As
stated by Jahana Hayes, 2016 National Teacher of the Year "And one of the
challenges we have at my school is that we can’t keep up with technology."
Understanding
this concept of a constant struggle in many schools across the country to stay
updated is essential. As an educator, teaching for the last 3 1/2 years I've
been able to see how technology can truly play an important role in the
classroom when used correctly and when given the updated programs and devices.
Our
schools and the adopted programs need to continue to improve and change just as
rapid as the industries and businesses. If we are teaching our students to be
able to survive in this rapidly growing world full of technology, then we need
to make sure our schools are implementing the same. As an educator I feel like
I am constantly trying to catch up with resources and programs that haven't
been introduced into our schools yet. By the time, they become introduced the
program is outdated and something new as taken its place.
The
biggest problem I also see is the drastic difference from school to school.
Students across the country, let alone across the state or city have differences
in the access and availability to technology in the classroom. From my 3 1/2
years of teaching I was able to teach in one school considered a BYOD school
(bring your own device) which integrated technology through the use of a
variety of apps. The school also had the latest "Smart Board" (the
new, old-fashion dry erase board). On the other hand, now I'm teaching
literally down the street in the same county, and the technology accessible is
completely opposite. Students have one day computer lab time, and the teacher
is given one Ipad for classroom use. The board is a standard projector screen
with the computer connected. In other words, the technology is WAY outdated. I
truly believe that the resources across the board are not allowing our students
to have the same learning experiences that this world requires. By the time my
school "updates" the equipment and programs will be outdated.
I
also believe that schools should be requiring their teachers to integrate
technology in their daily lessons. Many teachers (more traditional teachers)
are opting out and choosing not to use the resources given. Even if it
takes trainings, and professional development opportunities in order for them
to become familiar. This is a concern because they are not allowing their
students to be equipped with the tools they will need in the future. We
are preparing our students for jobs that may or may not exist yet, therefore it
is our responsibility to expose them, and allow them to explore, discover and
create. We cannot rob them from this way of learning!
References:
Madda, M (2016, August 2) "We Don't Have Resources to Keep Up With Technology": 2016 Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes Talks to Edsurge. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-08-02-we-don-t-have-resources-to-keep-up-with-technology-2016-teacher-of-the-year-jahana-hayes-talks-to-edsurge.
Esteves, J. (2016, January 18). Did You Know 2016. (Video File). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZilO0YI7Y
Hi, Alyssa!
ReplyDeleteI find your perspective especially relevant due to your 3 and a half years of teaching experience. I haven't had such a chance yet, so hearing from teachers like you really helps me know what to expect! That being said, I'm curious as to what technology, including programs like Accelerated Reader, you have used up to this point and what your opinions are on them. Furthermore, have you ever been in a school that had a mandatory program? In my own internship experiences, I've noticed that most schools have "their" programs.
I find your statement on the drastic differences in tech from school to school very true. As you say, it ensures that students are not receiving the same experiences. This means that some students are undoubtedly more prepared than others, and this is unfortunately often the case in lower-income areas. I agree that there needs to be at least some form of unity in terms of tech in Florida public schools if we want all of our students to have the same level of preparedness.
The concept of the BYOD is interesting to me, as what happens if students do not have a device to bring? I went to a high school in which we were all issued a laptop to use for assignments, and these laptops were heavily monitored. I'm skeptical if students bringing their own devices is practical, but I would love to hear more about your own experiences in that school! Lastly, I fully agree that teachers need to be ready to integrate tech, but like you say there needs to be training for those more veteran teachers. Thank you so much for your post!
-Emma Anderson (EME5050)
Hey Emma,
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post! In response to your question, "have you ever been in a school that had a mandatory program?" Yes, we currently use a program called IReady. It is for math and reading. The program is used throughout the course of the day in center rotations or computer lab. Orange County Public Schools- the county I am in, adopted the program this year and we are required to have the kids do 45 mins a week in both subjects.
As for other academic programs used up to this point are, AR (Accelerated Reader), V-Math, IReady, SpellingCity, Istation, Imagine Learning (targeted for ESOL students), Biblionasium (used for reading logs), and a ton of educational apps. I believe all these programs are great and have their own purposes. These programs are the ones I've used that work with students to continue their growth and practice skills. We also use programs that are just used for teaching tools, such as, Edmodo, Doceri (IPAD controller), plickers, and class dojo (for behavior and parent-communication)
I personally enjoy all apps and programs we can implement, its just the struggle of actually getting time and devices so students can all benefit from them.
