Technology Barriers

There are several barriers of technology in education.  One of the biggest barriers of technology is money.  Technology is expensive, and there never seems to be enough money to buy new technology.  Another barrier that is closely related to money is the fact that we have old, outdated technology in our schools.  We are forced to use old, slow computers with outdated software when students should be learning about the newest technologies to help prepare them for the future.  Another barrier of technology in education is teachers who are anti-technology.  There are still teachers who are simply against using technology in the classroom.  Either they don't see the benefit of technology or they just refuse to learn how to use it, and therefore refuse to teach their students using technology.  These barriers prevent students from using the technology that they need to be learning how to use to help prepare them for the future.

Technology and Literacy

Does technology help or harm literacy?  This is a question that is really hard to answer.  I think that in many ways technology has helped literacy, with many programs and devices designed to help children and others learn how to read.  However, I believe that technology has greatly harmed spelling and grammar skills.  When we type on the computer, it tells us if we spell a word wrong and gives us suggestions as to how to correct it.  We have also gotten into the habit of using text language and shortening and abbreviating words so we don't have to type everything out.  I have so many students who will try to use text language in their papers, and then they get mad when I take points off their grade.  They also don't seem to see the need to capitalize anything!  I believe that technology has definitely harmed our proper communication skills because we feel the need to communicate quickly instead of focusing on proper spelling and grammar! 

Technology Article

I recently read an article in the October issue of Tech & Learning called "Mix it Up!" by Ellen Ullman.  The article discusses how five school districts have come up with innovative ways to deliver professional development opportunities to teachers.  Professional development is something that most teachers dread because we very seldom get much out of it.  Technology PD is something that is vital to make sure that teachers incorporate technology in their classrooms, and we must make the PD beneficial in order for it to be effective.  One idea I really liked was the eCoach school bus that the Scottsdale Unified School District in Arizona uses to train students and teachers in effective technology use.  The eCoach travels from school to school and is installed with technology that is in the classroom, including a SMARTBoard, document camera, iPads, and wireless Internet access.  The eCoach allows teachers to stay at their school and still receive hands-on, effective professional development.  Tom Clark, chief technology officer in this school district, says that "by providing teachers with experience with iPads and some of the innovative apps that are available, they can learn what might work best in their learning environment."  The article discusses other school districts who are utilizing online PD, providing teachers with hundreds of videos and interactive online technology coaches that provide teachers with individualized instruction.  I thought that this was a very informative article that had some great ideas for providing teachers with better technology professional development.

Homecoming Week

This week is Homecoming Week at New Hope High School.  Everyday the students (and teachers) get to dress up based on a different theme.  Monday was Camo Day, Tuesday was Salad Dressing Day, Wednesday was Twin Day, Thursday was Generation Day, and today is Indian Spirit Day.  I kind of enjoy homecoming week because it means that I get to wear jeans and a t-shirt to school everyday!  :)  There are other fun traditions that the students take part in during homecoming week - they roll people's houses throughout the week, each class builds a float for the homecoming parade, and each class decorates their hallway in the school. We also got out of school today at 1:30 for the Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally. Tonight is the homecoming football game, and we are playing Brindlee Mountain, and then tomorrow night is the homecoming dance. Then next week, hopefully we can get things back to normal!

Along with all the homecoming festivities, last night we also hosted the Volleyball Area Tournament. We beat J.B. Pennington in the first game, so that means that we get to continue our season and play in the Super Regional Tournament next weekend in Huntsville!

Old Technology

What do we do with old technology?  That is a question that is kind of hard to answer.  At my school, it seems like we use our technology for as long as possible, and we only buy new technology when the old technology dies and we are forced to replace it.  As for where that old technology goes, it is kind of a mystery.  It normally ends up in the corner of the teacher workroom, waiting patiently for Computer Services to come and dispose of it.  It eventually disappears, having either been picked up by Computer Services or having been moved to a secret closet where old, broken technology goes to die.  Is this where our old technology should go?  I'm not really sure.  But as long as it doesn't sit in my classroom and take up space (like a broken printer did for the last 2 years), I try not to think too much about that old technology.

