Successfully implementing technology

First off, I would like to say "yay!" because I already utilize photo sharing in my classroom on a regular basis with my students’ parents. I find it a very good way to document learning and growth throughout the school year and to get parents involved in their student’s learning. I also have parents that take part in uploading and sharing pictures they take when they volunteer in the classroom, which establishes and maintains a sense of community among the adults as well. Here are some pictures I compiled for this assignment. Check them out.

In regards to the reading, I find the study listed to be interesting, mostly because I have worked at schools moving towards a one-to-one ratio of laptops to students. For many years I taught at a private school that implemented a 5 year plan to introduce laptops to all students k-12. They began at the high school and then slowly worked through the grades a few at a time. It was very successful for the students and school. They found it to be a worthwhile return on their investment because student engagement and performance increased dramatically.

I think the reason the initiative listed in the book was not successful is due to many factors including teacher resistance to “top down” change, poor instructional quality of software and the failure to teach teachers how to implement the technology in the classroom.

• ·         Top down change – there isn’t any evidence that teachers wanted to change to the laptop system or had any desire to change their current teaching methods. For teachers to be successful in implementing new methods, they need to see the need that they are meeting. If teachers are not on board, the program cannot be successful.
• ·         Poor software – the book mentions that curriculum guides and worksheets were installed, but that does not mean that the computers were teaching material in a meaningful way. For students and teachers to find a purpose for the laptops, they need to meet a specific need or introduce (or reinforce) material in a different way. Simply replacing pen and paper with a computer is not a beneficial use of technology.
• ·         Failure to teach implementation – the example does not mention if the teachers had any training on how to use the computers to enhance their teaching. It reminds me of the adage “give a man a fish he can eat for a day.” Giving a teacher a laptop does not mean that he/she will know how to use it to teach effectively.

In my experience, successful implementation of laptops begins with training, not only the teachers and the students, but the families as well. At the school I mentioned above, parents were invited to workshops on how to utilize and support their children at home. The face of homework would be vastly different and the school wanted parents to be prepared for that as well as the teachers (who of course attended many workshops and trainings on how to maximize student learning with technology.)

Teachers also need to be a driving force of change. These decisions cannot be mandated and carried out without feedback from those at the front of the instruction. The decision needs to come out of collaboration between the school and the faculty, with a strong commitment on behalf of the teachers to use the new technology to better instruction.

This is a good example of how technology needs to be thoughtfully chosen and carefully implemented to be successful for those using it. Simply providing it is not enough to increase student learning.