To answer your question regarding the BYOD schools, they are the high-economic schools. Students we able to bring anything that can connect to the internet. And it worked for the school I first started at. I even went out a bought myself an IPAD to stay updated and the students taught me so many apps that can be used.
I've also heard of schools like you mentioned in your high school, were the state or county comes in and issues laptops to the entire school. Slowly I have started to this approach in many schools starting with high school and middle school. I honestly can't wait for it to be across the board. I love teaching with Technology!
Hi Alyssa, I love your background of your blog. However, it strained my eyes quite a bit to read your post. Possibly think about white on a dark background? This would help us out and our eyesight. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a pretty similar opinion as the one you wrote above. Although I see your points illustrated in a micro-level (person-to-person), my points were a little more of a macro-level (resources such as time and budgets from government and administration entities). I believe the way to keep relevant in education could technically come from both sides: the person/teachers staying relevant and the governing leadership giving the time and money to incentivize this trend.
I work at UCF, and the time that I had over the break (just a week off) for the holidays, I had so much time to reflect and understand what my students really needed from me. It was the week off that gave me the space to really understand that my students needed better ways to connect and communicate with me. So I started a Snapchat account for quick reminders and reimagined my communication strategies with them. I don't think we should just always get a week off when we feel tired, but that time and space to reflect and be challenged when growing a program or somehow connecting to a difficult classroom is something we cannot give ourselves as educators. It has to be systematically changed to promote this culture shift to inclusive technology.
Also, the BYOD concept is astounding to me! When I was in high school, I was living in a single-family home in middle Tennessee. There was *no* way I would have been able to bring a device from home, similar to Emma's concern. I hope there was a lending program as well. Socio-economic status and access will most definitely take a toll on implementing technology in the classroom, as you point out. I can't even implement a lesson if it requires a laptop or a mobile device, just in case one of my students does not have that access, and I'm at a university! It's sad and interesting that we have such similar issues with access and resources for technology.
Thanks for changing text! :) I appreciate it. Hope to hear what you think about our comments soon! -Colleen
DeleteThank you for the wise advice on the background color for better viewing, I appreciate it!
DeleteI do agree with you on the governing leadership giving the time and money needed. When it comes down to it, that is exactly where it needs to start.
In regards to your response about the BYOD concept, yes socio-economic status does play a very important role in this. The school I was working at had parents who were ABLE to provide their child with a device to bring in. However, there are also schools with a program where the state and/or county come in and make it a "tech" school. They provide the laptops students will use and the programs they will implement. I think this approach will be the one that slowly becomes implemented in most if not all schools in the future.
That sounds like cool programs: "Tech Schools." I'm hoping federal funding doesn't get depleted for educational programs this this. Hope you have a great weekend!
DeleteHello, Alyssa! I believe that keeping pace with technology is one of the greatest challenges for educators. It’s a struggle for teachers to use existing tools while also trying to learn the latest technology. You mentioned that some schools in your district have better resources than other schools. I’m curious as to whether your district upgrades only a few schools at one time or the resources are never distributed evenly among the schools. It seems that the district administrators should have a plan to keep all of the schools updated and teachers should know the plan so that they are aware of future changes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that all teachers should be required to integrate technology while teaching. There should be opportunities for teachers to receive training so that the use of the tools is effective and has a positive impact on the students. I also think that administrators should verify that all resources are being used. It’s a waste of resources if a teacher has access to educational tools in a classroom but does not use them while teaching.
Fred (EME5050)
Fred,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my post!
As you stated, "I’m curious as to whether your district upgrades only a few schools at one time or the resources are never distributed evenly among the schools." I believe my district is upgrading a few schools at a time. It all comes down to cost. Therefore, many schools take a very long time to see new upgrades while others have been advancing for quite sometime.
Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I do agree with a lot of the points you made about the consistency of technology in the classroom. I have taught at title 1 schools where technology was scarce and I have also taught at very prominent schools where there is an abundance of technology. As a whole, technology and education should be streamlined and all schools should offer the same type and amount of technology. With that being said, I believe technology is extremely important to the development and future of our students.
I am not the most tech savvy person, but I attend trainings and learn to use the technology provided for my students. I have seen older teachers who are set in their ways and refuse to learn about the technological advances provided to them. I can only say that they are providing their students with an injustice. Dr. Jose Esteves mentioned that students are being primed for their future careers based on the technology they are exposed to.
