Part 3 - When NOT to Use Technology: The Nitty Gritty
“Cutting -edge technology is as perishable as a truckload of ripe bananas;
it’s worth a fortune today, but if not used quickly, it becomes worthless.”
William Knoke, Bold New World (1996)
It seems that the theme of faculty training is the key of the positive technology experience … for faculty and students. A major goal of technology needs to be training. The training of faculty needs to be in a time and cost efficient manner. If training is solely in a technical manner we lead the teacher astray and they may miss the point of enhancing student learning.
Technology change is rapid and to expect faculty to keep up is unrealistic. So how can the upgrading of tech skills and increase without reducing time for teachers to focus on their discipline, teaching, and research activities?
1. Emphasize good teaching, not good technology. Promote and teach “pedagogy-based” technology workshops, which focus on good teaching practices and on the design and implementation of technology-mediated courses. Remember to keep the main thing, the main thing … good solid teaching. Develop a team of tech leaders to help solve the “tech problems” within the schools. It not only empowers the schools to take control of their technology, but also allows the Tech Department more time for Integration. A technology department needs to put “student engagement” and “professional development for teachers” at the top of their priorities.
2. Focus training on application not construction. Help the teacher to understand how a given program may help enhance their presentation.
3. Make product development a team effort. Develop a tech plan that is based on the needs of the teachers and students. Allow the teacher to focus on what they do best and have the technology facilitators do what they do best, help the teacher choose the appropriate technology to use for presentation.
4. Bring more training to the teacher, not the teacher to the training. We already personalize student learning by differentiating our teaching styles. If training is personalized and tailored for each teacher what will occur is more effective technology integration along with more meaningful learning by the student. Create teams of teachers that meet for professional development in technology on a regular basis.
5. Celebrate the success stories of teachers’ use of technology in the classroom. Spread the word and encourage more creativity and the sharing of ideas. I am hoping to document some neat tech integration on my new blog, iEduTek, Innovative Educators Using Technology. Another way is to sponsor a mini-conference highlighting teachers sharing their ideas and work with other teachers … your own mini tech conference.
6. Find some money to create “grants”. These can be given in a competitive manner to encourage growth (i.e., teachers “compete for the resources by providing evidence of their commitment and implementation of technology. Not many of us have unlimited resources to work with. Those who really want to push the envelope will be able to be rewarded. If there’s not enough money, go find more.
Many thanks to the many who contributed information for this blog. A special thanks to David Diaz of UNC and Shawn Nutting (K12Online07) in his podcast “Creating a Paradigm Shift in Technology”.
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