Integrating technology into the any teachers classroom can be frustrating, time consuming and unrewarding. Teachers who have technology 'lumped' on them or who are expected to use it well immediately rightly put walls up and find reasons for not utilising the myriad of opportunities that lie patiently waiting for enthusiastic educators to realise their power in enhancing the curriculum.
For me, small steps are needed for me to introduce something into my classroom and my teaching. It must do a job. If it doesnt - I don't use it. The novelty wears off when learning objectives are not met and students lose motivation. Here are 5 things that teachers, of any experience level, to try who are new to integrating ICT in their classroom. Let's call these of our colleagues 'New to ICT', or N2ICT teachers. Feedback most welcome.
PLAY
How do young kids learn things that are not part of our curriculum in schools? By PLAYing. Hence, early childhood teachers factor in structured play where kids can try things, muck up and the world doesn't collapse. When presented with an iPad for the first time, it is reasonable to assume that a person could 'break' it by pressing 'the wrong button'. But that's exactly how to learn! Press 'the wrong button' and you'll know not to press it next time! N2ICT teachers should be encouraged to try and 'break it' (the software, not the hardware) so they can see what could work for them in their teaching. Play, play, play.
ACCESS
There are many resources available for N2ICT teachers to ACCESS. Let's start with the room next door. "What are you doing with ICT?" does not need to be timetabled in, nor does it need to whip up a verbal frenzy amongst staff. These 'here's one idea' moments are generally all anyone can handle in passing conversation. These brief discussions over time can elicit a great variety of resources from a variety of ICT areas. As stated above, if it does a job for you - use it and you win. If it doesn't - do not use it! There's no right or wrong.
GOOGLE
I haven't mastered this, but can fumble my way around to find a relevant image, graph, kids' website etc. to enhance my lessons. There is so much more that GOOGLE searches could be used for or to refine searching, however it does a job for me. N2ICT teachers entering their learning area or specific concept to teach with keywords such as 'school', 'for kids' or 'education' will open a world where students can explore ideas outside of the classroom. Imagine teaching without websites or the web? We used to. This small step will open doors.
EMBRACE
ICT can easily get a bad name. 'The network's down' or 'it cost too much' are common counters for ICT's effectiveness, but let's get real - the network isn't always down and for ever expensive piece of software there's an online equivalent waiting to be used. Resources are also sitting in every teachers classroom. The students. Setting up an 'expert session' where students can teach other students can help teach the ICT skills needed to quickly and effeciently negotiate software. Teachers do not need to be ICT experts. Having students 'go-to' people for websites (Edmodo, Google Images, Evernote) can relieve the teacher of the burden of feeling a need to be the expert. it's empowering and certainly communicates to the class your expertise lies with the teaching and helping them learn content. You'd also have to be hiding under a rock to not hear about free PDs that are available. I was read 7 PDs flyers in one week last term... They're out there if N2ICT teachers want to EMBRACE ICT.
S.A.M.R.
I love this model. It says to me that it's OK to use a laptop for word processing, but it's not OK to keep doing it lesson after lesson, year after year. N2ICT teachers can substitute something that they currently do (eg Substitute pen and paper for Microsoft Word, Apple's Pages MacApp, or Notes on the iPad). The next steps are to AUGMENT, MODIFY and REDEFINE so that the end
The following image was posted on Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's brilliant blog 'Langwitches': http://langwitches.org/blog/category/technology/ and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. It gives a definition and examples of each stage for N2ICT teachers to work with. I still refer to it regularly to see how I can improve my teaching to 'Redefine' for students who don't live in a society that I lived ina t their age, so don't want to be educated the same way I was at their age.
For me, small steps are needed for me to introduce something into my classroom and my teaching. It must do a job. If it doesnt - I don't use it. The novelty wears off when learning objectives are not met and students lose motivation. Here are 5 things that teachers, of any experience level, to try who are new to integrating ICT in their classroom. Let's call these of our colleagues 'New to ICT', or N2ICT teachers. Feedback most welcome.
PLAY
How do young kids learn things that are not part of our curriculum in schools? By PLAYing. Hence, early childhood teachers factor in structured play where kids can try things, muck up and the world doesn't collapse. When presented with an iPad for the first time, it is reasonable to assume that a person could 'break' it by pressing 'the wrong button'. But that's exactly how to learn! Press 'the wrong button' and you'll know not to press it next time! N2ICT teachers should be encouraged to try and 'break it' (the software, not the hardware) so they can see what could work for them in their teaching. Play, play, play.
ACCESS
There are many resources available for N2ICT teachers to ACCESS. Let's start with the room next door. "What are you doing with ICT?" does not need to be timetabled in, nor does it need to whip up a verbal frenzy amongst staff. These 'here's one idea' moments are generally all anyone can handle in passing conversation. These brief discussions over time can elicit a great variety of resources from a variety of ICT areas. As stated above, if it does a job for you - use it and you win. If it doesn't - do not use it! There's no right or wrong.
I haven't mastered this, but can fumble my way around to find a relevant image, graph, kids' website etc. to enhance my lessons. There is so much more that GOOGLE searches could be used for or to refine searching, however it does a job for me. N2ICT teachers entering their learning area or specific concept to teach with keywords such as 'school', 'for kids' or 'education' will open a world where students can explore ideas outside of the classroom. Imagine teaching without websites or the web? We used to. This small step will open doors.
EMBRACE
ICT can easily get a bad name. 'The network's down' or 'it cost too much' are common counters for ICT's effectiveness, but let's get real - the network isn't always down and for ever expensive piece of software there's an online equivalent waiting to be used. Resources are also sitting in every teachers classroom. The students. Setting up an 'expert session' where students can teach other students can help teach the ICT skills needed to quickly and effeciently negotiate software. Teachers do not need to be ICT experts. Having students 'go-to' people for websites (Edmodo, Google Images, Evernote) can relieve the teacher of the burden of feeling a need to be the expert. it's empowering and certainly communicates to the class your expertise lies with the teaching and helping them learn content. You'd also have to be hiding under a rock to not hear about free PDs that are available. I was read 7 PDs flyers in one week last term... They're out there if N2ICT teachers want to EMBRACE ICT.
S.A.M.R.
I love this model. It says to me that it's OK to use a laptop for word processing, but it's not OK to keep doing it lesson after lesson, year after year. N2ICT teachers can substitute something that they currently do (eg Substitute pen and paper for Microsoft Word, Apple's Pages MacApp, or Notes on the iPad). The next steps are to AUGMENT, MODIFY and REDEFINE so that the end
The following image was posted on Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's brilliant blog 'Langwitches': http://langwitches.org/blog/category/technology/ and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. It gives a definition and examples of each stage for N2ICT teachers to work with. I still refer to it regularly to see how I can improve my teaching to 'Redefine' for students who don't live in a society that I lived ina t their age, so don't want to be educated the same way I was at their age.
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