have a ‘coaching substitute” - a floating sub who can cover classes in order for a teacher to go observe / get PD.  This is a great idea (why didn't my school know about this?) - this gives educators a chance to step out of their room and into that classroom down the hall, to observe that new tool / idea in use...
 
*... which brings up the next question - how can we help teachers know what great ideas are available in the building, so they can make an informed decision about who and what to observe?  I think the TTLs should work as a hub for disseminating good models of technology use in the building – basically, we can reach out to staff, with emails, brief reminders at meetings etc., encouraging teachers to share what they are doing with us.  We can then set up a time to observe it ourselves, and report back to department heads to then encourage use and discussion amid the department staff.  We could set up a spreadsheet on which people can sign up to observe a class - using Google Calendar's new appointment feature, potentially, and help streamline the process.
 
*The key is that we need to firm up a structure / framework from top down, and encourage greater effective use of technology, along with collaboration.  What has tended to happen is we’ve had good ideas floating around the building but, as with most great ideas, actually sharing and implementing them beyond the individual rooms can be difficult... Using the TTLs as a conduit seems to make some sense in this regard.
 
*Beyond this, we can also firm up a schedule / opportunities for TTLs to coach our peers – set periods where we can go in and help other teachers (1 or 2 of our meeting periods per week) plus other times where we can get a dept chair to help cover a class while we go set something up / guide someone in tech use or run a mini pd for a period, perhaps in conjunction with a teacher who has successfully implemented a lesson.

*As part of this, we will probably start with a weekly email to staff, highlighting one idea or one tool that teachers may want to put to use, and directing staff to this blog or another site for more information.  The key is to keep that email brief, so it will actually be read, and not become another piece of spam fodder...

It seems to me that the key is to have a good, clearly defined set of descriptors for the TTLs - a clear process and structure that is consistently applied.

How has your system addressed these needs?  What other ideas are floating around??