This
article “Five Tips for Incorporation New Technology in the Classroom” informs
us not only of ways to incorporate technology into the classroom, but on what is
the biggest hurdle to incorporation technology into the classroom. Form what Stanfield writes there are two
reactions from educators to bringing technology into the classroom, the “Oh
no!” and the “Oh wow!”. The former,
seems to be from the reluctant teachers which are quick to admit they are not
interest in using new technologies. Furthermore they readily admit that if it
requires extra time to learn how to incorporate new technology into their
lesson plans and courses of instruction, that they want nothing to do with
it. The later set or the, oh wow, group
are the enthusiastic teachers that are excited, motivated, and eager to bring
technology into their classroom to make the students lessons that much richer.
The article is more
about this division of teachers and how to overcome the issues that arise from
it. Stanfield discusses talks about how to encourage those more reluctant
teachers to bring new technology into the classroom. Thus she gives five insightful tips to gain
the acceptance, and the growth of new technologies, by teachers. These tips include having tech-savvy
teachers work closely with the not so tech experienced teachers. Also a big factor is to listen to teachers
and their concerns over new tech. Stating that teachers will be able to
identify their short comings with new tech, and that by listen to their
concerns and requesting feedback on any training the teachers get on new
technology, the teachers needs and concerns will be addressed, resulting in
teacher becoming more willing and accepting as a whole. The third suggestion is
to find and demonstrate free applications that can help the teacher in the
classroom. With this have teachers
become comfortable with the apps in a training session this will give them more
confidence in using this new tech in the classroom. Next Stanfield discusses the idea of a blog
for teachers, a forum where they can post comments and work in conjunction with
their colleagues. This blogging offers
teachers some flexibility to engage in conversation when it is convenient to
them. Lastly Stanfield suggest that we try
and create a climate where innovation is valued. This part I found the most valuable of all
the article, giving the teacher the environment to be creative, explore and
take risks, to become more innovative in the classroom seems the most
relevant. I state this because without
an environment where risks are taking and failure is used as a tool and a
building block for later accomplishments the environment becomes stagnant. It concerned me when thinking of accepting
failure, but there are a good many examples in history that support this
model. One of the most notable examples
is President Abraham Lincoln, in his home state he failed miserably as a dry
goods store owner. With this in mind
and letting teachers know it is important to risk, push the envelope and learn
from their setbacks for future success, I believe is paramount for the success
of bringing new technologies into the classroom. This is not to discount the other four tips
all seem relevant but I believe none compare to a creative climate of
innovation.
I would follow this up
by saying, new technologies in the classroom for the sake of being a new
technology should not be entertained unless it serves a purpose in the
classroom. Furthermore technology should
be phased in, and only updated where necessary. If it is updated constantly we
will quickly find ourselves on the outside of the technology “ODA” loop. By this I mean we would be caught constantly
trying to adjust, and instead of teaching and the students learning the subject
being taught they are only learning the ever latest technology.
With that said this
article relates directly to NETS-S (1,2, and 4)
It discusses Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration
among teachers, and Technology Operations and Concepts. It is reflective as to
how we are working with and learning these new technologies, and how we will
need to incorporate them into the classroom.
Some of us are the “Oh wow’s, some the “Oh no’s”, but all of us will
run into teachers weather ourselves or others that will need to become
accepting of new technology in the classroom.
This article can help facilitate that interaction to achieve the best
results.
Stanfield S. (2013/14). Five Tips for Incorporating
New Technology in the Classroom. Learning
& Leading with Technology. 41(4), 34-35.
I completely agree with the author in this article that teachers need to develop a concept of how they will need to use the technology within the classroom and how using the technology will benefit their students before they buy into the idea of integrating it into their classroom. Although they may be reluctant to change, they will need to change in order to meet the needs of their students and conform to societal changes. The teachers that are more flexible to the changes will be more effective educators for their students and will be able to develop lessons and activities using technology faster than those who are more reluctant. I have experienced this while substitute teaching. A couple different teachers have been very reluctant to use technology within their classroom, but for the few that do, they have found a great way to incorporate the technology within their classroom environment. I also wrote an article about how technology should be phased into the classroom and describe in detail how these technologies would be phased into classroom learning. Although some teachers may have an "Oh no" perspective to technology, I believe all educators should have an "Oh ya!" perspective to developing new opportunities to creating new and more effective strategies to teach their student population. I believe all educators should remain flexible in their teaching pedagogy and be open to learning themselves to be able to teach and expect their students to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important for all teachers to incorporate technology into their classrooms because technology is the future of our children, it's only going to get bigger. I know with some of my kid's teachers they are so reluctant and stuck in their way, they will not even respond to an email. There are also teachers that incorporate technology not only in the classroom but also as a way to communicate with parents. I know that is something I will do because the success of our students not only to teach them about the future, but to keep the parents in the loop to help their children stay on track.
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