Making Good Change Happen
This is a very good explanation for why schools have stalled in integrating technology. They have put all their money into equipment and hook-ups but not into the real need. Teachers and staff need to be trained, supported, and held accountable in their uses of technology. Teachers will not use technology until they buy into its power as a tool for learning. Many teachers don't see how technology can help them teach the state standards. When you try and make a program work you run into another problem: teachers are use to programs coming and going. They passively play along until the pressure if off and go back to the old and unchanged strategies. If teachers buy in, see how effective it is, and feel confident with technology then they will use it. It is up to schools to prioritise this, without it being just another trend in education or some other canned program.
2 comments:
Good point! We are given some great technological tools, but not the training we need to implement them. It is difficult to decide which to complete first, the training or the technology? I believe if the equipment is implemented first and then the training, it would make sense. If you're trained before you get the technology, most likely, you will forget how to use it. Maybe the time of training is coming!
Part of the problem with training is that technology changes so fast. So often I hear teachers say they just want to learn how to use something like a Smartboard (ie turn it on, what buttons to push, etc..) but in 5 years, that is going to change. While there is certainly a training to use aspect that is needed, there needs to be an overall view that we're going to work with teachers on how to use the tools in the classroom so that the professional development does not become outdated as fast as the technology.
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