I was just reading an open question on a forum which asked about how to reach/teach the teacher who is reluctant to use/integrate/try technology in their classroom. It had quite a lively (and long) discussion going which drew me in to reading through all of the postings. And then I found myself thinking and writing a response myself . . . but I ran out of room in the comment posting! So here is my entire response as I wrote it . . . before having to cut out some bits to make it fit onto the forum:
Educational technology acts a lens focused on a classroom, a lesson, an activity . . . and the teaching and learning that is going on there. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the lens magnifies everything . . . . the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome. This discussion began with questions about the reluctant or techno-phobic teachers and how to encourage them to use more technology. Someone earlier on mentioned that teachers need to "let go of the reigns", which I think is a huge component that sometimes gets missed in this discussion. Teachers know that technology is a lens on their pedagogy and teaching practice, and many are reluctant to let go of control in their classroom as it could/might/will reflect poorly on them if/when things go wrong. Some of these teachers frequently experience problems with technology just in their day-to-day work which they cannot solve - why would they want to put themselves on display in front of a class of students if there is a chance of public failure?
Time frequently comes up as a major reason/excuse why a teacher is not using technology in their classroom. They don't have time in their course to do something different, or the time in their day to look at something new. They don't have time to learn a new tool. If they used a new tech tool with their class and it failed, they don't have the time to fix it, time to plan an alternative lesson, or any way of making up for the lost time. Then there is always the argument where they want to see absolute proof that this tech tool will save them time and will positively affect teaching and learning in their classroom . . . otherwise they cannot see investing the time to learn and implement the new tool.
So I think these two threads are intertwined and connected to one another. As a tech coach, I frequently hear the "time" argument in all of its different flavours from faculty. But what I think is really happening is that the time argument is thrown at you as it is hard to argue against or refute - not only is it amorphous and ever-changing, but it is also very personal to each teacher. The time argument is masking the real underlying reason, which is fear - the fear of letting go, of trying something which might fail, and of stepping aside from being the "sage on the stage" or the expert in the room. As a computer science teacher, I have long been accustomed to not being the absolute expert on everything . . . all of my students typically had a very singular and narrow field of CS that they were intensely interested in and they typically knew more about that one particular topic than anyone within 100 km. So not being the expert is something that I have long been comfortable with. However, many teachers are not, and prefer to stick with their tried and true methods to get through their curriculum rather than facing the fear of change.
Change is a powerful and frightening thing. It can be hugely motivating, yet completely paralyzing as well. So how do we address this fear? I once read somewhere that a person will only undergo a process of change if it is easier for them to make the change, rather than to keep with the status quo. The need to change has to come from within, has to be self-realized and internalized, or else there will be resistance and push-back. So how do you do that? Well, there's lots of pieces to the puzzle that when combined, seem to have worked for me which include:
* Just in Time Learning - providing training individually or in small groups which is directly focused on a tool which will be employed immediately
* Exposure - showing off a variety of tools to show faculty what's out there and to give them ideas of how they might be used in the classroom (think Speed-Geeking here)
* Connecting with Others - seeing and connecting with other teachers who are using a particular tool in the same discipline/class/course/grade level as they work in, provides teachers with the evidence they need to move forward
* Tech Coaches and Peer Coaches - having access to people in-house who are available and accessible is huge; not all schools can afford to have tech coaches, but you can leverage the abilities and talents of those who are already in the building
* Admin Support - having a built-in underlying support (which could mean connecting tech integration with evaluation) can really help to get things moving . . . some people need this kind of nudge before moving forward.
Educational technology acts a lens focused on a classroom, a lesson, an activity . . . and the teaching and learning that is going on there. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the lens magnifies everything . . . . the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome. This discussion began with questions about the reluctant or techno-phobic teachers and how to encourage them to use more technology. Someone earlier on mentioned that teachers need to "let go of the reigns", which I think is a huge component that sometimes gets missed in this discussion. Teachers know that technology is a lens on their pedagogy and teaching practice, and many are reluctant to let go of control in their classroom as it could/might/will reflect poorly on them if/when things go wrong. Some of these teachers frequently experience problems with technology just in their day-to-day work which they cannot solve - why would they want to put themselves on display in front of a class of students if there is a chance of public failure?
Time frequently comes up as a major reason/excuse why a teacher is not using technology in their classroom. They don't have time in their course to do something different, or the time in their day to look at something new. They don't have time to learn a new tool. If they used a new tech tool with their class and it failed, they don't have the time to fix it, time to plan an alternative lesson, or any way of making up for the lost time. Then there is always the argument where they want to see absolute proof that this tech tool will save them time and will positively affect teaching and learning in their classroom . . . otherwise they cannot see investing the time to learn and implement the new tool.
So I think these two threads are intertwined and connected to one another. As a tech coach, I frequently hear the "time" argument in all of its different flavours from faculty. But what I think is really happening is that the time argument is thrown at you as it is hard to argue against or refute - not only is it amorphous and ever-changing, but it is also very personal to each teacher. The time argument is masking the real underlying reason, which is fear - the fear of letting go, of trying something which might fail, and of stepping aside from being the "sage on the stage" or the expert in the room. As a computer science teacher, I have long been accustomed to not being the absolute expert on everything . . . all of my students typically had a very singular and narrow field of CS that they were intensely interested in and they typically knew more about that one particular topic than anyone within 100 km. So not being the expert is something that I have long been comfortable with. However, many teachers are not, and prefer to stick with their tried and true methods to get through their curriculum rather than facing the fear of change.
Change is a powerful and frightening thing. It can be hugely motivating, yet completely paralyzing as well. So how do we address this fear? I once read somewhere that a person will only undergo a process of change if it is easier for them to make the change, rather than to keep with the status quo. The need to change has to come from within, has to be self-realized and internalized, or else there will be resistance and push-back. So how do you do that? Well, there's lots of pieces to the puzzle that when combined, seem to have worked for me which include:
* Just in Time Learning - providing training individually or in small groups which is directly focused on a tool which will be employed immediately
* Exposure - showing off a variety of tools to show faculty what's out there and to give them ideas of how they might be used in the classroom (think Speed-Geeking here)
* Connecting with Others - seeing and connecting with other teachers who are using a particular tool in the same discipline/class/course/grade level as they work in, provides teachers with the evidence they need to move forward
* Tech Coaches and Peer Coaches - having access to people in-house who are available and accessible is huge; not all schools can afford to have tech coaches, but you can leverage the abilities and talents of those who are already in the building
* Admin Support - having a built-in underlying support (which could mean connecting tech integration with evaluation) can really help to get things moving . . . some people need this kind of nudge before moving forward.
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