Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! The first question is

• Research has indicated that teachers are hesitant to integrate technology into their practice due to the perceived lack of support and personal experience with technology.  How would you describe your experience in developing a sense of confidence when implementing technology into the classroom? (Nicole)

Answer:

• Initially I was left to my own devices to try figure out how to make it work in the classroom. At my old school, when we were first told to implement technology, we were given no support or training on how to do it effectively. I relied a lot on twitter and following people who were using it in their classrooms and I was taking ideas and trying to implement them into my own classroom. This year when I started a new school I felt like I was quite competent in being able to implement the technology because I had had a couple years of being able to play with it. (Lesley)

Reflection: Even though this teacher faced many hurdles and obstacles, she still managed to embrace technology and learn how to use it with her young students. She used her own time to connect with other teachers and find ideas on social networking sites.

Question:

• Do you feel like you have other teachers that you can collaborate with? (Nicole)

Answer:

• We have a couple of new teachers at my school who are very into using technology and our tech mentor is a good resource person to talk to. A lot of the older teachers at my school are a bit more hesitant or don’t like to use the technology. We also have a really great tech mentor in the district. He has put on a couple of different workshops about coding and about our e-portfolio program that we use in the district that have been quite helpful. (Lesley)

Reflection: It seems that it is the younger or newer teachers that have an easier time embracing technology. Could this be because they are using technology in their Education Program courses? Or is this because this is a generation of students who used technology in most of their schooling? It could be a combination of both!

Question:

• How do you think the school/district has helped or hindered your implementation of technology in the classroom? Some examples are funding, resources or support. (Nicole)

Answer:

• I think we are fortunate that we have such small class sizes this year. For example, our iPad cart initially only had 20 devices, but having only a class of 18, I was able to jump into the technology without a lot of difficulty. My kids could still be 1:1 and they could be assigned to the same device and because a lot of the teachers don’t use it, it’s been fairly easy to book and get time with the iPads whenever I have wanted to. We recently used a bit of our learning grant money and our school has bought some additional iPads so now our carts are full so that the older grades that have higher class numbers are now able to go 1:1 on the devices and not having to share. So I think for those teachers it was kind of a big hindrance. There’s something about having the children be able to go to the same iPad where their work and pictures are saved that makes it a little bit easier. Funding definitely is going to be an ongoing issue as more and more teachers get used to using more technology and it becomes harder to find time to use it makes it a bit of a hindrance. Not having them in the classroom all the time is kind of a pain. Sometimes you think, “oh if they were here, I could grab them and do this.” You have to be much more planned and organized and you can’t use technology as kind of a spur of the moment thing, which sometimes naturally comes out of an activity – “oh I wish I could’ve done this on the iPad.” I think in that way, not having your own set for your class is bit of a hindrance. Given the funding concerns in the public school system that probably will never happen.

Reflection: Even though there is a lack of funding in districts, there are ways of getting technology or creative ways of using the technology that does exist. It’s not always easy to share devices in a classroom and it’s even harder to share with one or more classrooms. Sharing allows less time, creates more issues when projects take longer than expected, but it is still possible to troubleshoot these issue. Teachers need to get creative. Maybe districts will be able to come up with more funding the more teachers use technology in the classroom. Teachers might need to advocate for more technology and do presentations that showcase how the technology is being used and how much more learning the students are doing.

Question:

• You’ve kind of already answered this question, but do you have anything you want to add? Are 1:1 device programs necessary for integrating technology effectively in mathematics? Are students at an advantage if they do have their own device? (Nicole)

Answer:

• Well, I don’t think they necessarily have to be 1:1. I think you can still effectively integrate technology without 1:1. I think 1:1 is a luxury that just makes it so much better. I believe in the idea of 1:1, but like I said, having the same device to go back to is nice for the kids so that they can continue projects or they can use things they’ve created before. (Lesley)

Reflection: Having enough devices for every student is ideal, but it’s not impossible to create authentic lessons with only a few devices. Maybe sharing devices would create a more collaborative classroom?

