The article Linking Technology, Learning, and School Change by Alan Feldman, Bob Coulter, and Cliff Konold illustrated what effectively integrated technology into teaching and learning looks, sounds, and feels like when used beyond the common practices of video games and drill and kill activities for example. It also discussed how school and district support are vital for successfully implementing/integrating technology into teaching and learning.
The article provided a vignette of a teacher that had taught in a project/ inquiry-based manner. It was interesting to see his transformation from teaching in this manner to exploring ways of how to best use technology to support his inquiry-based teaching and learning. Through the assistance of a educational technologist, he was able to deepen his application of technology and help deepen his students’ understanding of the content.
Both the teacher and the students appeared to have been revitalized in their teaching and learning. Furthermore, students were now being exposed to more opportunities of learning from resources beyond their local community.
The integration of technology into teaching and learning did not happen overnight. The authors clearly communicated that it takes a supporting system change to implement such an endeavor. Support from school and district level leadership is critical. Also, providing teachers with someone whose primary focus is providing professional development and support in the area of integrating technology into the curriculum is essential.
At my district we do have the school and district support, as well as staff that train and provide teachers with professional development. My school in particular has a vast amount to technological resources. However, I do not see the inquiry-based teaching and learning occurring as often as I would like to. I believe in order for this to come to fruition, we, (our instructional leadership team), will need to have conversations regarding this instructional approach and begin to prepare teachers for this paradigm shift in teaching.
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4 comments:
It certainly can be a bit frustrating when the technology, training, and leadership support is in place for innovation to occur. It seems that the belief to practice phase is the most challenging.
Wow. You really hit it when it comes to using technology in the classroom. It is way too easy for kids to get access to and use the world of information, music and art out there. And it is exceptionally hard for kids, in this world of instant gratification, to understand how and why we need to follow rules of copyright. I loved the inquiry based suggestions...now I just need to think of more!
You talk about a look into a teachers’ classroom where technology is doing its magic and your regrets over your schools lack of leadership in this area. You are now in a position to take the lead at your school in this area. In fact, when they hear about what you’re doing, and see what you are doing in the classroom, you may find yourself being asked to take on this role. Many educators want leadership, training, and support in this area. I suggest rising to this challen
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