If the teacher can keep in mind the objective of the lesson they want to plan/teach and the standards that they are trying to meet, integrating technology should be easier. On the first day of 556, we used Wordle. There can be numerous ways that this could be integrated into a lesson. This particular application shouldn't take too long, as some teachers might fear. Integrating technology doesn't have to be a long process. It can be something as simple as listening to a story on a CD. When the teacher begins to feel more comfortable, maybe he/she could take on a bigger project using technology.
Maybe the answer to getting more teachers to use technology is to have workshops in schools about different ways to integrate technology into the curriculum. Any other thoughts on ways to help teachers feel more comfortable with technology in the classroom?
I like how you end your post with a question - hopefully others will respond as well! Personally, I believe the "age" of a teacher who does not use technology is a misconception. There are some more experienced teachers who do not use technology at all, but I have seen equal number of less experienced teachers doing the same thing. Is is age or is it the teaching environment that we continue to repeat over and over - change is not a vision. This week we will spend a lot of time mulling that question over...
ReplyDeleteI think a workshop is a great idea! My hopes for a workshop would be that it would explore several different types of technology. For example, it would be neat if the teachers were presented with a type of technology and then they could share ideas on how they would use it. I'm pretty comfortable using technology, but I think hearing other teachers' ideas would give me another push to use that technology because I would know there is so much more I can use it for than just what I had originally thought.
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