I am the district tech teacher for SD 64 Gulf Islands, and I have been working in education for the past 15 years. Primarily my teaching experience has been as a classroom teacher for grades 4 – 8; however, for the last four years I have been the district tech teacher which has allowed me to work with a wide variety of students and be involved in technology implementation in our district. In my current role development responsibilities have become a large part of what I do. We have been working towards a more unified approach to student data and have utilized integrative technologies to enhance the capacity of our provincial SIS system in order to improve data persistence for student learning.
This is my second term of the MET program and the first term I am taking two courses (ETEC 522 and ETEC 510)… Had to make sure that school and work responsibilities were balanced. I am looking forward to learning more about emerging technologies and how they are being utilized by innovators to satiate gaps in student learning and experiences. I expect that ETEC 522 is the place for this learning and I am looking forward to the experience.
I would really like to know more about how technology is used in schools and how flexible the school boards are in terms of what and how technology are used.
They are very flexible if pedagogical justifications exist for their use. I am not sure how it works in other districts, but in ours we write a justification and educationally grounded reasons to include the technology. Unfortunately, budgets can play a big role in the actual implementation of some technologies and influence decisions. Let me know if you would like more of an explanation then I have provided here. Thanks for the question.
Hi Paul,
I wonder how technology is used in primary grades in your school district. There is push back from my school for using digital technology such as iPads and computers in the lower primary classrooms.
Hello Joyce. Technology in the younger grades can be a bit tricky because of literacy gaps and convenient access. We have some teachers in grades 1 and 2 that utilize some technology such as text to voice, access to reading materials, and using cameras to document learning. The biggest hurdle is usually the first hurtle, getting the kids logged in. If that can be made to be an easier process, then usually teachers are more willing to engage. I look forward to our journey together, Joyce.