In an effort to simplify reasons for change not happening fast enough in regard to technology in education, we often point fingers at the obvious and go no further in our exploration of the problem. Assigning blame and not solutions is counterproductive. In as far as Technology not being used ubiquitously in schools, this certainly is the case. It is easy to point the finger at educators and say that they are not a welcoming audience for this 21st Century, way-of-the-world medium. It is true that educators make the final decision as to how involved they, or their students, will be in engaging technology in both teaching and learning. I would hope that these decisions are not made without some due consideration.
To say that educators refuse to accept or learn technology is too simple a statement and in most cases misleading. The argument that really gets me is that many educators are too old to get it. We need to replace the old guard with new blood. Educators by nature are sharing and nurturing individuals regardless of their age. Teaching and learning are central to everything they do. If educators are not embracing technology there must be reasons. If we can identify the reasons, and address them, we may take a major step in the right direction to improve education. Yes, I did say improve. At this point in time, the deficiency has been established by the sheer numbers of people who have voiced their concern that our education system is not producing what it is that society expects. Of course that expectation is another topic. What is that expectation that society demands as THE educational outcome, or goal?
In the past, lack of time, and lack of funds were the major excuses for educators not to engage technology. That was a topic of one of my past posts, “No Time, No Funds” http://bit.ly/87G63j. (Thanks to Shelly Terrell for inviting me to post.) Putting those aside we should discuss the other major deterrents for technology use in education.
My personal choice of leading deterrents and where we might first point a finger would be the lack of leadership on the part of the local educational leaders. The leaders would include: Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Directors, Principals, Assistant Principals, and Department Chairs. These are the people who determine the direction of a school or District. There are some examples of leaders who have embraced technology for their districts and often they are Keynote speakers at education conferences. I guess that supports the point that they are unique among educational leaders.
Teachers would be more accepting of technology if their leaders understood, used, and modeled technology use in their everyday leading tasks. Additionally, supporting and encouraging those educators who use it successfully would also make a big difference. Many leaders are quick to cite the wonders of technology when making public speeches, but that is lip-service support. When those same leaders return to their offices, many (not all) have no clue. How many IT Directors have to research, develop, and construct the PowerPoint presentations for their Superintendent to deliver at school board meetings?
Many educators see PowerPoint and email as the pinnacle of technological mastery. The attitude seems to be that, if we use e-mail and our teachers give PowerPoint presentations, our school is employing technology in education. The other extreme, acting as a deterrent, would be the district’s IT staff. I cannot say this happens in every district, but I can say that this is often the complaint that many educators express. They point the finger to the IT people as a problem. The tech people are big tech fans. Their life is tech. They know it. They love it. They can’t live without it. Some are viewed as being more of a techie than teacher, yet they need to teach tech to teachers to teach. (ya gotta love alliteration) The problem is the damned bells and whistles. Some IT people teach their PD classes as if these teachers are being trained to teach tech. They are NOT tech teachers! They have no need to know all the bells and whistles. They need to determine what tech, if any, can help them to teach their students. Can a specific tech application enable their students to learn more meaningfully? Sometimes the answer is no, it can’t. They need to be taught the ability to view tech in the context of their course. Here is the point. If they don’t get it, they won’t use it. Once they do get it, it sells itself.
If the use of technology works its way into the culture of the schools, we will not need to demand tech training for teachers. In a technology rich culture the teachers and students should be engaging technology and each other as a further step to deeper learning. Schools should develop their own tech support groups using best practices and mentoring programs for professional development. Leaders and teachers will model learning for students. Students will engage learning in the digital world in which they have grown up with the help of educators who have had to learn and adapt to that world.
I would hope that, if we can identify our problems and go beyond the finger-pointing to apply solutions, there is a chance for positive change. Without an approach to solutions however, the finger-pointing can disintegrate into a far less helpful finger display. Comments are welcomed, either thumbs up, or thumbs down.
Here is a cartoon series done in response to this blog from my friend Jeff Branzburg: http://edudemic.com/2010/06/the-7-reasons-technology-isnt-in-your-school-comic/
My Island View 
Just once, I’d like to push back on something you say, Tom, but usually I completely agree. The issue of tech integration is so complex; from availability of equipment and adequate internet access to readiness of stakeholders at every level and TIME to allow exploration and creation of content, many issues complicate assimilation of technology into instructional practice. EVERY stakeholder population has resistors and their concerns have to be addressed as we move further into this technological age. You are right that many people seem to think use of any piece of equipment that is powered electrically constitutes “integration of technology” into instruction. For me, the “age” argument holds no water; it’s a mindset, not an age issue. You and I (and many others in our PLN) certainly exemplify that “age” is not a barrier to learning.
