Photo Credit: TSA
The school year is barely over and I can already feel the anxiety that new teachers are feeling for the fall. A lot of their stress revolves around how to successfully integrate technology into their classrooms. While I wouldn’t necessarily make this my primary concern, I thought it would ease some minds if I offered a few thoughts on the topic.
Be ok with a messy process the first time through
I do think I’ve ever used a tech tool in a lesson plan where there wasn’t some kind of glitch or another. Like with anything new, you and your students won’t have a process established yet, so of course there are going to be a few glitches. Embrace the fact it isn’t going to perfect and don’t let it throw you off your game.
Don’t feel like you have to be an expert in order to use a tool
Don’t wait to use a tool until you are an expert in it. For the most part, I’ve found that anyone younger that I am is a bigger risk taker when it comes to tech tools. As long as you give your students time to explore a tool and encourage risk taking, they’ll figure out how to use it in no time.
Ask for help
There are probably more ed-tech people on Twitter than any other category. Most of them are more than willing to answer your questions. Don’t be afraid of looking stupid. Ask your question and get on with things.
Have a definite reason for choosing a certain technology
You should know why you are using a certain tool and the reason should be good. If a piece of butcher paper and magic markers can get the job done better and faster, use that. There’s no prize for using the most tech in your room.
Debrief the experience with your students
Ask your students about their experience using the tool. Don’t be afraid to let them shoot down the tool’s usefulness. Remember their not judging you, their evaluating the tool.
Any other words of wisdom to add?
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Terrific common sense advice! I plan to share it with others!
Thanks! I had an old South African friend who use to say “common sense isn’t very common anymore.”
I really liked your point about having a definite/good reason to choose a certain technology. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” is a good rule of thumb for implementing educational technology, besides other endeavours in everyday life.
Re: the extent to which someone is willing to take risks – this has a lot to do with their upbringing and personality. I’ve coached teachers who aren’t willing to “be messy” because they’re of the mindset that they don’t want to mess up – period. No matter how carefully you may try to instill some of the valuable and very valid advice that you give above, they’ll still want to know how to implement a specific practice and will write down step-by-step instructions on exactly where to click and what to do / not do.
It’s as if they are constructing a safety bubble around themselves – a very small, “no room to mess up” bubble in which they can perform perfectly. Then, when that bubble is running smoothly and manageably, they’ll tweak or add to it slightly. Pathological perfectionism. Fear of failure and criticism – as if one of their students would stand up and say, “Ha ha, you messed up, you suck with technology.” Irrational but powerful fears, and I’ve seen it in my peers on more than just several occasions.
This says a lot about us as teachers: as a demographic, we are considerably heterogeneous, but we also are the educational success stories of those decades during which we were students ourselves. We were a good “fit” with our own teachers and their teaching practices, which to a great extent required us to be docile, disciplined, and either driven or devious (read: ambitious to get high grades and become teachers/other highly-educated professionals ourselves – again, probably very much thanks to our home upbringing or in spite of it).