I chose to watch video 5 and video 8 as they were dealing with technology use in upper intermediate classrooms and I am currently teaching grade 7. In video 5, the first teacher interviewed was very positive about technology use in the classroom. She stated that she uses it in her classroom almost everyday as it challenges the students, compensates for language barriers for her ESL students and it levels the playing field since her students are all tech savvy. The students interviewed were very excited to share the video about hurricanes they were creating. The professor in the video 8 was also very passionate about technology use and helping teacher candidates learn how integrate it into their practice and make sure that it is enhancing student learning. It appears that both of these teachers understand the benefits of using technology and how to integrate it to deepen student understanding.
However, the rest of the teachers interviewed were not so excited, or positive about technology use in the classroom. One retired teacher and one new teacher (video 5) both stated that technology is frustrating as there is not enough time to use it, not enough training, they are not equipped to problem solve issues, and they don’t feel comfortable using it. I think both of these teacher highlighted one of the main reasons as to why technology is not integrated into some classrooms (What I found interesting is that the new teacher was not integrating technology it into her classroom) These teachers do not feel like they receive enough professional development time to comfortably introduce technology into the classroom. How do we overcome this? Even when professional development does happen, the new teacher stated that she doesn’t have time to reflect upon this new knowledge and then she quickly forgets it before she has a chance to try it out with her students. Unfortunately, some teachers do not see the value in technology use and therefore, refuse to integrate it into their daily lessons. I think the best way to overcome this is to start with the teacher education programs. I think these programs should be integrating technology into all of the courses offered. Each year, new teachers will be graduating ready and excited to use technology in their new classrooms. Most of the teacher candidates in video 8 spoke positively about technology use in the classroom stating that it creates more engaged learning, helps visual learners see the process, and helps ESL and struggling learners.
Many teachers are very excited to integrate technology into their classrooms, but others still see it as a hindrance. How can we change this? What can we do to better support these teachers? Should we focus on the teachers who are interested in hopes that this will “snowball” and get others excited once they see positive examples of technology use? Is it fair that some students are able to explore some of their conceptual misconceptions with technology and others are not?
Hi Nicole,
Great post! You have asked some great questions about the integration of technology and the hesitation that some teachers feel using it.
You asked ‘What can we do to better support these teachers? Should we focus on the teachers who are interested in hopes that this will “snowball” and get others excited once they see positive examples of technology use’?
In my response to Amanda, the idea of a change in mind-shift needs to occur. This is not something that we can persuade others to use. Educators who are hesitant with technology need to understand and come to the conclusion that technology can be a wonderful asset in their classroom and a great tool for learning for their students. We can definitely help teachers who are facing technology-related issues and offer our own knowledge but ultimately it is up to the teacher to want to explore and implement technology. I was talking to my administrator and she said the same thing; it needs to be the teacher’s call and no one else’s’. In my school, there are at least 6 smart boards in classrooms that are not being used at all; this would be a great tool especially to show things visually. What a difference it would make, for example, in a math lesson. Students would be able to see different parts of the math problem and how it is broken down.
Is it fair that some students are able to explore some of their conceptual misconceptions with technology and others are not?
It is definitely not fair for some students to have access to technology while others are wanting to use and yet have no access to it. Technology is a great way to personalize learning and make learning fun. For example, a great way to explore misconceptions with certain topics is utilizing gamification, game-based learning, interactive online resources, virtual field trips, etc. Every student learns at their own speed and by using technology, if students have mastered current concepts they can challenge themselves and skip ahead in their learning while others may need more time to thoroughly understand. Technology can provide opportunities for disabled students as well; having DragonSpeak, ISpeak etc can encourage learners to express and communicate in ways that were not possible before. It is unfortunate that some students experience these things and others do not.
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for such a succinct and reflective post. What resonates with me is your question of how do we inspire greater adoption of technology in the classroom. You mention one solution rests in greater instruction during the teacher education program. I would completely agree with you on this. I think the focus should be less on the technical elements of technology integration; as we all know technology evolves so fast it is often challenging to stay on top of it all. Far more importantly, in my opinion, is to develop a culture of digital curiosity where every teacher, regardless of their level of proficiency, is encouraged to experiment with at least one educational technology. For some, it may be to use Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word, for others, it could be much more complex. Regardless, teachers should be expected to play, experiment and explore educational technologies and be given opportunities to share their experiences with one and other. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Great ideas!
