Don't Even Get Me Started...

This article is full of insight and evidence regarding why teachers do not tend to innovate when they are given computers; once again proving it is what you do with technology that most often matters—not just merely having access to it.  As noted, all the “newest” innovations rapidly become obsolete; changes run rampant.  The first bit of information that drew a strong response really touched a nerve when the study reveals how disappointingly low the usage remains in the classroom because of factors that facilitate or hinder teachers' use of technology. Although teachers often desire to become innovative in instruction, it seems there are so many roadblocks.  I was always committed to what was best for my students when I taught senior English, hoping that I could encourage my students to reach for higher educational goals. My first thought was the day my principal offered me an opportunity to work with a grant to obtain a lab for my classroom. I jumped on it, knowing the day would arrive in the near future that this daily use of technology in class to do research, draft and publish compositions, and even mundane tasks like note taking might just make a difference when my students arrived at college, my dream for each of them in this harsh, competitive world. I recall vividly the excitement of planning out my room with exactness. I wanted some traditional seating for discussion, knowing how some are distracted any time they even get near a computer. The librarians and technology teacher helped me draft a plan, as I wanted the computers around the perimeter of the room where I could see who was doing what at any given assignment since I tend to be a time on task kind of girl. That summer when I entered good old room 128 at Churchland High School offered a surprise I hadn’t bargained for upon my return. Oh, yes, the computers were in the room, beautiful, shiny, expensive, and new. But, it appeared as if a drunken person had configured them in the room helter-skelter. I almost cried since my loving seating arrangement had been thrown to the wind. Quickly, I grabbed my best partner-in-crime, Godfrey, our custodian. I knew if anyone would help me fix this mess, he would.  The comment that still sticks in my mind is what our head of technology told me when I asked him to come to see how everything had been wired in the craziest fashion with no rhyme or reason. He looked me in the eye and told me, “It is not about the teacher.” And I looked him in the eye and said as long as it was my classroom management, it WAS about the teacher. He “allowed” us to fix things the way they were intended with order and functionality. But those hot, sweltery days Godfrey and I spent on a ladder for the better part of a week undoing the fiasco that should have been the greatest present ever to my students will never be forgotten.   Having the computers as a part of my classroom opened up a whole new world for my students, and I learned just as they did. I loved having a computer lab as an English class for my kids, and they reaped a world of benefits from having access to this invaluable resource. A willingness to be an innovator can indeed open a world of possibilities.

            Next point, I hear so much frustration from the teachers I work in the high schools; it is universal and part of their life. Sometimes it reminds me of Russia back in the days when there would be a surplus of some items; yet, none of them worked, so people complacently accepted and went about their business. This is the human infrastructure piece. I walk into relatively new buildings that were built to be the latest showcases of technology within the last ten years. Nothing works. Just as the study describes, there is a school culture that places an emphasis on achievement on state standardized testing; the whole world revolves around that one element.  There is no thinking outside of the box—nothing but SOL scores and making AYP. In the meantime, trying anything new is alien—the Richoh copier is always broken if there is even any paper for it (I bring my own ream), none of the printers work or if they do, they print with smudged edges and polka dots. Just this morning, one of my English 12 teachers showed me a stack of college reference letters she had just printed and wanted to know if it was wrong to send them off all blotched and spotty. No! It was an absolute, embarrassing sight. The “flexible and responsive” technical staff will scratch their heads and wonder why the teachers are so frustrated, responding that there are plenty of computers. Try booking a lab with librarians who often do not even want students in “their” library (funny, considering it is a public school the last time we checked); there is nothing invitational to even bid their presence in this domain. I can so relate to the hindrances enumerated upon—lack of student e-mail accounts, Websense blocking any and everything, staff included.  I had to have IT unblock blogger.com, even though we are using it for educational purposes. My teachers literally begged me to do an efficiency study in their building to count the available computers in terms of the student population just to show how shorthanded we are, in reality.  I added to their request and said for the fun of it, while we are at it, let’s also count for all the printers that are broken and don’t work. Once again, everybody and his brother want the data and statistics and figures; but, forget about making it easily attainable. I will wrap this up by saying that teachers need the leadership that one of the participants discussed—not just someone to administrate, a great insight. No more school improvement workshops with hired speakers who teach us about the joys of using a Smartphone for educational purposes when we still have a policy that bans us from using them. Give us the resources, the support administratively and technically, and let us do our job as the 21^st century now compels.


Reference:
Zhao, Y., Pugh, K., Sheldon, S. (2002). Conditions for classroom technology innovations. Teachers College Record, 104(3), 482-515.