What tech use should NOT be optional for teachers?
Friday, January 29, 2010 at 06:50AM In last Tuesday's post, "A case study on technology implementation," I asked:
Why have no common expectations for gradebook/SIS use been set for Chris's teachers? [A district tech director indicated only half his teachers used the gradebook in his district's student information system.] Do soldiers get their choice of weapons? Do bank tellers get to choose whether to use the bank's computer system? Do physicians get to choose not to use the CAT scan if so inclined? If the parents in Chris's district have indicated that better access to their children's progress metrics are important to them, why have the administrators in Chris's district simply not said "Using the SIS gradebook is a basic job expectation, just like taking roll or giving grades or having PT conferences. Do it."
And, as expected, was take to task for this statement in a comment:
I found your analogies unhelpful--soldiers and bank tellers are generally expected to follow direct orders instead of planning their own objectives. Doctors DO get to choose whether or not to use the CAT scan--part of the healthcare debate concerns whether doctors are choosing expensive diagnostic tools too often!
I don't see the issue of what technology use should be required and what should remain discretionary discussed in the literature much. (It's boring management stuff rather than the exciting visionary stuff.) It is a touchy subject, but since I am bit touched anyway, let's proceed...
The debate about whether teaching is truly a "profession" has been bandied back and forth for a loooong time - at least I remember discussing it when I was a little education student growing up on the prairie. Teachers seem to be autonomous practitioners somehow all contained within in a bureaucratic organization - and that leads to some interesting boundary questions.
In general I am very much appalled by efforts to teacher-proof curricula and to generally de-professionalize our jobs. Such theories and strategies are political - not pedagogical. In general, individual teachers should be given very broad latitude in how they teach and the tools they use to meet local, state and national objectives. Good teaching has many faces and a variety of teaching styles is good for meeting a variety of learning styles.
That said, teachers are a part of a larger organization - a team, a community, if you will. We have an obligation to our clients - the community, parents and students we serve. Our community hires our output and pays our salaries, after all.
So for better or worse, here would be my technology use "requirements" for all teachers were I king of the schools. All teachers will:
- Use the student information system to track attendance and record grades.
- Use the student information system's online gradebook to list individual progress/results on student work (quizzes, tests, project etc.) in a timely manner so parents and students have access to real-time information.
- Have a web-presence that includes (at minimum), contact information, classroom expections of students, and general course outlines with clear learning objectives and timelines. Any large projects should be described along with the assessment tools used to evaluate them.
- Make available online all forms, lists and guides useful to parents.
- Use the student information system or school e-mail system to electronically communicate with parents.
- Use tools provided by the distric that are a standard part of each classroom - projection system, voice amplification system, IWB, etc.
- Word process all written materials to be given to students (for ease of reading).
- Receive/access all district communications online.
Is this too much to ask? Does this put a huge crimp in anybody's style of teaching? Or is it just "professional" to use the tools one is provided - whether a soldier, banker or physician?
One of our tech keynote pundits (sorry I don't remember which one - Libby Black?) reminds us that if anything is optional, some people will choose not to do it. A simple, but profound observation.
Modify my list - make it better...
And have a lovely weekend.
Reader Comments (15)
It all depends on what the district provides. It might be helpful to have a "What Tech materials should NOT be optional for school districts to provide to teachers" as a precursor to this. For example, your goals assume that each teacher has a working laptop with internet access in his/her room. Even THAT modest assumption is not always true at this point.
This year, the district where I teach switched all communication to email and required teachers to check it. Amazingly, within two months, communication improved, complaining about email stopped, and even reluctant users increased their use. I guess sometimes even teachers need a little push.
An online presence, with class information, contact information, and grades keeps parents informed and eliminates so many problems. I think the only teachers that would resist were those that had never tried it. And that is most definitely no excuse.
If I may be so bold, I would add to your list two items:
* Learn and utilize digital library media resources in appropriate instructional settings.
* Attend and participate in all Professional Development sessions designed to teach effective use of instructional and informational technology resources.
I think that comparing grade book to a CAT scan is a faulty comparison.
grade book = patient records system in hospital
CAT scan = active expressions or other response system for diagnoses.
