For my interview I spoke with a friend who has recently graduated from his bachelor of education program at UVIC and has a gotten a job as a substitute teacher with the North Vancouver School board. He has teaches secondary level PE and Science courses. As a new teacher I thought it would be a great opportunity to discuss how his experience being taught how to use technology in the science classroom compares with the reality of using technology in the classroom.
While our conversation inevitably deviated from this route, I found that he had a number of interesting insights about the reality of teaching with technology
Purpose
Alex described his inquiry project where they had to ask a specific question bout instruction and technology and then develop. Is technology useful and what are the problems around using technology and how can these be solved. Within the scope of this project he researched a number of different apps that could be used within the classroom. He was specifically draw to the virtual dissection apps as they solved a specific need inside of the classroom – the removal of live/real dissections from the curriculum. The way that Alex saw it is that these apps provided him with a tool to be able to provide a simulated experience to his students. In many ways he found that these simulations would be more beneficial than the real thing as they provided students with a standardized experience. However he also found real challenges in using this sort of technology as many of the existing lesson plans that align with provincial curriculum don’t fit or align with the content that the virtual dissections highlight or use. So Alex found that in many cases while the tech itself had implicit value, it would take a significant rewriting of lesson plans to make using some of these tools useful or valuable. It brought to mind the importance of establishing purpose before choosing the technology
Preparation
One of the considerations that Alex pointed out a number of times in our conversation was the importance of preparation when it came to using any tech in his courses. Alex introduced me to a quizzing app called Kahoot that he and a number of other in service teachers use across North Vancouver. Alex uses this tool mostly for lesson review. I was interested in hearing if he was able to use it or other tools like it in a more improvised scenario, for example launching a quiz in a middle of a lesson to make sure that everyone was on the same page or to re-engage a distracted/unmotivated classroom. However Alex was quick to point out the importance of preparation. That the questions that he uses through this tool are carefully thought out to review specific content within the lesson and that this is aligned with the lesson plan. This makes sense, with the number of variables coming at teachers within the classroom, preparation is key. However I am wondering how this response would differ after a couple more years of experience in the classroom!
Distraction
Finally we talked about how he has overcome some of the challenges in the classroom that he has faced when using technology. Specifically those students that are distracted by the temptation of the multiverse that is the Internet; Accessing games, social media, news, etc. when they should be focusing on the assigned task. As we all know this is one of the real challenges faced by any educator when introducing a internet capable device into the classroom. Alex talked about how these tools don’t have any limiters placed on them, no browser lockdowns, etc. that could help police students use. Rather he finds he wanders the classroom catching students and having to close down distractor windows himself (not the best use of his time). Alex solution when the classroom is getting out of hand with distractions is to remove the distractor. Saying if they are not actually using the technology/tool for the purpose that it was intended then they don’t need to use it at all. While this is certainly a strategy I wonder if he is missing the real cause, that students are not engaged in the activity that they are using the tool for? Is this less an indicator of classroom management and more an indicator of a lesson that needs to be re-tooled?
One final thing that Alex brought up in this interview that I thought was interesting was the impact that school budgets and administration decisions have on what he is able to do in the classroom. Alex used an example of a school that had the budget to purchase new technology in the classroom. The decision was between tablets or laptops. Each tool has their own benefits and draw backs, the decision to go either way will limit what teachers can do in the classroom. Some of the strategies don’t play well on laptop (think AR/VR) or on a tablet (word processing). So at a very high level the technology that is available within your school can shape how you teach in the classroom.
Hi Kari,
Interesting to read about technology integration from the perspective of a new teacher who recently graduated. One thing that stuck out to me was the feeling of needing to be prepared, and the idea of using pre-planned lessons. Of course, we all want to have our lesson plans before starting class, but to follow them step by step all the way through would be impossible for every lesson. I find that some of the greatest experiences are the ones that happen that you haven’t planned. I love when a student asks a question that sparks a discussion and mini-inquiry, and enjoy using those experiences as small teachable moments when you divert away from your planned lesson.
I love Kahoot, but one app I have used that has been helpful to do a quick ‘check-in’ in the middle of a lesson is Plickers. It allows to you very quickly assess students and find out where students understanding is and if they are following the lesson or not.
I would be interested to see if and how Alex’s perspective about planning and technology changes as he gains more classroom experience.
Thanks for your post,
Sarah
Hi Kari.
What an awesome idea to interview a new teacher. I was particularly intrigued by your findings highlighting the importance of establishing a purpose before choosing the technology.
While conducting my own interview, I did ask my co-worker his process in planning out a unit with integrating technology. His recommendation was to identify the skill (for example, researching using a Google search engine) that you are looking to teach with technology before actually choosing the content. I will admit that this was a different technique then I was used to but as I reflected it made sense. When I asked for clarification, he stated that content is fluid, and can be attached once you know the skill you are striving to teach.
I wonder if this is a distinction between elementary and highschool. As an elementary teacher, we have a number of subject areas to pull from and incorporate with technology. For a high school teacher (please correct me if I am wrong), I would assume the options are a little more limited and it is important to identify the content first. Am I way off the mark?
Shayla
Hey Kari,
What a great interview, and nice to here from a teacher that is fresh out of university. I agree with Sarah that Kahoot is fantastic. I use it in my classroom on a weekly basis.
While I am only a handful of years ahead of Alex in terms of experience, I do use Kahoot in the ways you suggested. If I feel I a class is not understanding, I will often pull up a 3-5 question Kahoot to gauge where the understanding is at. If the class seems overwhelmed/distracted, I will then follow up that Kahoot with a short 3-5 question fun quiz on princesses or animals.
I have had the benefit of teaching the same grade for a number of years, so I have a solid understanding of how the curriculum scales, and how a specific lesson fits into the bigger picture. Without this, I would definitely agree with Alex that the questions should be chosen much more intentionally.
In terms of distractions, the issues faced by Alex are definitely not anomalies. My students routinely ask if they can listen to music while they work on different assignments. However, I only let them do this about 2 times per year because when I do, the majority of the class uses 75% of their time browsing Youtube looking for the next ‘perfect’ song. I find there is such a balance in teaching students to use the devices responsibly, and restricting their access to different things. A balance usually comes out in my favour, but is still an ongoing process.
Hi Kari, I can relate to your post somewhat as one of the discussion points I had during my interview was a distraction. I like the way you started your post by mentioning how there is an expectation of the use of technology in a classroom whereas the reality may be different from it. My teacher that I interviewed was using a “flip-classroom” teaching technique and she had to drop that teaching technique altogether just because students were getting distracted by the technology and not doing what they were supposed to be doing. It is disappointing to see how some teachers may drop the idea of using technology altogether if they think it causes a distraction for their students. However, I just want to mention that it is a real problem where students get distracted and go off-task just during the use of technology in a classroom. An anecdote that I would like to share here with everyone, I remember using Kahoot in my classroom last year when I was teaching and it is a great tool for a quick quiz or just to introduce a unit even. I remember the biggest task for me was to get everybody to sign in without having a funny/inappropriate Kahoot name on the screen. Even though Kahoot itself removes inappropriate names but students find ways to do inappropriate things. I agree that it is a challenge to make sure that technology is not used as a tool for distraction, rather a tool that will enhance learning in our classrooms. Overall, great post!