So, what can we do? In the absence of clear direction, here is what I’m doing to try to effect change:
• At EVERY workshop I conduct, regardless of topic, I infuse technology into the training. If I do not have access, I at least talk about examples of technology tools that could support the topic.
• I cull Twitter for information, resources, and links that support my work with school improvement and email them to a group of colleagues, always mentioning where I found the information, in hopes that they will eventually see the need to get involved.
• I conduct one-on-one and small groups sessions with people I work with, schools I work with, and any interested individual whenever possible.
• I am targeting school administrators and teaching them to use productivity and collaboration tools, in hopes that they will begin to see the potential for instructional use. It’s a starting point for involvement and helps answer their “what’s in it for me” question.
• I am organizing a TeachMeet Georgia for the fall of 2010.
• I try to communicate that it’s not so much about bells and whistles but about useful tools that do a job other tools can’t do as well.
Progress is slow, but I AM making progress. More and more people I work with are seeing the benefits of technology. I still cringe, however, when I see teacher evaluation instruments that address tech integration and give “points” for using an LCD projector.
As you said, finger pointing becomes counter-productive. We could spread out both our hands, pointing all ten fingers in different directions, and still have every finger pointed at someone who contributes to the problems. There is plenty of blame to go around. Instead, we need to stop looking for a scapegoat and seek meaningful solutions. (And, by the way, “thumbs up or thumbs down” was not the finger I was thinking of.)
“If the use of technology works its way into the culture of the schools”
IF? When will we realize and acknowledge the eventuality of technology in schools?
USE OF TECHNOLOGY? I hope it’s more than mere use. I want technology to be so enmeshed into the school that it becomes hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t there.
I’d hope that the time passes quicker (or quickly). I realize that for FULL integration, we will all need a supportive, nurturing, engaging, culture.
Thanks, Tom, for making me think!
You were so correct about the fact that administrators need to be tech literate and see the benefits on all grade levels and in all subject classes.
I feel tech training will always be needed. PD should include hands-on tech training for each subject area separately. This will require IT people to model uses of tech in that area. Then they have to be available for support and follow through. Most of the tech people I saw when I taught were only there to fix broken equipment.
We have to create a bank of great uses of tech in each subject area that can serve as a reference for teachers.
Tom,
I think this article by you is spot on.
I am interested in making technology use more ubiquitous, but I also need ideas for solutions to my situation. (By the way, I teach EFL in a government elementary school in Taiwan.) Like other educators I am happy to engage in teaching and learning through technology when it enhances the subject. By following #edchat, other twitterers, a number of weblogs and by playing with some of the ideas suggested there, I do my best to keep current with developments and how they can fit my situation.
Also, when I come across something I think is useful to my colleagues, I usually tweet or re-tweet it and occasionally I blog it. I have no doubt that the quality of education can improve through wider use of new technologies, and that our students expect this.
At the same time I would have to say that it’s also appropriate to have some “unplugged” or “low-tech” lessons (or at least parts of lessons) to balance this out.
The lack of funds here tends to be more a misapplication of funds – that is, poor choices made with no consultation. For example, you walk in one morning and find a new Smart Board has been installed. It’s nice and shiny and all the students are waiting in anticipation that you will wow them out of their socks. Unfortunately, you won’t because (a) you’ve already prepared something else for the day, (b) you didn’t get any training in how to use it, (c) the software and computer operating system are in Chinese (which you don’t read), and (d) the program won’t run PowerPoint interactively, which was what you’d prepared.
I would have to agree wholeheartedly with you, Tom, about the local leadership being a major deterrent.
Here the government people, the Education Department people, the Principals, Academic Directors, General Services Directors and Head Teachers are all locals i.e. Taiwanese, and many speak limited English. There is no-one from Canada, the USA, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand in any position of authority – we are all at the bottom of the ladder. Inevitably this means we do not influence, nor have any input into, the decision-making process here. Even worse, our ideas are not sought, and they are not welcomed happily. I know personally of a number of teachers whose contracts have not been renewed because they have been outspoken on such matters.
Just to make our circumstances clearer, do you know how difficult it is to use technology when you have to move between 22 different classrooms per week, having unreliable Internet connections, some with IWB’s some without, some with poor speaker systems or only the computer’s speakers, computers with different software loaded or none loaded to run what you’ve prepared, some with layers of dust on their CD players or no CD players at all, some with projector remotes missing that are missing batteries, etc? At some point, you debate whether it’s even worth bothering with technology and spending extra time preparing such lessons, when there is such apathy at the school.
