Written by Over the past few years the most common comment that I have heard about why teachers aren’t using more technology or why they are not comfortable using technology, is because they don’t have the time. I think that a lot of people automatically assume that in order to incorporate technology into their classroom it is going to some how consume a lot of their own time – in learning how to use the tool, to designing meaningful uses for it, to teaching the kids how to do it. The truth is it can consume a lot of your own time and I will be the first to admit that I have invested a lot of time into learning about the uses of technology in education, but it doesn’t have to. In fact, I would argue that many uses of technology can actually help you and your students to use your time more effectively.
One of the lessons that I have learned in trying to share my passion for the meaningful use of technology is that technology cannot just be “another thing” that teacher have to “cover“. Teachers need to see that technology can be incorporated into lessons meaningfully so that students are able to do things that cannot be done without the use of technology. Technology shouldn’t be used for the sake of using technology, it should be used because it allows us to do things that without it are not possible or more challenging without its use.
One thing that I have realized is that I am very fortunate to work in a school that recognizes the value of technology and provides teachers with access to great resources and professional development funding. As a result there are many great things happening with the use of technology around the school; however, I don’t think that there is enough sharing happening between colleagues in order to facilitate a deeper conversation.
For my action plan, I would like to investigate ways to highlight innovative uses of technology that are happening already in my division or department. By showing every other the great things that are already happening, I think that it would serve as a catalyst for continued conversation and create a collaborative learning community. It would also provide some information regarding what types of technology are being used most effectively, who could provide assistance in specific areas, and any gaps that may exist. The challenge is to do this in a way that is not time consuming, for all parties. I also think that parents and prospective families would find this information useful to get a better idea of the things that are happening on a daily basis in our classrooms.
I feel that this would be effective because the most useful learning that I have done with technology is when someone personally (face-to-face, or virtually) has shown me a specific tool and examples of how to incorporate it effectively. Even if the specific example is not applicable to my current situation, it is much easier for me to understand how I could effectively utilize the tool having seen an authentic use for it. Also, it would help to make us more aware of what types of tools teachers in other grades/departments are using that students may have already had exposure to.
If you have interesting ways of highlighting innovative uses of technology happening in your school/department/division, I would be interested to hear about them.
Hi Marcie,
This is a great area to focus on and I look forward to seeing what comes of it. When I was showing a colleague how Diigo worked in the staff room the other day, she commented that our school used to have whole school “carousel PD learning” where teachers who had learned about an educational best practice in outside PD or were doing something interesting in their classroom could share with others who chose to attend their session. They presented 4 times, and I believe this took place over a morning during the August PD week. I think it was the Junior and Senior school heads who requested presenters to whom they had granted PD funding over the previous year. Hope this helps, even if it wasn’t firsthand information!
Hi Marcie,
I agree with Jen in that this is a great area to focus on because it is school-wide, and it really does have a ‘celebratory’ side to it! Who doesn’t love that!
I think that you should engage your administration on this to see what areas exist for this type of carousel, as Jen alluded to above. I think that by sprinkling a few presentation throughout the year, and even making them department specific would be the best approach. For example, in Oct., you could see what is happening in the Maths department, and they could showcase to the whole staff the work that they are doing.
All of this will go towards BUILDING CAPACITY behind adopting a positive and engaging disposition to technology, and not, as you say, just another add-on for teachers.
At Greenwood, we have some presentations in our weekly staff meeting; however, on piece that I am working on is the creation of videos so that we can archive the great work that is being done and create a ‘library’ (if you will) of the work. That might be something to look into?
I look forward to you updates!
garth.
Thanks Garth and Jen. I know that last year they tried the “carousel” approach in the Upper School with each department presenting once during the year, but the Lower School teachers did not attend those meetings. I will have to find out what the response was to those meetings and if they are still happening this year.