Too much technology or not enough
technology that is the issue schools face today. Parents want their students to
be prepared to enter the digital world but they do not want them to spend all
day in front of a screen. Teachers want to provide their students with be best
and most up-to-date technology but they don’t want the students to miss the
traditional instruction. Schools are challenged with balancing students’
learning with technology use (Krishan, 2017). School districts and administration
tend to leave teachers and students out of decisions when it comes to
technology. Leaders want the teachers and students to have everything they need
but they sometimes overwhelm them with too much at one time.
Much like reading and math
curriculum, technology should be planned. If teachers integrate technology into
their lesson’s students will seamlessly move from traditional instruction to technology
learning. When students are engaged with technology it should be to challenge
them and expand their learning (Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee, 2013). Professional
development for teachers will help them create a technology enriched classroom.
To assure success in these areas’ schools must create goals and vision in their
technology plans (Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee, 2013).
These technology plans are created
annually to assure that schools address areas of weakness and celebrate areas
of strengths. Funding is issued based on these goals, strengths and weaknesses.
My school system has spent the past 5 years preparing the infrastructures of
our schools. Installing wireless access points in all classrooms was a goal
that was completed. We are now working on making sure the bandwidth meets the
needs of all the schools. Successful technology integration takes many people
and viewpoints. Everyone working together to make things work.
Reference
5 Technologies That Will Change Classroom Education. (2015, September 16).
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com
Krishan, N. (2017, November 15). Balancing Technology and Teaching
in the Classroom -- How Do We Do It? – InsideSources. Retrieved from
https://www.insidesources.com
Moen, M. (2015, February 24). A Healthy Balance: Mindfulness &
Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com
Tech-overload-technology-classroom [Digital image]. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 22, 2019, from http://owlconnected.com
Top 5 Tech Tools to Take Control of Your Classroom. (2017,
September 05). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com
Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013).
Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators,
technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin, a Sage Company.
Personally, I think parents expect some technology to answer the balance question. If no technology is being used in lessons then they view that as unhelpful, however, I agree that too much seems overboard and "too radical." Interestingly, Blackwell, Gardiner, Schoenebeck (2016) argue, "That the use of personal devices introduces distinctive challenges into modern family life, due to the limited visibility (or practical obscurity) of personal device use, expectations of constant connectivity, and overly-romanticized notions of family time," (p. 1390). Obviously there are challenges at home with technology and expectations, so to find a consensus of "how much is too much" at school would be difficult.
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Blackwell, L., Gardiner, E., & Schoenebeck, S. (2016, February). Managing expectations: Technology tensions among parents and teens. In Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing.(p. 1390-1401).
OH my goodness, Tracy- yes! We want our students to have it all, but when is it just too much? And when we do feel like they have what they need, we go and change it as fast as we got it! As Planning for technology is essential. It needs to be incorporated seamlessly to be used the most effectively. As Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2013) discuss, teachers need the opportunity for quality professional development so that technology is being utilized effectively and not just to prove we have the most expensive toys.
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Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators, technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a Sage Company.
Tracy, you are absolutely right, successful integration of technology takes a team effort. Whitehead, Jensen, and Boschee (2013) emphasizes the need for Technology planning to involve a host of people including teachers, technology experts, and community stakeholders. I am excited that our district is beginning to see more collaboration before implimenting technology initiatives. As a result, purchases and implementations are much smoother and we’ve seen greater buy-in from instructional staff.
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Whitehead, B. M., JEmsen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for Technology: A guide for administrators, technology coordinator, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a Sage COmpany