What can happen is that you end up looking like a clown in front of your class and any credibility you may have built up goes out the window.
Here, we don’t have to worry about PD from the IT staff. They are not necessarily qualified to tinker with the hardware and software. They may be IT teachers but not technicians. Of course, for us “foreigners” they speak little or no English anyway, so they don’t try to teach us any PD. This generally means, no one else does either. I’ve heard that at least some of the “local” teachers have had IWB training, but not us.
To complicate OUR incorporation of IT into lessons further, our students are taught computer use, etc, but in Chinese. This means they need basing typing lessons before they can even enter a web address, let alone read it in English anyway. I’m not saying I haven’t taught lessons in a computer lab – I have – but I’ve had to lead them very slowly and very carefully, and direct them to where they could go, which is rather limiting.
Taiwan isn’t exactly backward in terms of technology. In fact, most of the world’s leading IT companies do much of their research and development here. I’m also sure students are tech-savvy. Unfortunately there is a long way to go to integrate IT into our teaching and learning.
So, after all that, I’d like to say that I don’t feel all that guilty about my limited incorporation of IT into my classes. If someone can come up with a better approach that won’t risk my job security, I’m happy to hear any of their suggestions.
I whole-heartedly agree that technology sells itself because that is exactly what happened to me this last school year.
I’ve been a regular Internet user since ’96 but fell way behind on keeping up with new technology the last 5 or 6 years. About a year ago I had the perfect storm of discontent. My students were less engaged and I was getting frustrated. So I started with Twitter and discovered a whole new world. I committed to get as much PD in tech as I could and as you wrote, the technology sold itself.
I had a very supportive Assistant Principal who walked me through google docs to get me started. A teacher at my school invited me to participate in writing a grant with 5 other teachers to get IWB boards and training. I became part of a cadre of teachers to receive tech training.
First semester was frustrating–too much information–too many bells and whistles to sort through. Second semester I jumped in the deep end of the technology pool by using web 2.0 in all my classes. My students were more engaged, class was interesting and often noisy with activity. I could hardly contain my enthusiasm.
I’ve been given the opportunity to be an instructional coach next school year. Thus, the good news spreads organically as I continue teaching and begin collaborating with other teachers.
Web 2.0 has transformed the teaching/learning environment in my classroom without any prescribed lessons, references, resources, or standards. The transformation just happened and it was wonderful.
Students are already spreading the word. They tell us every day in ways we are just beginning to understand that technology is not simply another tool in the educator’s repetoire of strategies.
A quick observation, Tom.
You say “… we often point fingers at the obvious and go no further in our exploration of the problem … It is easy to point the finger at educators and say that they are not a welcoming audience for this 21st Century, way-of-the-world medium.”
You also say “My personal choice of leading deterrents and where we might first point a finger would be the lack of leadership on the part of the local educational leaders.”
You end with “I would hope that, if we can identify our problems and go beyond the finger-pointing to apply solutions, there is a chance for positive change.”
I am glad you recognize that you are doing finger pointing, but hope to identify problems and get beyond it. As we all know, the issue is much more complex,and finger pointing just tends to simplify it, and therefore prevent its solution.
One more comment, about educators being too old to get it. I agree with you that they are not. But the January 2010 Pew Research Center study on Internet user profiles (http://bit.ly/cr1eiL) showed, among other stats, that the percentage of age groups that use the Internet falls as age increases:
for ages 18-29, 93% use the Internet
for ages 30-49 it is 81%
for ages 50-64 it is 70%
for ages 65+ it is 38%
So maybe there is a grain of truth in the age correlation. If fewer people use the Internet, they may be less comfortable using it in their teaching. (I assume, maybe erroneously, that there would be a correlation between Internet use and use of technology in general).
Jeff,
There are two small problems with your age analysis of educators who use technology.
Firstly, I don’t know about your country, but in mine they retire at 65 or earlier. So, no presently practising teachers are in the 65+ group. If you look at the other age groups, by far most (at least 70%) use technology.
Secondly, this is an analysis of the general population, of which teachers are not a representative sample. It is not valid to extrapolate the results from one population to another.
If what you contend is to be supported by statistics, it needs to be done using working age educators.
Greg:
So true. That’s why I called it a grain of truth. But I do think that some statistical basis, in addition to simply one’s opinion, adds to the discussion.
All I can add to it, based on my observations in the schools in which I have been regularly consulting for the past few years, are two observations (opinions, if you will):
First, teachers under age 40 seem to be more comfortable using technology in general and technology in the classroom specifically than those over 40.
Second, teachers under age 40 seem to be more likely to use technology in collaborative ways (wikis, Skype video conferences, etc) than those over 40 (who are more likely to limit use to word processing, PowerPoint, etc.).
