Effective Ways to get Teachers to Use Technology
I am a 1st year Tech Coordinator. I taught elementary school for the past 10 years. I need to get teachers to use technology daily in their classrooms to enhance their instruction and the curriculum. I have done staff development and provided resources. I need more! What are some successful strategies to get teachers using technology? Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Held on -
Sorry, my reply was in the wrong place. :(
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Permalink Reply by Roland O'Daniel on -
Great discussion Michelina! I agree with everything that has been said and like to add a more devious set of approaches to them. I always find something that the teachers really want and make sure they have to do something online to get it. For instance when I was the mathematics department chair, I set up an online PD for the math teachers. They had to perform some basic text editing to add their thoughts to the discussions, add a picture that represented their analogy (they didn't have to find the picture if they didn't want to work that hard, all they had to do was embed the correct link), etc. to get their PD credit. The credit was for two hours and if you were tech savvy took you about 45 minutes. Another time I got the principal to begin incorporating the weekly newsletter into a blog setting rather than printing 75 copies and putting them into the mailboxes (where half ended up in the trash). To make sure everyone at least accessed the link, everyone had to sign in and leave a quick comment/question. The resistant ones wouldn't have done it for me, but they did for the big cheese! They aren't great motivating tools, but I do everything I can to get those in leadership to model the behaviors I need them to model. It's hard to argue with a team approach.
I will say the PD with my department was an astounding success. Two teachers had their students do the same activity we did with their algebra content (they needed some help figuring out the details, but I was more than happy to help).
So if the frontal attack alone isn't being as successful as you would like, gather as many allies as you can and hit them from multiple fronts!
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Permalink Reply by Frank Lovejoy on -
To get teachers to use technology daily in their classrooms to enhance their instruction and the curriculum you must offer them something that makes their life in the classroom easier, something that takes the daily preparation and marking drudgery out of their classrooms and something that gives them more time to spend with their students individually.
As a high school math teacher, there is only one internet math website that has has been specifically designed to make my life in the classroom easier. It recognizes that each day a multitude math teachers everywhere are basically re-preparing and re-inventing the same lessons year after year. All you need here is a computer, a printer and a projector and the rest has been done for you! The name of the website is www.TheMathWebSite.com.
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Permalink Reply by Marion Piersol-Miller on -
I think there are a lot of issues around this. I try to use technology in my classroom a lot, but realistically, a lot of it is developed at home, on my own time. A number of teachers in my school say they're interested, but they just don't have the time. I think it's a combination of time and fear. It's easier to go with what you know, and when glitches come up, as they often will for a teacher who's not comfortable using technology in the first place, they feel stupid in front of their students.
The hardest thing, for me, after listening to someone talk about cool ways to incorporate something into my classroom, is finding the time to create it. The first time always takes more time! So I guess, I'd recommend that you visit a classroom, see what the teacher is doing, talk about what he/she is planning to do in another week or two, and then create something they might be able to use. Having you start them off might help. When I've offered workshops on some of the technology I use, I always try to carve out time for teachers to actually work on creating their own stuff, right there, so that I can answer questions for them.
I also find that I hear about cool tools, think I could use them, but then don't find a good way to incorporate them in what I'm doing. And then I forget about them. There's so much stuff out there! And sometimes I need to see what someone else is doing with it to turn my own thinking into how I can use it for my kids.
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Permalink Reply by Roland O'Daniel on
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I wanted to add this link in my last post. It is about the impact of web 2.0 apps on student learning. It's a very rigorous research project and worth a read. Becta (http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_r...) from the UK does a really nice job of summarizing the research in usable chunks. What I like most is they identify how students are using web 2.0 apps outside of the classroom before they discuss how they affect the classroom. I think it's a great acknowledgment of the fact that students are doing this as part of their life and they are going to be doing it more and more not less. We need to prepare them for today's and tomorrow's world not the 1950's. Anyway, great study and might offer you some insights about approaches to take with teachers that you are trying to motivate.
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Permalink Reply by ursula accumanno on -
Yes, incorporating technology takes a lot of personal TIME. Learning anything new takes a lot of personal time, but once it's done, it saves time for future reference. I try to take small steps, so it doesn't become overwhelming. Teachers first have to have the desire to incorporate.... that is paramount. Where there is a will there is a way.
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Permalink Reply by Allison on -
I believe it is important to provide many mini classes throughout the year and a handbook so teachers can go back and look through the information on their own. Many times the teacher is in the workshop and then goes home to continue working. At home they get frustrated and can't remember what to do next. Once this happens they get frustrated and quit. If they had a packet of info and directions they can use the technology at home without getting frustrated.
Hope this helps!
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on
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I agree, teachers need the materials to follow up after a workshop--especially if it's in the summer!! Andrew Churches has developed "starter sheets". I think they would make a great handout even if the teacher is new to the tool.
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Permalink Reply by Michelina Thornton on -
Thanks for the link. I really liked the starter sheets. I hope to use them with some teachers.
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I'm going to take the ones I need, print them on cardstock and have them laminated. Then my kids can use them.
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Permalink Reply by ursula accumanno on
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What a great site...Thank you for the link!
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Weisz on -
Doing regular staff development about a standard instructional strategy, and having the teachers USE the technology to learn about it. I find myself in the same position as you often, but I am attempting to do all varieties of staff development. Coincidentally, I just (today) blogged about how I have been dealing with this!
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