QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #60
Teachers and technology
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Many teachers underestimated their job in directing classes, even believing technology would somehow come to replace them... (A study) found that teachers preferred to use (computers) for administration instead of teaching. Professor Rosamund Sutherland, of Bristol University, said teachers lacked the confidence to use computers, even though their schools are well equipped.
She said teachers needed more support to help them incorporate technology into lessons. Prof Sutherland said teachers should not feel threatened by machines. "No amount of ICT [information and communication technology] will ever replace teachers."
Strategies such as paid release time for planning, independent practice without fear of embarrassment, and collaboration are fruitful avenues for encouraging professional development in technology. Moreover, this approach implements research that shows such independent activities are key elements in developing higher-level technology proficiency (Corcoran, 1995; David, 1996; National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 1996; Tenbusch, 1998).
---from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm
The "digital generation gap" also contributes to teacher technophobia; students who have grown up in a wired world, where they acquired computer proficiency through technoplay since they were very young, pick up new applications easily, while teachers may be struggling with the basics (Tenbusch, 1998; Miller, 1998; Ike, 1997). Thus teachers may feel that the less-structured classroom environment required by interactive computer projects threatens their role as expert, their need for prior mastery, and their classroom leadership (Saye, 1998; Monahan, 1996).
---from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/thepoint/resist.htm
While technology budgets in schools worldwide have increased with lightning speed over the past decade, the results of this investment have often been underwhelming. Yes, students raised on video games may not feel the intimidation we teachers can sometimes feel in front of our monitors; computers often seem to take on a life of their own. But comfort on the part of the student does not always translate into effective educational use.
What role does a teacher’s fear of or discomfort with technology play in how much or how well technology will be used in teaching? The articles collected in this issue of the Quick Resource Sheet examine this question – both from the point of view of research done on the topic, as well as in a prescriptive sense.
Most hopefully, we are reassured that teachers can and do master the technology necessary to properly equip our students for what lies ahead. Given the proper support and resources, there is no reason teachers cannot meaningfully integrate new technology into their teaching, not just for record keeping, but for bringing the entire world into their classrooms – and vice versa.
http://www.electronic-school.com/0398f2.html
“My experience has been that buying notebook computers pays off in savings on technology training. Teachers who have notebook computers learn more quickly and independently than those who must work only at school or, worse yet, only in a lab.
One superintendent recently told me that, as much as he hated to admit I was right, he should have purchased notebook computers for teachers earlier. When he finally bought them for a group of teachers who were attempting to redesign classroom instruction, he was amazed at the transformation. The teachers sat in his office on a Friday afternoon soaking up everything he could teach them about the computers until he finally had to tell them to go home. They carried their notebook computers, he said, like badges of honor. The teachers were finally being recognized and treated as professionals who were investing time and energy into their professional growth.”
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1569007,00.html
“Analysis of video data also showed that students could work with ICT for long periods of time, investigating their own questions and experimenting with ideas in an interactive way. This was apparent whether students were investigating language and spelling, finding out about the properties of quadrilaterals or writing emails to a German correspondent.”
http://wac.colostate.edu/aw/papers/hickey/
“Even the most experienced teachers need time to integrate technology and pedagogy. According to Trent Batson and Judy Williamson, co-directors of the Epiphany Associates, a group within Teaching, Learning, and Technology, affiliated with AAHE, it takes approximately five semesters for motivated teachers to accomplish that aim. One of the immediate effects of engaging the process, however, is the awareness that our classrooms may not be as transformed as we had previously believed.”
http://www.crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV34Laffey.pdf
“This report describes how early childhood preservice teachers appropriate, master, and/or resist learning to use technology in teaching… The study addresses how preservice teachers become socialized to the role of teaching and how they develop as technology-using teachers in a technology-rich, teacher education program… The findings suggest that the pathway to appropriation of technology as a teacher is not uni-dimensional and has a varying set of contributors and constraints.”
Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET
#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online
#2 – Vocabulary builders
#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers
#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them
#5 – Resources for new teachers
#6 – International Education Week
#7 – Mentoring programs
#8 – Education publications online
#9 – Applied Linguistics
#10 – English for Young Learners
#11 – World AIDS Day
#12 – Online writing guides
#13 – E-mail exchanges
#14 – Free online English courses
#15 – Effective e-mail communication
#16 – Libraries online
#17 – American Studies
#18 – Teaching methodologies
#19 – Internet tutorials
#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I
#21 – Making books
#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II
#23 – Human rights in language teaching
#24 – Blogging
#25 – Poetry and language teaching
#26 – The communicative approach
#27 - Idioms
#28 – Earth Day
#29 – Alternative assessment
#30 – Peer assessment
#31 – Self-assessment
#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I
#33 - Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)
#34 – Intercultural communication
#35 – Teaching Adults
#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs
#37 – Using computers in reading instruction
#38 – Use of authentic materials
#39 – English for Medical Purposes
#40 – Sources for authentic materials
#41 – Education and technology
#42 – Academic writing
#43 – Teaching and stress
#44 – Back to school
#45 – Motivating students
#46 – Action research
#47 – Internet terminology
#48 – Fluency
#49 – Curriculum design
#50 – Pragmatics
#51 - Podcasting for English teachers
#52 – Critical reading
#53 – Learner autonomy
#54 – Scaffolding
#55 – Holidays
#56 – English for Academic Purposes
#57 – Mixed-level classes
#58 – The brain and language learning
#59 – Book clubs/Readers’ groups