Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Training Teachers to Integrate Instructional Technology
Training Teachers to Use Instructional Technology
Every year, it
seems, there is a stronger push for integrating technology in education.
It is no different at my school. This
year teachers were provided with new touch-screen laptops that could be taken
in and out of the classroom, home, and to training sessions. Our
campus received Chromebooks, Kindle Fire tablets, and new HP laptops. Our
campus also uses interactive white boards and projectors, drawing pads, iPads,
and has three computer labs. Our district also has the “Bring Your Own
Device” initiative, where students are encouraged to use their own technology
when deemed necessary and appropriate for learning in the classroom.
Every year, for the last three years, it has been my job to encourage the use
of technology. And ever year, teachers seem reluctant to try my
suggestions. Their excuses include: students abuse technology, students
steal technology, students damage technology, and “I don’t want to be held
responsible." I usually get, “its just too much trouble to keep up with."
Well, these excuses
are not good reasons. It is vital
that students, as well as teachers, use technology in the classroom.
The problem is not that people have failed to address the importance of
technology, but the advantages that teachers will experience, once they take
the time to learn and set up the necessary parameters for the correct
application and integration of the technology, is not being seen. Roblyer and Doering in Integrated Educational
Technology Into Teaching (2013), cite instructional technology is "the
subset of educational technology that deals directly with teaching and learning
applications" (p. 422). We must help teachers understand how to use
technology, but even more importantly, we must help them learn to integrate it
effectively. NEA is cited by Burns (2010), “Many teachers report that the instruction they receive in technology
integration, whether online or face-to-face, is still too focused on learning
how to use the software versus integrating it into the teaching and learning
process." This year our professional training was focused on how to
integrate technology to address issues on our campus. Our campus has
already had a professional learning session on how to use our new ThinkPad
touch-screen laptops. It was followed by a session on how to integrate a
few aspects of the ThinkPad to classroom teaching. Upcoming professional
learning development days will continue to take place. As cited in Mark
Smith's article on technology integration, “You
can spend all the money you want on hardware, software, and infrastructure, but
unless you train teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum — which
is not the same thing as training teachers to use computers — you've wasted
every dime you've spent.” We must continue searching out ways to
balance “how to use” technology training with “how to integrate” technology
training. Teachers may have an arsenal of technology at their fingertips,
but without proper training, students are the ones that suffer the
consequences.
We must, for the sake of our students,
whether they are in elementary school, middle school, or high school, or even
in higher-learning institutions, learn to use technology, teach technology and
promote correct application and integration of technology. Most districts have technology
specialist that are available for training people how to use technology.
There are also personnel who help teachers in the classroom by training
students to use technology to successfully accomplish the tasks that teachers
challenge them with in an effort to integrate technology. I notice a
learning curve with older teachers on our campus. They are open to learn,
but they have a precious limited resource called time that keeps them from
making a commitment. No matter what the reason may be, we must continue to gap
the curve, and change the course and overview of our technology training to
take advantage of new technology. Ultimately, the difference it will make
in our students educational and vocational careers will make us glad we made
the commitment.
References:
Roblyer, M., & Doering, A. (2013). Educational Technology in Context: The Big Picture. In Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Burns, M. (2010, September 1). Elearn Magazine: How to Help Teachers Use Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1865476
Smith, M. (n.d.). Strategies That Work. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=60
Check Out These Websites for Additional Information on Technology Integration in Education:
http://www.educationworld.comCheck Out These Websites for Additional Information on Technology Integration in Education:
http://www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.edtechmagazine.com
http://www.academia.edu
http://www.edutopia.org
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