Friday, December 3, 2010

Technology and Teachers




Educational technology has become a driving force in the classroom over the past decade. It is unquestionable that whatever aspect of education you may find yourself in, it is often difficult to catch up, keep up, and put up with fast-moving technology which we are expected to use on a daily basis.  Today, not only do we use computers, but there are countless other technology gadgets at our finger tips; we have cell phones that can work wonders, motion sensor technology, and electronic books among others. Currently, most educators use a variety of tools-including video, e-mail, desktop conferencing, online programs as well as video conferencing-to teach. Consequently, it is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate. As computer and associated technologies continue to change and evolve, educators must continue to strive for excellence in their work. Today, that includes continued time and effort to maintain and improve their technology skills. Unfortunately in this day and age some teachers still do not accept change easily and many schools find it difficult to get teachers to invest time in the use of some of these technologies even though the benefits outweigh time invested.

Having checked out Will Robinson's blog post (URGENT: 21st Century Skills for Educators (and Others) First), I totally agree with his comment, "how in god’s name can we talk seriously about 21st Century skills for kids if we’re not talking 21st Century skills for educators first?".  As I reflect on the horizon report with these countless new and emerging technology I cant help being in total agreement. One of my fears is that as educators we are not ready for some of these technologies, and it is my opinion that some of us won’t be ready until we receive some formal training and even then there is no guarantee that we will totally get it.

It should not be ok to allow teachers to play catch-up with today’s technology especially with the pressures of accountability and No Child Left Behind mandate. The reality is that  as teachers many of our philosophies talk about being “life long learners”, and how we want to develop our students drive for learning and exploring, but are we doing that for ourselves?. It is my view that we become total hypocrites if we put on a facade for our students and parents about the importance of learning new things when we ourselves refuse to trod the waters.
Scott McLeod's slide which states "Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children's future, is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate digital technologies into their instruction" poses an interesting question; the fact is that we already don’t have a choice. No child left behind has already outlined this fact; it is expected that teachers use technology and know about these technology to enhance student learning. How then can we be effective if some are able to choose not to use technology?

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in a conference with my school principal to discuss the new appraisal instrument used for assessment of teachers; high on the list is the use of technology in classroom. I was informed that a PowerPoint presentation was not seen as “accomplished or proficient” on the scale but was in fact “developing” (the lower end of the scale). In other words we need to be moving far beyond the basic and start engaging our students with the use of current technology. Hence, the technology must be in the hands of the students, and yes we need to know how to use it.

With that said I also believe that faculty development is a critical component of any technology plan.  School district and administrators should establish partnerships for assessing and delivering effective technology training to assist educators as they help students achieve high academic standards. It is their job to provide professional development strategies that ensures staff knows how to use new technologies to improve education.  Professional Development training is the general method of increasing this knowledge and as such must be included in the schools tech plan. I am well aware that there are of course self learners of technology, that given resources and opportunity are able to manipulate the use of various technology and learn as they go, but what about the majority? Should this be left up to chance?

 I am not saying we should just sit around and wait for training… after all we should be driven enough to want to learn about these new technologies; but there must be some formal training developed within the school to assist teachers in carrying out the best possible instruction using technology with their students. Many are of the view that it is not the technology that should be of importance but the teacher. There is no doubt that there are many excellent teachers who can achieve the goal of having students pass the “state exams” without using “advanced technology”, the question is, is this the only thing that school is about, getting students to pass exams?

John Dewey (1859-1952) suggests that all decisions about education should be made within the context of the society. In other words, the society of the 21st Century is ever evolving in the use of technology and so as educators we too must be evolving in its use if we are truly to prepare our students for taking their place the wider society.

6 comments:

  1. As I was reading your post, I realize that my post was so similar to yours in so many ways. I too believe that teachers need to get training on their own but I still believe that in order to ensure that they get adequate training, the schools need to do their part too. Do not leave things to chance. I believe it is a two way street. Training for our teachers have to be continuous, whether it is done at the school level or otherwise or else it will not make much sense to the learners. All of this is mainly done for our students, and no teacher want their students to know more than them regardless of what we say, so even if it takes us to get the training on our own, we better step up to the plate or else.... Great post!!!!

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  2. I have to agree with this statement..."it is my opinion that some of us won’t be ready until we receive some formal training and even then there is no guarantee that we will totally get it." Some teachers, (though many would tell them they are an excellent teachers) in plain english, is just not tech savvy. I do know as a teacher you should be able to adopt, yadi yadi yaa, but are they really terrible teachers if they cant use all these tech gagets and web tools in there classroom? I'm just wondering....
    You made some good points!

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  3. Not only do we need to receive technology courses but also to be trained and become very skillful, with passion, using electronic devices in the classroom and at home. Very Good Post!

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  4. I agree with Jamaican girl's last comment,there are many teachers specially old ones that they get great results in the classroom and they do not use that much technology, as teachers and future leaders we will deal with this kind of teachers what we will do fire them just because they do not want to get the training or use their skills and experience and pair them with a new technology teachers so both can be a good team.

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  5. I totally agree with you a little bit of both self instruction as well as formal professional development will strike a good balance.

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  6. "It is my view that we become total hypocrites if we put on a facade for our students and parents about the importance of learning new things when we ourselves refuse to trod the waters." Great comment! I had to chuckle about setting Uses Powerpoint as developmental...so many college professors think that if they use powerpoint, they have "integrated technology" into their learning.

    This weekend, I was visiting my family in Georgia. My sister-in-law is completing her Masters in Education and is student teaching in a third grade classroom. It has a smartboard, but she was told she would not be trained on how to use it. An interesting message to give someone just starting out...

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