The Joys of Being a Tech Contact

I am the Tech Contact at New Hope High School.  This is my first year as tech contact, and I had no idea how much of my time would be devoted to this new role that I have been assigned to.  My job as tech contact is to help any teachers who are having issues with their computers.  At least half of my planning period each day is spent with me visiting other teachers' classrooms seeing if I can fix computer problems.  Most of the time I can fix the problem, but if I can't I have to put a work order in with Computer Services.  They are great about coming out quickly to solve problems, but sometimes the solutions to the problems don't make the teachers happy.  And I am the one who the teachers complain to when their computers aren't functioning exactly how they want them to.  I really enjoy helping teachers with their technology issues, but sometimes it is very hard when I know that I should be spending my time planning lessons for my students rather than fixing computer problems.  I am learning a lot in this new role as tech contact, and everyday I learn something new about the technology in our school.

Symbaloo

A website that I’ve discovered recently that has been very helpful to both me and my students is Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a great website that allows you to place all of your favorite websites as tiles on one page. I have recently set my Symbaloo webmix as my homepage on my school computer. This allows me quick access to all of the websites that I frequently visit in my classroom. In the near future, I plan on having my students create a Symbaloo webmix as their homepage, so that they can quickly access websites that we use in class. Teaching in a computer lab, I have my students visit various websites on a daily basis. Symbaloo seems like a great tool that my students can use to access different websites instead of adding the websites to their favorites. I also plan on creating a Symbaloo webmix for my home computer with websites that I use personally on a regular basis.

The Joys of Teaching in a Computer Lab

Being a teacher who depends on technology each and every day can be stressful at times.  I teach in a computer lab with 24 computers that are over 6 years old and are still running Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003.  Needless to say, things go wrong with these computers all the time.  For example, twice already this week the Internet was down, and I had to modify my lesson plans quickly so that my students wouldn't just be sitting there doing nothing.  When the Internet is down, you would think that the world was coming to an end the way that the students overreact!  They are so dependent on having technology available to them at all times.  I believe that teaching in a computer lab has prepared me for the stressful job of an administrator.  I have to be prepared everyday for something to go wrong, and I always have to have a backup plan when things don't go as planned.   

Resistance to Technology

There are many teachers who do not see the need for using technology in their classrooms.  Either they do not see how technology could make teaching easier for them or they just don't understand how to effectively utilize technology in their classroom.  In today's technology-driven society, it is important that all teachers use technology to better teach their students.  As a computer teacher and tech contact, I see resistance to the use of technology almost everyday.  I try my hardest to help teachers see how beneficial technology is, but some just don't want to hear it.  

As an administrator, it will be very important for me to make sure that there is no resistance to using technology in the classroom.  One way I can do this is to provide teachers with professional development to help them feel comfortable using technology in their classroom.  Another way to make sure that teachers utilize technology in their classrooms is for the administration to use technology in an effective way.  If teachers see that the administration is on board with using technology, maybe they will be more willing to give technology a try.   

BLT

This school year I have the opportunity to serve on our Building Leadership Team (BLT).  Last week, BLT members from all over Madison County had an opportunity to come together at the Jackson Center at Hudson Alpha to listen to a great motivational speaker.  His name was Jamie Vollmer, and he talked to us about the fact that as educators we have the power to change the way that the public thinks about education.  He talked a lot about the assumptions that the general public has about public education.  He said that most people believe that public education is flawed, that it's the teachers' fault, and that if schools were run like a business everything would be okay.  As a businessman, he said that he used to believe those things but quickly learned after speaking at different schools, that these assumptions are just not true.  It is impossible to run schools like businesses, because schools have the responsibility to educate EVERY student regardless of their circumstances while businesses can pick and choose who and what they do business with.  He ended his talk by describing what we can do as educators to change the negative perception of public education.  We have to go out into the community and promote our successes.  Mr. Vollmer wrote a book called Schools Cannot Do It Alone that I plan on reading in the near future.  I feel like we all learned a lot from his presentation and hopefully we will make the effort to shift from the negative perceptions to the positive!