Changing tires while driving?

For some time the battle cry in education has been "We need to use technology in schools!” This is to me a laudable argument because it seems only common sense that kids will need to master the use of emerging hardware and software to be successful in ever-changing future. The problem arises when we think that just having new tools within close proximity to learners will somehow prepare them through some kind of educational osmosis. The other approach we have used is to teach the tool, i.e. teach technology rather than teach with technology. Teaching technology as a curriculum is to me akin to going back in time and designing "pencil" classes, classes where teachers become immersed in all things “pencil” as well as the reasons why kids will need pencils for future success. Often what teachers feel is increasing pressure to use new tools, with little guidance as to how. Educators can end up wasting a lot of valuable instructional time looking for ways to make technology fit into what they are currently doing. When you add to this situation the fact that many educators have profound insecurities with using digital tools, you get something of a "perfect storm”. What can be done to get the ball rolling and to get schools ready to prepare learners for the 21st century? I’m a fan of common sense in these uncommon times and I love teachers. This is an honorable profession that nobody gets into to get rich or to be famous. These selfless people love kids and would like nothing better than to prepare every learner for the best future they can possibly achieve. All things being equal, teachers are practical and have always driven the integration of new and emerging technologies that helped their learners succeed. I’m starting to believe if everyone would stop pushing so hard and just leave good solutions at the teachers’ door step, many educators would use them. Tell them what the little basket at their door does, why kids will benefit and include step by step instructions and they will grab it and use it but has to make sense to them. There are many resources that teachers don’t have, including but not limited to: money, resources and time. With all of the requirements of NCLB and it’s high stakes testing, teachers are increasingly caught between a rock and a hard place. They already wanted what was best for learners and now they have to prove it, often in ways that run counter to their own strengths as educators. They want use effective tools but where is the time to even think about it. It’s like they have to pour fuel into the gas tank without stopping the car. Teachers need educational “rest areas” with a sign that reads: This area not “in-service”. Most of us who’ve plowed the educational ground for some years have learned that “inservice” means but is not limited to: long, boring, irrelevant, preachy, flavor of the week, I could/should be grading experiences. We tell teachers they should use exciting tools and do meaningful things but we do it in a way that demonstrates none of these things. We tell them to teach in context but we don’t inservice in context. Of course I know there are exceptions but I’m on a roll this morning so bear with me. What is the solution? I won’t pretend I have a silver bullet for this werewolf but I do believe that the solution with have attributes including but not limited to: relevant approaches, in-context models of staff development, showing how the new solution solves problems, showing, not telling how the new tool helps prepare kids for their futures. Would-be tech integrators must design their approaches to meet the needs of educators and create safe time and space for them to learn to use new tools. You wouldn’t change a tire on a car while it was racing and teachers will struggle to learn new things while they are teaching. I say, bring them in for a pit stop, put the right tires on the car and get them back into the race. Show them how to drive with the new performance features of the car and where it is appropriate to let the students drive. Teachers know they need new tires to race well on the rapidly-changing track and they want their kids to win, this is built into who they are. We just have to make sure our approach to helping them isn’t making the race harder and breaking teachers’ will to drive. I like to design summer workshops where teachers can try out new tools in a low-stakes environment, an educational dirt-track if you will. During these races we can drive on new track configurations, practice with new tires and get comfortable with enhanced approaches to driving. Teachers have time to believe in and get a feel for new approaches and find their own stride. Why leave behind an approach that was working, even if it meant you’d never win the race? After all, you were getting around the track just fine. In safe races, there are no tests to prepare for, papers to grade, games to coach or parents to call. The noise of education subsides long enough to allow teachers to breathe and they can begin to get comfortable with new thinking. This process cannot be short-changed if it is to be successful. We “train” people for menial tasks but educational innovation is much more than a menial task. If you want great results, you must invest in the process at all levels and not try to change teachers’ tires while they are driving in an increasingly difficult race. kevinh@essdack.org