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I think that it is very important for teachers to be able work with technology, because if they don't know how to work something then it will be impossible for them To teach their children.

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Technology can come natural to some people, but others struggle to work with it. This is an article about tips for teachers who have trouble with technology.

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"I'm not very tech savvy" is the response I usually hear from teachers that struggle with technology. Whether it's attaching a document to an email or creating a PowerPoint, some teachers really have a difficult time navigating the digital world. As schools around the globe begin to embed the use of technology in their learning environments, these teachers can be left feeling frustrated and marginalized by the new tools they are required to use but do not understand.

The school where I teach is currently within its post-BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) implementation age. We started with a small cohort of tech-savvy teachers to pilot a BYOD program with selected classes. Starting small was definitely beneficial, as we were able to troubleshoot issues and best prepare ourselves for the school-wide BYOD rollout. Front loading any work is always helpful in education, especially when developing resources for teachers who struggle with technology.

If you plan on introducing a new technology or are embarking on the mighty task of becoming a wireless BYOD school, here are five tips to help your teachers still struggling with technology.

1. Build a Tech Team

Integrating technology can be very stressful for educators that aren't familiar with it. Having a support team that's flexible and available to struggling teachers is crucial for any tech rollout. Our tech team consisted of teachers, support staff and administrators. This group was able work together across multiple content areas and grade levels to support successful tech integration. We focused primarily on mind mapping ideas and helping teachers slowly introduce technology into their classes.

2. Scaffold Effective Professional Development (PD)

One big mistake when introducing technology is either too much or too little professional development. Teachers that struggle with technology might feel overwhelmed if you introduce too much too soon. On the flip side, if you don't provide enough PD, teachers may feel isolated. Going back to tip #1, have your tech team develop a feasible plan for effective PD using input from staff members.

PD also needs to be focused on being of value to teachers facing the hurdle of technology. How often do these teachers say, "Why would I try this when I've been doing just fine without it all these years?" If you are planning PD for the whole year, poll your teachers and ask what tech-related areas they would like to focus on. Select only one or two of these areas and make a concerted effort to help those teachers who are struggling.

3. Make Time

While I'm talking about PD, all educators know that extra time for PD is scarce throughout the day. I've had amazing administrators that carved out dedicated time for tech PD. Allowing teachers to meet and collaborate with each other is part of building a successful environment to support student learning, especially regarding the use of technology.

Aside from just having dedicated time for teachers to meet, create a homegrown professional learning community (PLC) that focuses on monitoring tech integration throughout the school. This PLC can be powerful and insightful while supporting those that need additional help.

4. Make It Relevant!

Some teachers feel technology is being pushed on them, especially those who struggle with it. They might start using technology just for the sake of using it. This has shown to be an ineffective method for both tech-savvy and tech-challenged teachers. There is a big difference between using technology to teach and the successful integration of technology into lesson plans. This goes back to having a meaningful plan to incorporate technology into the yearly PD plan.

Create a school-wide culture of tech integration and an openness to take risks. Some lessons will not go as planned -- and that's great! Reflect and learn from these challenges. Be willing to press on and continue to learn. After all, don't we expect the same from our students?

5. Encourage Them

Even with the best PD and resources available, some teachers will still struggle. Support them! I've worked with great veteran teachers that just wanted me to stop by every few days and discuss their tech ideas. Once they have mastered one technology, present them with another to consider. Encourage them and celebrate their willingness to try new things. Focus on the learning (by teachers) and share their successes.

Are there any tips that you have for helping teachers in your school who struggle with technology? If you're a teacher still trying to master technology, how have others helped you? Please share your stories in the comments section below.

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5 Tips to Help Teachers Who Struggle with Technology | Edutopia

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"I'm not very tech savvy" is the response I usually hear from teachers that struggle with technology. Whether it's attaching a document to an email or creating a PowerPoint, some teachers really have a difficult time navigating the digital world.

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Thought starters

1. When planning a lesson - even when you're planning on incorporating technology - what is the first question you should ask yourself?

2. What does Sheryl argue is the power of technology?

3. How will that aid in students' retention of material and their engagement?

4. What is the impact of technology on this lesson?

School Details

Ann Street Elementary School
30 Ann Street
Newark NJ 07105

Data Provided By:

Teachers

English Language Arts / 6 7 / Teacher

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New Teacher Survival Guide: Technology in the Classroom

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Thought starters When planning a lesson - even when you're planning on incorporating technology - what is the first question you should ask yourself? What does Sheryl argue is the power of technology? How will that aid in students' retention of material and their engagement? What is the impact of technology on this lesson?

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This is an article about how teachings can use technology as a tool in their classroom.

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This week, in an Education World "edu-torial," Lynne Schrum presents her personal perspective on the ways in which technology can enhance learning -- and calls on educators to take a leadership role in determining the ways in which technology is used to support educational goals.

Lynne Schrum, past president of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), is an associate professor in the department of instructional technology at the University of Georgia. Her research, teachings, and writings focus on issues related to distance education, specifically online learning. Schrum also investigates the uses of technology in K-12 environments and identifies ways to support educators in the effort.

We're all familiar with the extravagant promises of technology: It will make our students smarter -- and it will do it faster and cheaper than ever before. Moreover, the promise suggests, this miracle will occur almost by osmosis. We need only place a computer in a room, stand back, and watch the magic take place. If only life were that simple and learning that easy!

