Blessing in disguise
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 08:10AM The Gods have two ways of dealing harshly with us – the first is to deny us our dreams,
and the second is to grant them. Oscar Wilde
With no small degree of amusement I read Patrick Welsh's editorial in the washingtonpost.com - A School That's Too High on Gizmo (Sun, Feb 10, 2008). Schaudenfruede, I believe the experience is called.
Welsh complains that teacher morale in his high school in Alexandria, VA, "is the lowest and cynicism the highest" he has seen. Why? There has been a top-down implementation of new technologies like fixed LCD projectors, hand-held devices to use with the the LCDs and school-issued student laptops. (All stuff many, even most, of my teachers would kill to have.)
Welsh's teachers seem to be expected to use this equipment for instruction whether it fit their teaching styles or not. It doesn't sound like teachers were given a voice in the selection or implementation of the technology. Looks like a lot of one-size-fits all kind of thinking. Or as my dad would've said, "These are people with more money than sense." It seems to me the teachers have a right to complain.
It's unlikely such an article would be written by one of my disrict's teachers. But that's less to do with my magnificent leadership and planning skills and more to do with our schools' finances. Our district rarely has the funds to implement any technology in one swell foop. And that is probably a blessing in disguise. Teacher computers, interactive whiteboards, mounted LCD projectors, audio enhancements systems, portable labs and classroom mini-labs have all been phased-in over time. Teachers need to submit thoughtful proposals to obtain most of this equipment and it is on the basis of these proposals that we usually determine who gets the gizmos first. (An early example is here.)
Hmmm, giving tech to teachers who actually want it - what a concept!
Now we do have some technology requirements of all teachers. Everyone is expected to:
- Take attendance and lunch count online.
- Submit grades online and keep them up-to-date and accessible to parents via the web.
- Complete electronic progress reports, report cards and IEP forms.
- Read bulletins and announcements sent via email.
- Have a basic online presence with contact information for parents.
Pretty basic, managerial kinds of things - nothing that would dictate how or what teachers teach.
There is, however, an interesting discussion going on - should all teachers be required to teach an identified set of information and technology literacy skills in their classes at the secondary level. Doing so, I expect, would necessitate teachers also using the technology as well. The other discussion we continue to have is what constitutes a minimum web presence. Is just contact information enough or should teachers be required to make other information available as well - classroom support materials, forms, etc.? So we will also be askeing whether teachers can opt out of using classroom voice enhancement systems that seem to be helping a lot of kids hear and understand verbal instruction?
Nobody much likes being told what to do. No teacher likes his/her professionalism questioned. But nobody wants to see our students not get the IT/IL skills they need to survive because teachers opt out of teaching them. And all parents who wish to be partners in their children's educational experience ought to have the right to access the materials that will help them be effective partners. And it seems the use of audio enhancement systems is a no-brainer - at least to me. (To date we have few of these and they've all been requested by teachers.)
Where's the balance? What should be optional and what should be required? How does your school keep from being "too high on gizmos"?
Reader Comments (4)
Doug -- Fine post, but Will Richardson talked about this this week and I posted my response on his blog.
Thanks, Jane. I will look for yours and Will's comments.
All the best,
Doug
I never thought there would be a school that has too much technology...
Personally, I think if we all actually used what we currently have the way it was designed or implemented, we wouldn't need much additional (i.e. - what if everyone read their e-mails a minimum of three times a day...arrival at school, lunch, before leaving)? What if we used group or school calendars for events so there wouldn't be so many conflicts? What if we looked for that video or document on a shared drive first before we downloaded another copy (which could end up being the fourth or fifth copy)?
And here is a unique idea - train the teachers to use the equipment? And pay them during training? AND require them to attend support and maintenance training after? WHOA!
Use what we have better? Train teachers?
Such radical concepts! They would never be accepted ;-)
Thanks for the comment,
Doug