I do stress that these are observations, in a couple of NYC schools over the past couple of years. Strictly hypotheses.
I do believe that comfort level is important; not just in tech, but in all teaching. For example, I have seen self-contained elementary teachers teach inspired lessons in poetry (because that is their passion) but much less interesting science lessons (if they feel uncomfortable or less knowledgeable with science).
Thanks, Jeff. If nothing else, I appreciate the discussion and the opportunity to do so provided by Tom on this blog.
There may well be anecdotal evidence to support your contention, however I would like to encourage those of us over 40 to be among the exceptions rather than to slide back into a comfortable stereotype.
What I would add is that it might be more accurate to say that both groups are comfortable with technologies, but not necessarily with the same ones. This can work in both directions. For example, an older teacher might be more comfortable with a manual typewriter or cassette player than a younger teacher, and these are still around.
I think we also need to be judicious with our use of all technologies. “New” doesn’t always mean “better” or “most appropriate”. If you saw my earlier comments yesterday, you will be aware of the many problems here (in Taiwan) of trying to include IT & other technologies in our teaching.
While IWB’s, wikis, m-teaching, etc are nice and new (for now), they don’t invalidate other approaches. I can still use flashcards, games, drama, songs, chants, cuisinaire rods, puppets, realia, drawing, TPR and any number of other tools to be effective.
If you have an illness and go to a doctor, you don’t always get a heart transplant operation. Sometimes, you get some plain old paracetamol and instructions for taking a rest. In the same way we should select the best tools for learning, whether high- or low-tech.
There are so many hurtles that have to be crossed unfortunately before we can really lead a whole school into the tech world but developing a solid foundation is key check out my blog: http://goo.gl/fb/g7knj for my ideas of who should be in this team. Thanks for writing the blog, you reminded me that not everyone is as up to date as a newbie like myself, and that I should be teaching those who are teaching me to be a better educator.
A lot of wisdom here, Tom. Excellent post.
A few other elements to consider- fear and lack of will. Many teachers are afraid because so many variables lead to so many potential problems. Technology raises the bar of complexity and teachers get frustrated when they invest time and effort, then make a mistake saving a movie or the projector lamp for their smartboard burns out, etc.
In addition to the good-hearted but fearful are the teachers who may be burning out and looking forward to retiring in a few years. Those teachers are similar to high school seniors in May and June– they view learning as a “what’s the point” activity.
The solution to the fearful is tricky because the only thing that makes us more adept is tons of practice, but they are too afraid of failure to keep trying.
For those that lack will, I don’t see a real solution. Eventually retirement comes knocking and those teachers are replaced by hungrier teachers who are more willing to learn and grow.
I think the age issue is in danger of being a red herring – but we need to ensure that we don’t write off colleagues as being tech-resistant, thinking they’ll never get the point. More frequently, the important thing is the building of our colleagues’ confidence and taking the time to listen to, address and support through the issues that are perceived as being barriers to introducing new tech-based tools. Supportive, nurturing environments are what we we try to put into place for our pupils to learn – so we need the same environment for our colleagues to be receptive, to learn and to feel it is safe to try out new ideas – even if they don’t work first time.
This is such an interesting post, Tom – and some thought provoking comments also. As I have multiple roles in my life as an educator I find that one of the main issues is trying to understand *why* some people (and I am sure this doesn’t apply only to teachers) are more open to change than others. I also don’t think that this reticence applies only to the use of technology.
As a deputy head teacher in the UK, I lead the in-house PD programme and I also happen to teach on a Masters in Education programme with the Open University. The most often cited reason for not joining in with voluntary PD is lack of time and yet the Masters students (almost all practising teachers) say that they do the course to improve their understanding of learning and learners and to improve their preactice. This last year, I was able to get our school programme accredited through the College of Teachers and yet still only about 10 out of 60 teachers have found time to do the course.
I am also studying again myself – an MA in online and distance education – fascinating if sometimes difficult stuff.
Colleagues and I have set up a small group to investigate the special case of online pedagogy (or should it be andragogy – or even idagogy?). It’s going to be interesting to see where this goes.
A final thought is something that a few school colleagues have tried to develop this year – an Innovations Group. Next year we are going to try to extend this to a few other schools. I will also be resurrecting our school PD directory where teachers can volunteer for peers to observe them – for example creatively using technology.
It’s frustrating but exciting ….. not sure about the age thing. I’ve seen a few summers now but still like to try things out. There maybe some correlation but I don’t think that’s the real problem. I think it’s more the old agage of if you want something doing, ask a busy person.