Those of us who remember the 1980s, when computers were first making their way into our classrooms, probably also remember a great deal of bad software. As educators, we were unfamiliar with the technology and uncertain about its possibilities. So we stepped back and let software developers, hardware vendors, and other technicians define not only what we could buy but also how those products would be used. In many ways, the technology drove the educational process. And guess what? It didn't work very well!

Now, we've entered an era in which technology is no longer an intimidating novelty. Its use in business and industry is both accepted and expected. And pressure abounds -- from the federal government, from local school boards, and certainly from the popular press -- for educators to get on board and see to it that students become technologically skilled.

But is mere technological skill enough?

Two points should be considered.

TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL

Technology is a tool that can change the nature of learning.

First and foremost, educators want students to learn. It is certainly not enough to tell educators that they need to use the boxes and wires that have invaded their schools simply because they are expensive or because students need to know how to use the latest widget. If it's clear that technological tools will help them achieve that goal, educators will use those tools.

The real world is not broken down into discrete academic disciplines. I've heard a number of teachers say that they would like to be able to change the way they teach -- to find ways to implement project-based, multidisciplinary lessons. Let's think about how that might happen when technology is used to support learning.

Technology lends itself to exploration. But before technology can be used effectively, exploration must be valued as important to both teaching and learning. In a technology-rich classroom, students might search the Web for information, analyze river water, chart the results, and record what they've learned on the computer.

In such an environment, acquiring content changes from a static process to one of defining goals the learners wish to pursue. Students are active, rather than passive -- producing knowledge and presenting that knowledge in a variety of formats.

In such an environment, educators can encourage a diversity of outcomes rather than insisting on one right answer. They can evaluate learning in multiple ways, instead of relying predominately on traditional paper and pencil tests. And perhaps most importantly, teachers and students can move from pursuing individual efforts to being part of learning teams, which may include students from all over the world.

Of course, active learning is rarely a clean, neat process. Students engaged in such a process can create busy, noisy, and messy classrooms. It's important to recognize that this kind of learning takes practice -- for both the teacher and the students.

Activities and learning environments must be carefully guided and structured so learners are fully engaged in their learning. Students must learn that exploration doesn't mean just running around doing what they want and ending up who knows where. Educators must recognize that if students are investigating and asking questions, writing about what they're learning, and doing those things in an authentic context, then they are learning to read and write and think.

In a technology-rich classroom, students don't "learn" technology. Technology merely provides the tools to be used for authentic learning. It is a means, not an end.

Technology provides educators with the opportunity to move from simply streamlining the way things have always been done to really imagining things they would like to do.

What a wonderful opportunity!

CHOOSING AND USING THE TOOLS

Teachers must determine how technology tools are used, and they must have a hand in designing the staff development process that trains them.

What will it take to realize the full potential of that opportunity? First, teachers must insist on being part of the planning for technology integration, rather than merely the recipients of other people's ideas.

They must work together to create exemplary units, and then they must share their experiences with one another.

Teachers must take responsibility for helping design the staff development process so that it really meets their needs -- so that it includes time to practice using the equipment, to watch teachers model lessons that infuse technology into the curriculum, and to mentor other teachers.

Of course, teachers cannot revolutionize the educational system by themselves -- and make no mistake about it, that is what we're discussing.

Have you heard the story about the administrator who came to observe a teacher? The classroom had five computers, and the students were all busy on an investigation. Some of the students were using the computers, and others were working on projects or creating information. Some students were working together. Others were working alone. The administrator walked up to the teacher, who was assisting a small group of students, and said, "I'll come back when you're teaching."

As that story demonstrates, we also have to help administrators understand what a technology-rich lesson looks like. We have to insist that administrators provide us with time to work together, to explore, and to play with technological tools. We have to make sure that support for lifelong learning for educators, as well as for students, is built into our schools.

Teachers are creative, intelligent people, and once they learn to use technology in their professional lives -- for keeping records, for creating documents, and for enhancing their own learning -- they will soon discover the many ways in which technology can enhance what they are doing with their students.

WORKING TOGETHER

In order to successfully infuse technology into their classrooms, teachers must have the support of all stakeholders in the educational community. They must resist the notion that learning to use the "gadgets" is an end in itself.

They must provide desperately needed leadership to find the best ways of using technology to enhance teaching and learning. They must expect and demand the best and most interesting software to enhance their educational goals. They must be included in planning the technology implementation -- and be encouraged to experiment with the available tools.

Finally, teachers must educate themselves on how to best use those tools to enhance teaching and learning.

It is an exciting time to be teaching, and we must seize this moment to challenge ourselves, our students, our administrators, and policymakers throughout the country to help all teachers make the best use of the technology tools available to them.

Article by Lynn Schrum
Education WorldÂ®
Copyright Â© 2005 Education World

01/24/2000
Updated 08/17/2005

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Technology as a Tool to Support Instruction | Education World

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This week, in an Education World "edu-torial," Lynne Schrum presents her personal perspective on the ways in which technology can enhance learning -- and calls on educators to take a leadership role in determining the ways in which technology is used to support educational goals.

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It is evident that technology is a moving target. It is the teachers job

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This is a video about two professors at UGA and how they are coping with media being a "moving target"

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Technology in the classroom: a "moving target"

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Jessica Sooknanan - Features Today's university students are given both a blessing and curse: technology. Computers, cell phones, and tablets can be beneficial if used effectively, but can be a distraction to the learning process in many case.

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Katie Smith Group 2