In my previous post I mentioned that effective use of technology in math and science should be used to enhance student learning and not be used to keep students “busy”. There should be specific objectives and a purpose for why technology is being used within the classroom.
Watching Teacher S in Learning Environment 5, she demonstrated an effective use of technology. She was very comfortable using it and mentioned that her class is “part of a team”. They are able to work together effectively and obtain good results and demonstrate their understanding. The students work together as part of project based learning which creates opportunities for collaboration and creativity. Teacher S also mentioned that her students are “tech savy” and typically troubleshoot and figure things out. She mentioned that a challenge is the language barrier with ELL students, but with using technology this helps to break this barrier. The students were excited and showed great interest and pride in their learning.
The retiring teacher discussed how she gets “extremely frustrated”, “doesn’t have knowledge” and “doesn’t have time to use the computer”. She mentions that her students know what they are doing and she often relies on them to teach and help each other. She mentions that she isn’t comfortable and requires time to practice. In my previous post, I discussed how professional development is great for educators to attend, but most require time to practice and explore. Thinking about myself, I find that I attend amazing professional development opportunities but don’t have time to practice/explore and I am very comfortable using technology, so I can completely understand how this teacher felt. An example from my work is one of my colleagues was close to retiring when our team was involved in an iPad inquiry project. She shared the same views as the retiring teacher. What really helped was our team would plan weekly lunch collaborative meetings to teach her and let her explore so she could learn and ask questions. The new teacher in the video also discusses how she collaborates with her classroom neighbour when she chooses to integrate technology. She also finds there isn’t enough time to practice and believes the teachers should receive training in pre-service courses. At our school we have had weekly “tech” lunches where teachers can drop by and share how they are using and integrating technology within their class and it’s an opportunity for educators to collaborate and practice.
In Case 8 (Learning Environment with Teacher E) it was great to see how the pre-service teachers were practicing with Slowmation and learning the value of it for students when comparing it to a textbook. They mentioned that it’s engaging for learners, visually appealing and works well for including ELL students.
I believe schools should collectively work together so everyone is comfortable using and integrating technology within their practice as we know it has value-added. I believe it can be a simple as a weekly drop-in lunch sessions where educators practice, share and collaborate. It worked well at my school and was supported by admin.
Dear Amanda,
Indeed, time is a limited resource. This has domino effects on planning time. Teachers already invest their weekend times to plan and collaborate. Coupled with time for behavioral management, teachers rarely have time to fully assuage both academic and non-academic concerns.
These comments from retiring teachers reflect the idea that educators have to be experts. However, the current notion about the role of teachers have changed. Rather, teachers are companions in learning. Nonetheless, educators should explore the technology so they can better guide and support students’ use of technology.
Although pre-service training should include some courses about educational technology. However, given the rapid change of the landscape technological tools, it will be insufficient regardless of how up-to-date the courses are. Perhaps another plausible solution may be that the administrative team should recongize the need to add more planning and practice time for teachers. Given your example, do the teachers feel like they have sufficient planning and practice time?
Alice
Hi Alice,
Thank you for your comments.
Even though there are lunch meetings where teachers can attend, I don’t think the teachers feel they have sufficient planning and practice time. As you mentioned teacher are extremely busy and overwhelmed with daily tasks as well as dealing with behavioral incidents, parent meetings etc., so adding another item on the list during their personal lunch time is hard for many. It does help and is a start but it would be great to see teachers receive time during instructional hours where our classes would be covered by TOCs and we get time to collaborate and explore!
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for your post- I completely agree with both you and Alice as well, time is a valuable and limited resource, essential for getting comfortable with any new technology. It’s amazing that your school found a way to incorporate your technology meetings/info sessions into a time where everyone gathers and chats regardless. Having it as optional during lunch time
seems like an optimal way to slowly get more people excited and talking about good implementation. I assume that if they see others asking questions, it feels less daunting to be “the only one” who has a question or a technical problem.
Thanks for sharing!
Amanda