EDLD+5364+Week4

Week 4 reflections

I read the article and book reading this week and came to a couple of conclusions. 1. We are training to give technology skills, but they aren't being transferred into the classroom. I believe that is because we have to teach how to teach, and include technology in that training model. When we started training teachers, the courses were using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. and they were taught entirely out of context with the ways we wanted teachers to use them. We thought that if they could use those tools, then they would automatically apply them to their teaching. That didn't happen. Many didn't use the tools beyond the training session and quickly forgot how. Of the ones that remembered, they didn't have a vision for use of the tools for instruction. I began to notice that even teachers that were fresh out of college where they had to use these tools for their classes, didn't know how to teach with them, or design activities where students used them. I began to change the focus of our professional development. The training classes became focused on learning, practicing, and developing educational strategies with the technology. That began to make some changes, but the real change came when some teachers began to get involved in web-based communites where teachers shared their experiences and lessons learned with other teachers. Another major moment came when our curriculum department began to teach technology during their content training session. When the use of technology was presented by the instructional administration rather than the technology department, teachers responded differently.

2. We don't provide the support that teachers need. If we really want to have technology integrated throughout our curriculum, then we need "just in time" support. That is technology integration specialists who are in campus available to help teachers plan, create, and teach lessons that include technology. Funding is a big problem for this and most districts can't afford the additional personnel. But there is a cycle of teaching where a teacher tends to teach the way that they were taught. If we want to break that cycle, we have to have people on the campus available for teachers to come to with questions.

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