Working with the public, school board, administration, and teaching staff all differ from working with students in many ways. In other words, these school communities are all different playing fields with the same goal in mind, which is to increase student learning.
Administration and the school board are important links to integrating technology into our schools and it is paramount they support this move. It is the technology integrator’s job to show proof that a particular technology can increase learning in our schools. Teachers are to collaborate and learn from one another on the best possible ways to educate our students. Now here is the difference: while dealing with students, it’s the teacher’s job to promote learning. The teacher now plays the middleman between student and the technology coordinator. It is the instructor’s job to provide the students with the tools they need to promote learning and then sell the school community on the students needs. Retrieving proof through a student-centered classroom is an avenue in obtaining this evidence while instructors interact with the students and establish relationships, keeping in mind the diversity of a 21st century learner. Knowing the different learning styles and needs will increase your justification on how and why we need to integrate a particular tool. This is where universal design for learning, (UDL), can be used. UDL is not just about bringing in technology tools. King Sears (2009) says, “UDL is not defined solely by the integration of technology. It is important to note that the concept is about redesigning pedagogy for all learners, not about which current digital tools are integrated”. It is vital that the public, school board, administration, and teaching staff collaborate and share with one another the 2.0 tools that are working in the UDL framework. The individual is the best assessor of the effectiveness of each digital tool or technological accommodation since regardless of what the research says if it is not effective for a given individual, and then another tool should be substituted.
There are many obstacles in technology integration. I’ll touch on a few. First would be money. We all have heard this and/or said it ourselves that there is no money for technology. Second would be lack of administration, colleague support and parent’s lack of experience in the use of technology. We all know that teacher who would rather use a dry-erase board than use a Promethium board. Integrating technology into schools does not always mean you have to spend money. There are free tech tools at our disposal. Be creative with what we have and use these tools as much as possible. There are several free technology tools on the Internet. For example: web 2.0 such as virtual field trips, WebQuests, and promethium planet, etc.
Reference:
King-Sears, M. (2009). Universal design for learning: Technology and pedagogy.
Learning Disability
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2004). Understanding by design: Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Apple Computer, Inc. (1995). Changing the conversation about
Teaching, learning, & technology: A report on 10 years of
ACOT research. Cupertino, CA: Apple Computers, Inc.
EDU-640-X2379 (2013) INTEGRATING DIGITAL TECH I
13TW2 (EDU-640-X2379_13TW2) LEARNINGMODULES
> MODULE ONE > MODULE RESOURCES 2013
You make some great points. But, lets imagine a bit. I'll be "that" teacher who resists technology. How would you encourage, or teach me that technology can be easy to use and can enhance learning, and provide differentiated opportunities? Similarly, I'll be "that" parent who thinks technology has no place in school. How do you convince me that technology is helpful and can enrich education? I brought up a similar idea that data will solve all. But, numbers and stats may not solve all. How can we really prove that these tools are valuable?
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned Mike, “Administrators should walk the walk”. As people of action, leaders should recognize that words alone would not motivate staff members to use technology. An effective leader empowers each educator by instilling technology to discover the best use of it. Educational leaders witness more success with helping colleagues to become technology literate if they plan to side step the human factors-fear and frustration. All too often leaders bring the challenge for new technology use but mistakenly introduce it as some professional homework for teachers to master. Just as leaders adapt to change and reconfigure mindsets accordingly, teachers must also be shown that they can be in control and not adversely affected by it. By exemplifying “a high touch caring approach to introduce change”, a leader will see more enduring success and is steps closer to accomplishing the vision (Polka, 2000). The combination of data and information may not necessarily advance our knowledge; however, using information and technology can collectively develop knowledge to gain insights into the realm of wisdom (Mendis, 2005).
ReplyDeleteMendis, Patrick. (2005) “Leadership Aspects of Integrated Learning with
Technology in Democratic Environments.” Academic Leadership: (vol.1(2):
http://www.academicleadership.org/volume1/issue2/articles/mendis.html.
Polka, Walter S. (April 2000): “High Tech, High Touch.” School Administrator1-7.
www.findarticles.com.
"“UDL is not defined solely by the integration of technology. It is important to note that the concept is about redesigning pedagogy for all learners, not about which current digital tools are integrated”. It is vital that the public, school board, administration, and teaching staff collaborate and share with one another the 2.0 tools that are working in the UDL framework. " Yes, I agree. It is through the teaching process, teaching to all students, which is most important. It is never about the tool, but it is always about the learning.
ReplyDeleteWe can only do our best as teachers to model technology use in the classroom. If you do not have the support of your administration, it does make it terribly difficult to do this. It really starts small with the teacher, but if the right channels are followed, showing some success stories, and showing how the new common core standards are completely infused with technology, I am sure the administrators and school board will soon buy in. They want their schools to do well. It is so true.. so many free ways to integrate technology into the classroom. Many kids have their own computers sitting right in their pockets and they are not afraid to type a whole paper by texting it! More and more I am seeing schools adopting the byod programs but it is a slow movement. It is really hard to measure what a student is learning and what has to do with the technology used or otherwise. That is why a case for technology use in schools is not as solid as we might like.
Jason, you wrote, " Administration and the school board are important links to integrating technology into our schools and it is paramount they support this move." It reminded me of something that happened at our staff meeting last week. Our admin team was attempting to illustrate a way they had learned to use technology in the classroom that they had learned about at a principal's inservice. The suggestions that were made were either all things that were currently being done regularly in our school or worse some were against our student usage policies dictated by the district. We sat there with our jaws on the ground. It was rather disheartening. I'm happy to say that our media/tech specialist COMPLETELY called them on it, which made us all feel a little better. Integrating technology into our schools can be an uphill battle at times!
ReplyDeleteA technology integrators job is to provide proof that technology increases learning in our school systems. If a technology integrator is unable to support this theory, and provide proof to administration, school boards and teachers; than there is little reason to integrate technology into the classroom. Many teacher’s who are weary of using technology in the classroom, are often able to be convinced to incorporate technology due to the benefits and advantages for students. Within my own school system I have been able to increase technology in many classrooms, even some areas such as gym, music and art. By providing teachers with resources and technology that are available these teachers are able to integrate technology into their own classroom due to already having resources that are proven to be effective in the classroom. Showing teachers how these skills can increase learning and production while also making classroom activities more meaningful and fun, allows for students to have higher comprehension, and allows teachers to implement new skills and resources to better appeal to the needs of all students.
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