I think you’re on the right track. Technology is constantly changing so it wouldn’t be helpful for the education program to focus on the types of technology, but rather allow the students to explore and begin to feel comfortable in the “uncomfortable” stage of not being an expert. I think so often teachers believe that they have to know everything, instead of embracing the opportunities where we get to learn from our students.
Hi Nicole,
We actually choose to watch the same videos and, after reading your post, have seen that some of our points are very similar! You’ve asked some insightful questions that made me think more deeply about the videos that I watched.
Your questions about focusing on teachers who are interested and being optimistic that
technology use will catch on is interesting. The junior school that I currently teach in is grades 3-6 and is attached to the high school that starts in grade 7 and goes through to graduation. At the start of this year, the high school introduced a mandatory BYOD scheme. As you can imagine, this was met with various levels of enthusiasm (or lack there of!) by teachers. It was explained to the teachers as they can take on what they want with it and there would be a high level of support. With this in mind, some teachers have gone completely paperless – textbooks, lessons, homework and feedback are all done online. Alternatively, others simply have their class submit their assignments online. I think the benefits of this is that it hasn’t been forced upon anyone and people do, at the moment, what they are comfortable with. There is also lunchtime drop in support sessions for teachers. Admittedly, this scheme is made easier as we are fortunate enough to have an excellent IT department at school who are available to troubleshoot. It’s not quite clear how successful this scheme has been as of yet but I am completing my interview for next with the Director of Studies who initiated this scheme – so watch this space!
Your question about fairness of some students having greater exposure and access to technology depending on their teachers comfort level is one I struggle with. I notice this at the moment with the other grade 6 teacher I work with. I am by no means an expert and I am more than happy to help support, but find it frustrating when they never try what we’ve done on their own – this is such an important way to learn!. I feel for the students who hear about exciting tech projects happening in other classrooms but don’t always get the chance to explore it themselves. However, I’m at a loss as to how to change this but agree teacher education is a great start!
Thanks for the thought provoking post!
Kathryn
Thanks for your responses everyone,
I am sharing a laptop cart with 10 grade 7 classrooms. As you can imagine, it gets tricky to schedule technology use. There are no “teachable moments” that can happen as you have to book it ahead of time. What I find even more frustrating is that there are 3 classrooms that NEVER sign out the cart. They use absolutely no technology with their students. I feel bad for these students as I feel that we are doing them a disservice. I am not an expert by any means and my students and I are always learning together (most of the time I’m the one learning new things), but I think it needs to be seen as important.
As Sabrina stated, the teacher has to be the one to see the importance of integrating technology. I am also at a loss!
Kathryn, I just read your post and yes, we had some very similar ideas and take aways from the videos. Nice to share ideas with you.
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
I also watched the same videos as I teach upper elementary grades as well!
I agree with you that teacher education programs need to integrate technology within their programs. I’m thinking back to my program at UBC, and we did use some technology for some of our courses which was great as I was able to transfer those skills during my practicum. I learned how to use iMovie and this was very valuable as my students use iMovie for their projects, so I am able to support them during technical difficulties. I do believe that the snowball effect can work because it will inspire others to try and explore. I think it’s important to start small and to not overwhelm teachers when they are watching examples of integrating technology. I also think there needs to be opportunities within the school day to provide collaborative time where teachers can connect and not during their own time. At our school we try to have once a week lunch hour where teachers can share ideas, but this is during teacher’s own time. Does your school have collaborative blocks where teachers get time to work together?
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for your response. At my previous school we had 3 blocks a week where all the teachers who taught the same grades met to discuss curriculum, assessment, student issues and technology ( we could talk about pretty much anything we wanted to). It was extremely valuable, but a timetabling nightmare.
However, at my new school we are not provided with any time to collaborate. All of the grade 7 teachers have different preps. We have a team meeting once a month, but this is either scheduled on our lunch or after school. Usually these meetings consist of us talking about scheduling events (Intramurals, field trips, etc.). Since we have 10 teachers that teach grade 7, I’m not sure how they could find release time for all of us at once though?
I really miss the collaboration at my last school.
Nicole