Technology....takes PLANNING!!

Technology will forever be changing. How does a school continue to change with the times? Successful leadership. Successful technology leadership. I love the way the author of The Principal as Technology Leader just comes right out and says “effective integration of technology has more to do with teaching pedagogy, and very little to do with technology itself,” because it is so true. Technology cannot be intergraded if it is not going with the natural flow of the classroom and needs of learners in that classroom based on the teacher’s teaching style. Technology is a fantastic way to enhance teaching and learning; however, it must help deliver and extend the topics being taught to be successfully intergraded. Principals must get involved in technology in order for it to be successful and to get teachers behind it. By taking an active role in technology integration, principals show teachers they too have to use new technologies. Sometimes, I feel principals don’t always understand what teachers are going through in the classroom. While I fully expect my principal to know how to use the technologies I am expected to use, I believe that a technology specialist should not only know how to use the required technologies, but they should be an expert on them. Technology Specialists should go beyond the base line knowledge of a software or hardware, they really should know everything about it or at the least know how to get more information FAST! I also believe that Technology Specialists should understand how technology helps in the education of the students. I would expect technology specialist to ask questions like: How can this new program be used by teachers? What lessons and standards can this program be used for? I would almost expect a technology specialist to have both an education and IT background.

Why as teachers do we feel that lower achieving students struggle to reach higher levels of Blooms? I believe this is where the digital divide might actually start. Teachers are afraid to let go of struggling learners for fear that they can’t handle more than drill to kill activities. Teachers want to be more hands on with students that struggle therefore struggling to use technology in the classroom. As teachers, we have a fear of failure and so do our students. It is hard to let go and allow students to make mistakes no matter how vital it is to the learning process. Add technology in to the mix and teachers have a tendency to lose their cool. When teachers feel students are already high achieving, teachers take more risks with lessons and activities in the classroom, especially when it comes to technology. For the most part, students across America can access computers in schools now, so the question that remains is what are they being used for? Is there a digital divide between content areas in schools? Document after document may say that technology use in schools is up, but that isn’t necessarily true just because computers are in schools. I see how technology is used in my school and in other schools I have taught in. It truly depends on how leadership in the school feels about technology.

How do we as teachers start to close the “digital divide”? Trust in the process of learning. Children by nature want to know how things work, why things work, and how to make things work. Using children’s natural curiosity of the world to allow them to reach higher levels of bloom and letting them use technology. It’s okay if mistakes are made along the trail. Children will still learn.

Technology programs fail due to lack of support! Lack of support is what it really does comes down to, however the book goes into more detail. Lack of appropriate leadership in schools, doesn’t allow for technology to be successful. If the leadership isn’t behind a new program or hardware, then it is difficult for teachers to get on board. If only one person make the decisions for technology for a school, one can’t expect much support either. It truly takes a team to get a school on board for technology use. I believe this quote really helps sum up what needs to happen for technology to be successful in a schools: “The principal as technology leader must remain visible and involved in guiding the process or implementing technology, with teaching and learning as the driving force.” (Creighton, 2003)

The school I work in does in fact does have a technology plan, to the level at which it is actually executed I am unaware. At this time the only experience I have with technology planning is the technology I use in my own classroom. However if my opinion is asked I don’t hesitate to share. Technology planning has to happen on multiple levels in order for it to be successful in the classroom. I think the planning process should start at the school level and work its way up to the district level with significant teacher input. Having a plan is the best place to start when bring on new technologies, however the plan won’t work if it fails to tie to institutional mission, fails to get the right people on board, and focuses to heavily on technical detail. I agree with Creighton’s pitfall list and look forward to avoiding these mistakes as I move forward with strategic planning I hope to do in the future.