Question:

• Comparing last year when your students had their own devices versus this year where your students use school devices, what are the advantages and disadvantages to each? (Nicole)

Answer:

• I think one of the advantages to having school devices is that there is no temptation to play and get on programs that were put on at home. The school devices only have what we’re using at school. There is no chance of them going home and erasing any of their work by accident. The nice thing about having their own devices is that they can go home and parents can see what they’re doing on a consistent basis and you’re able to show the work a bit more naturally. Ultimately, I don’t think there is really that much of a difference between the devices that go home versus the ones that stay at school. (Lesley)

Reflection: There are some disadvantages in regards to classroom management when students have their own devices. I think teachers think that it would be simpler if all students just brought in a device, but we often overlook some of the issues that might come with this. In my student-owned BYOD program, it was difficult when a student would forget their device at home or sometimes the device would be broken so they wouldn’t have it for an extended period of time. This was extremely difficult as we didn’t have school devices that the student could use and therefore, I always had to be prepared with an activity for one or two students to work on if they didn’t have a device. It was even more challenging if they were in the middle of a project. I LOVED having devices, but this was definitely frustrating. Losing work was also sometimes an issue as the students would take the device home and a sibling would accidently erase something that they were working on. This caused some frustration from time to time. This reminds me that there isn’t a perfect system, just like there is never a teaching day that is perfect!  

Question:

• Did you find that your students did use their iPads at home for anything? (Nicole)

Answer:

• They did use them at home for continuing projects or if they were inspired by something that we would’ve done at school and they would have used it at home to do something in addition, but I don’t think they used them to better the project we were doing in the school. Well, a couple of them might have. (Lesley)

Reflection: Often I think that it would be so nice to have students work on projects at home using their device, but the reality is that students are busy in the evenings and most students do not have time. I also am not a teacher who believes in assigning a ton of homework because I want my student to be part of community activities, sports, playing outside, etc.  

Question:

• Ok, last question… How do you integrate technology into your math and science classroom? (Nicole)

Answer:

• In math, one of the things we did this year was to use our iPad to show how to make 10 in addition. They use different manipulatives in the classroom and take pictures and record the math sentence that goes with it. They would either put it in a pic collage or do it on Explain Everything. In science, one of the things we did was we used their iPads to take photos of different places in the school that we use water because we’re doing an inquiry unit on water and the water cycle. They’ve also used materials in the classroom to build a water cycle and they’ve’ taken a picture of it and are able to use Explain Everything to explain how the water cycle works in their own words. In math, they were practicing using the number words and writing the number words and they were taking photos of four objects and then they would write the number 4 and the word “four.” This allowed them to practice it in different ways. I think that’s it. (Lesley)

Reflection: Sometimes it’s difficult to think of ways to integrate technology into our science and math lessons, but when we collaborate and network, there are so many great websites and ideas that can be used. Teachers need to find the time to share, as well as reach out to other educators.

Thanks again, for taking the time to meet with me to answer my questions. (Nicole)

First, apologies for not having this as a double column post, but I had technical difficulties (irony of this in an educational technology masters course!). My reflections for each question/answer can be found underneath each one. After reading through my peers reflections and interviewing a colleague, the challenges of using technology in the classroom have become clearer. I think in order for teachers to overcome these obstacles, they have to philosophically agree with the benefits of technology, and they have to want to invest the time in continuously learning about new technology and how to authentically integrate it into the classroom to extend student learning. There always seems to be some sort of excuse as to why teachers are not using technology, but I truly believe that these can be overcome. I do however, believe that schools have to want to invest time and money into technology and I know that this can be difficult, but there are ways to make it happen (through grants, proposals, etc.).

In my district, we have a serious lack of technology. My goal is to make some changes through our technology committee. I know that some school will be able to integrate a BYOD program, but we need administrators and the school board to be interested in making some changes and supporting teachers who are already integrating technology. These teachers need support and to be provided with time. I think that once other teachers see the benefits and that they will be supported, they will start to embrace technology a little more. I find it frustrating that some students have no access to technology and others use it daily. Is this just widening the gap between some learners? Don’t all of our students deserve equal access to technology and have the right to learn 21st century skills? According to the 9 themes of Digital Citizenship, We need to ensure that everyone has equal access to technology in our society. Digital citizenship means no one should be denied digital access. Students need to learn the importance of advocating for equal digital rights. How do we make this a priority in all school districts and schools? I’m hoping to make some progress in my school district!