Simone,
DeleteYou and I have a lot in common. I've taught in both types of schools as well and I have been able to see the great difference and like I stated in my post, it should be equal in order for students to receive similar learning experiences.
I highly appreciate what you stated about attending trainings and learning to use technology more. I also have seen and worked with teachers who just refuse to change their ways. All students deserve the same opportunity to learn and grow in this rapidly changing world full of technology.
Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteWow! I love what you have done with your blog. The moment it popped up on my screen I was surprised. You can tell you have really put some time into working on your website. I may have to ask you for a few pointers later on (I’m still playing around).
I loved what you said here: “If we are teaching our students to be able to survive in this rapidly growing world full of technology, then we need to make sure our schools are implementing the same.” This is such a powerful statement! As educators it’s our obligation to prepare our students for their future. I found that Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes also made a strong point regarding the resources we need as teachers to ensure this is an attainable goal.
I also commented on my blog regarding all teacher’s willingness to learn the new technology. Just because some may feel the technology we use today may be outdated in the future, doesn’t give teachers an excuse to opt out from implementing technology each day.
You also mentioned: “I truly believe that the resources across the board are not allowing our students to have the same learning experience this world requires.” I think very similar when I see the technology other schools obtain, whether it be more or less technology than what my school offers. It doesn’t seem fair to the teachers and especially the students. In an ideal world, each classroom would be equipped with the same technology (wouldn’t this be nice?) The thought of having large companies partner with schools seems like such an easy solution, so why hasn’t it been done? Hopefully, we can do something soon as a country to fix this gap in technology.
Bianca
Thank you for the compliment on my blog! I really enjoyed creating it! Hopefully becomes something I continue to use after this course!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you also agree with my statements! There truly is a gap in our country regarding education, and mostly because of time and cost.
And yes teachers across the board need to understand the important role technology plays in our students education in this generation. I know growing up technology in the classroom was just beginning to sprout, and now it needs to be a norm. Providing teachers with the most effective materials and programs will only increase the performance of our students and prepare them for this world!
Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts with me!!!
No problem! I'm hoping I can find a way to continue my blog as well. It would even be great to utilize as a communication tool with parents. Teachers can post updates and reminders each day. :)
DeleteHello Alyssa!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree withy your points, especially on the two major points. Teachers need to be "pushed" to use more technology in their classrooms. There are so many that just choose not to partake in this new wave of technology because they just don't understand it. I get that; it's a lot of change in a short amount of time - but the need to try, should always be there! I also think districts need to do a better job of training their teachers to be really feel confident enough to work with all that is thrown at them. There is a lot of "self-help" happening in our culture of teaching, and that can no longer work as our technology becomes more sophisticated.
This profession works hand in hand with those up top and those in the classrooms, each and every day working with the students up close and personal. I loved the interview we read; it was real and raw and not changed to agree with all that is happening in our education world today.
Great job!
Tiffany Hickle
Hey Tiffany,
DeleteI appreciate you agreeing with me on several points. Like you said, "Teachers need to be "pushed" to use more technology in their classrooms." I think the biggest problem with that "push" is just providing them with support and training. It really does feel like "self-help" most of the time. For teachers, like myself I don't mind exploring and learning on my own sometimes, but I could only imagine teachers who don't even enjoy technology.
I also loved the interview Jahana Hayes, as well as the video that puts things really into perspective.
Great insight with students and their variability toward devices. So many economical situation and social difference ca hinder the use of technology. Perhaps for now we as instructors should utilize the hybrid approach. Offering both a digital platform as well as analog.
ReplyDeleteThe workload for instructor as increased as well as with class time prep and schema designs, do to the changes in technology. Smart devices are truly fluid they are ever being improved to operate better, safer, ad more efficiently. This also brings up the fact that new Operating systems are then introduced. When this happens updates have to be installed and possibly a new learning curve for both student and instructor.
Overall learners will always be diverse the challenge we have as instructors is how do we prepare for such implication. Furthermore, how do we make it sustainable.
Thank you for commenting on my blog.
ReplyDeleteAs you stated, "Perhaps for now we as instructors should utilize the hybrid approach," that is exactly what we have been able to do because of the lack of time and resources given to certain schools. I do however understand that too much technology can take away from any authentic learning, and students do need personal interactions with peers. Their learning shouldn't be solemnly technology.