When soldiers retreat
April 16, 2008 by Brad Edwards
Teachers will sometimes say, “But that’s one more thing on our plates.” when reacting to administration’s expectations that they “use” technology. I just had a conversation with a high school teacher who told me that when there’s a focus on technology, that creates a black hole, negatively affects budgets, time, contracts (positions, negotiations) and that people are then pulled in different directions. I don’t think it has to be that way. More later.
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I have encountered the same reaction to teachers being told to use technology. It doesn’t work that way. Teachers will resist anything that they see as adding to their work load. I don’t blame them. However, I have also seen these same teachers suddenly start using technology in their classrooms when they are shown useful, easy and engaging ways to integrate it. If they are well trained in how to use something, and if that something provides increased student engagement and learning without complicating a lesson too much, then teachers will embrace technology. That’s the challenge of educational technology leaders. Train teachers properly in how to use technology, but keep it simple. Start small, and celebrate successes. Make sure the technology works reliably and does not take too much time or technical prowess to implement. And make sure the technology activity is academically relevant. Once you put all of these ducks in a row, you have a recipe for success. You will never get all teachers to use instructional technology, but you can generate an environment that encourages its use.
Andrew: Thanks for the comment. I think you’re absolutely correct in saying that it’s important to keep it simple. Rather than teach teachers how to use Dreamweaver to create a web page, show them google pages. But there’s an even more basic way to start the conversation leading to technology use, and that is to talk about the WHY. I think once folks understand what technology can do for their particular lesson (and remember, it’s still about the learning, not about the technology), then you can work more productively with the HOW.–Brad
Too right. I couldn’t agree with you more. I see too many tech ed teachers focusing too much on the bells and whistles rather than the pedagogy. We are lucky to have so many simplified ways to use technology these days, as compared to the big, sophisticated software packages of even five years ago. When we stop focusing on the technology and instead focus on the learning, then we truly see the advantages of integrating ICT into our classrooms.