Technology In The Classroom: A Teacher’s Perspective

A computer to pupil ratio in Australia for primary schools of 1:4 and for secondary schools of 1:1 clearly demonstrate the availability of technology in the Australian education system.

The use of ICT in schools is a top priority according to Bevan Doyle, Chief Information Officer, Department of Education, stating that “technology should be mainstream in today’s schooling”. This is also reflected by the continuous increase of the national education budget to 7.1% of Australia’s GDP in 2011.

1. How has technology changed teaching in your opinion?

Technology has changed knowledge acquisition. Instead of relying on a few books and the knowledge of your peers, parents and teachers for the answer to your questions, we now have the internet. Students can ask a question on YouTube and get thousands of responses from people all over the world. They can Google a simple question and be presented with a million answers. Teaching has had to change to take that into account. Teaching is refocusing on skills (such as critical thinking) as students are constantly bombarded with information. We can’t just be knowledge fountains… if we ever were! And we can’t be afraid that a student has access to more knowledge than we have in our heads.

It’s also created a whole raft of fantastic new pedagogical opportunities for teachers. As we learn to re-purpose technologies like iPads, Interactive Whiteboards, Twitter and other Social Media tools, web 2.0 etc. we create new opportunities to engage our students and to deepen their understanding of the curriculum content we are teaching.

2. What are your students’ opinions regarding technology inside (and perhaps also outside) the classroom, e.g. do you feel they are more engaged?

The word ‘engaged’ is tricky. If you mean, excited, interested, having fun, then yes. I guess technology is something that the vast majority consider to be engaging. It is important to remember though that there are still students who do not like engaging with technology. It’s dangerous to assume that one model fits all. I can engage my students without using technology just as easily – it just takes a bit of imagination and a lot of enthusiasm.

 The biggest thing I’ve noticed about my students’ reaction to technology is through the connections that they are able to make with the outside world. The power of an authentic audience is incredible. Twitter, blogs etc., they all validate what I’m teaching and help them to grown in confidence and accelerate their learning as they connect with others and get (what they see as more) genuine feedback.

Students take feedback from machines far less personally too. If the IWB (interactive whiteboard), app or web 2.0 tool gives them feedback that their answer is incorrect their reaction is to try again, rather than to be upset that they’ve failed in some way. That’s powerful and very handy indeed!

 3. Which technologies do you use most and why?

My IWB is used in every lesson I teach whether that be with Secondary English students or the pre-service teachers at Flinders University. It won’t be interactive all lesson but I make that technology work hard so that I can ensure that all students are included and are considered pedagogically. The power the software has to create opportunities for differentiation, modelling, assessment for learning and many more cannot be underestimated.

I also use Twitter a lot with my pre-service teacher trainees. This helps them to stay connected, to feel that I’m available to them. It also helps me to find others to connect with them and support them collegially. They are a part of an established network of in-service teachers before they’ve even set a foot inside the classroom and they too have an authentic audience to share their learning journey with.

4. What are, in your opinion, the obstacles that many teachers face regarding technology?

Often teachers are given technology without having had the opportunity to consider why they should use it. As a result they see it as ‘another thing to learn’, possibly ‘another thing to learn that will change next year anyway’.

There are very few technologies which were originally designed for the classroom. None were designed specifically to meet the needs of our particular students in a particular task. If teachers are given the opportunity to consider the power of a tool, to experiment, to ask questions and to connect the possibilities that technology affords their teaching, then they usually get excited about it. That’s better than feeling alienated by it. If you’re enthusiastic you’ll find time to use it and experiment. Teachers are time poor. They need to see real value in something if they are to give time to it. Then, of course, they need some quality PD (personal development) and the support of their colleagues to keep developing their skills with those technologies.

5. How can such obstacles and fears be overcome?

Always evaluate technologies in terms of the ability to enhance learning. How can you use the technology pedagogically to deliver your content knowledge in a way that will encourage deeper learning and meaningful engagement with your students and the curriculum? 

Don’t start with the idea that you ‘ought’ to have them because the school down the road has them. Start with what they are going to bring to your students – pedagogically as they access or create the content.

Without those considerations, technology can actually cause problems. It can hinder rather than help students to make progress.

6. What do you think is a good balance between analogue teaching and making use of technology?

You need to make sure that you’re doing EVERYTHING for your students’ benefit. Sometimes you don’t need digital technology to do that and sometimes you need ‘analogue’ teaching activities to connect students with the learning that’s happening with technology. For example, a card sort in small groups gives students time to connect with the materials in the task and to support each other to confidently come up with an answer that they can share with the whole class when asked to complete the same task on an IWB with everyone. The time they had to think, to connect and to consider will make for deeper learning conversations when each group is asked to come together has a whole class. Using the IWB as an interactive and visual tool gives other students the opportunity to disagree, to challenge and to learn from the opinions of others. It also gives the teacher a chance to assess their students prior or current learning.

We need to ensure that we see technology as another pedagogical tool. No one should be asking you to completely change what you’re doing, it should complement and grow your practice.

7. How has technology made your life easier as a teacher?

I now have a vast collection of easy to access resources that I can edit to suit the needs of my students. I have access to thousands of educators all over the world with whom I can connect and share learning and teaching resources, ideas and philosophy’s. I have access to PD for free anywhere, any time.

It also challenges me though. I used to think only of technology and what I could do with it to make things more exciting. Sometimes that would mean little progress was made by my students… no matter how cool the webcam to time square and the Google earth tour was when we were doing travel writing… it wasn’t actually helping my students improve their written work… Now I understand the connection that must be made between Technology, Pedagogy and Content (TPACK) and that means that technology is being used meaningfully and to its maximum potential. I’m remembering the needs of my students and using the technology to open doors or knock down barriers to learning.

8. Finally, how do you see the role of technology in the future of learning and teaching?

Technology is going to continue to develop in a way that will mean work is ‘in the cloud’, we are becoming hyper connected and have opportunities to bring the outside world into our classroom. It is an essential part of learning and teaching even now and it’s role will only become more important and prominent. We just have to make sure that, as its role becomes bigger, we teachers use our professional judgement and skills to re-purpose it so that it gives our students the maximum benefits.

There are some important lessons to learn about ethics and safety too. We need to consider the damage we are doing by blocking content rather than teaching students how to manage and operate in the online, social world they live in. We need to live and work in the same world as our students and parents and be able to help them to learn to do so safely and ethically.

Source: http://goo.gl/pjdwTp