Overcoming Inertia: Inhibitions and Anxiety of Using Technology in the Classroom (Part 5)

For the second to last entry in a series on what keeps educators from using technology in their classrooms, The Whiteboard Jungle will investigate the anxiety that non-technophiles face when dealing with the rapid and seemingly constant change and progress of educational technology .

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to read Part 1 (history/psychology), Part 2 (lack of time), Part 3 (resistance to learning), and Part 4 (effects of childhood poverty) so you are up to speed and ready to proceed!

Misconception #4 - As soon as I understand it, it is just going to change

While technology is changing all of the time, so is content. I am not teaching the same material I was teaching when I first started. I teach different books, different classes, and different genres. Science teachers are not still teaching the heliocentric model and social studies teachers, the most pressed group for content, have to omit some history so they can add other events. It's a part of the dynamic flow that is education. Remember the old ditto machines that pumped out copies in light blue ink that was fuzzy and hard to read? Teachers had to learn how to use photocopiers, and I bet most are happy that they did.

Be Aware of Fads – Avoid Using Just What's Hot

Just because content and technology changes, it doesn't mean you need to feel lost. It also means that you don't need to attach yourself to every "great new development" just because it is new. When a course I was teaching adopted James McBride's The Color of Water, I didn't throw out Ernest Gaines's classic, A Lesson Before Dying. But when Soldier Boys, a novel by Dean Hughes about World War II was added, it was decided to shelve John Knowles World War II classic A Separate Peace, to see how the new novel faired for two years because they accomplished a similar goal.

The point I am trying to make is that to be up to date with technology means being willing to experiment, not to just adopt everything new that comes out. It's a comprehensive development in most cases, as one builds on another; you base new learning off of former knowledge and skills. Rarely, if ever, do you have to start completely from scratch and learn as if you have never touched a keyboard before.

It is also wise to go through the same process when it comes to adding content to your course. Consider goals and objectives – what are you expectations? At the end of a unit or a year, did the new technology enhance your teaching? If not, will you eventually getting better at using it change its impact? If the outcome was not worth the investment, or what you predict future outcomes to be, then maybe it is best to scrap it and try something else.

Just Do What Comes Natural

While I advocate experimenting with different (school approved) programs and technology, the best education seems to be a mix of technology-rich instruction and tried and true pedagogical methodology that has been passed on from master teacher to master teacher. Each educator must find his or her own "perfect blend", and must be willing to update that blend as developments in educational technology continue. After trying four different blog sites, I went back to the original. Why? Just because it is new, doesn't mean that it is better!

Next Blog: Misconception #5 - It's flashy, but it doesn't help test scores or student abilities enough to be worth it

Resources:

http://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/keyfrick.html
http://www.aare.edu.au/99pap/lin99105.htm