I had a very old fashion doctor as a child. He was very conservative about new things. Our cough syrup had no flavoring. We were never tempted to chug it because it tasted like candy - but we begged for it when we had a bad cough (you only took it if coughing wouldn't let you sleep or talk because coughing is for clearing your lungs.)
When I was having problems in school and with coordination - he ordered a full work up and hounded the insurance company to cover PT to help me. My LD's were not diagnosed at that time it was couple more years but I am atypical in some ways.
I think it is a pretty comprehensive list. I think you need to add proper use of communication tools to it - including email, voicemail, and phones. I can't believe we still have people resistant to using/checking email and voicemail messages.
The tools you list are the ones required to get work done in our "industry". In other lines of work people can complain all they want about the technology and software they are provided, but if they refuse to use it they are usually fired. Teaching is the only "profession" where we have individuals that consider themselves "professionals" that have the ability to choose the required tools and practices.
In my opinion, this all goes back to the tenure argument - teachers know they are safe, so they have the power to ignore their supervisors. You will never have 100% adoption of any of these required technologies until it is part of the evaluation or it becomes so ubiquitous with society that they just happen.
Great discussion about what exactly defines professionalism - I believe that teachers are professionals and that being a professional entails a combination of both extremes. Professionals do make decisions based on their expertise as teachers make instructional decisions every minute of the day as they interact with and provide formative feedback to students. But professionals also effectively and efficiently use the tools of their trade to promote their craft; they act in a professional manner to perform as a cohesive unit and adhere to common expectations of practice.
Just as teachers are (or should be) expected to teach to a common curriculum with common standards and assessments, they are (or should be) expected to engage in and model use of the technologies that we've been fortunate enough to gain through taxpayer dollars and in which we expect our students to demonstrate proficiency in (21st century skills not just for the youngest generation!)
Doug, I think your list represents the minimum competencies and, although I know we still struggle getting everyone on board with, for example, a regular and swift response to email, I'm actually a little surprised to hear those might not be expectations in all districts (with access to those technologies). Robbie, great additions to the list (digital media and PD in integration). Thanks for continuing to fuel my ideas list for PD and new teacher training in our district.
I have some thoughts that may, or may not, be pertinent:
1. The District certainly has the "right" to require its employees to use the (appropriate and current) tools of the trade such as SIS and electronic communication, and the responsibility to provide adequate in-service training. There is no option in my District - all must use the SIS and email, and voicemail.
2. Teachers should also have basic proficiencies in other digital tools such as word processing and presentation programs, projection, and in using interactive tools. Again, adequate training should be provided by the District.
3. Some kind of presence on the web should also be required, but that could be as simple as having your email address listed (as a hotlink) on the District's web page.
4. Above all, whatever digital tools the teacher uses in the classroom, should only be used if it is the best way to teach. I witness, almost daily, teachers using a computer and projector to display things like this: "Get out a piece of paper, put your full name on the top, and number from 1 to 20 for today's spelling test". If it can be written on a whiteboard or simply told, there is no need for this technology. On the other hand if you really need technology because it is the best way or there is no other way to teach a concept, then teachers should have it available and should be trained how to use it. Using the cart and projector for streaming educational video is appropriate because it's the best and perhaps the only way to get that information to the students.
BTW, your list is great.
BF
As a school librarian, I have teachers simply signing up to use computer labs and having their students Google for research information. We have online databases that are paid for by the district, the state and our school that are not used, because there is no requirement to have teachers or students learn how to use them. Shouldn't this be added to a minimal list of things teachers (at least those who have student research) should be required to know about?
Utilize video streaming portals effectively, particularly those funded (an annually up for being chopped) by the district or state. I just checked our stats yesterday and they were DISMAL, though our slowly but surely dying VHS collection had six times the usage rate than the video streaming portal.
Great list. I think the professionalism argument is a very weak one - can you imagine a surgeon refusing to scrub properly per the hospital rules because "he's a professional" or a lawyer not turning in proper paperwork because "he's a professional" ?
As was mentioned above, in order to make these expectations work, we need to make them clear and mandatory, but we also need to provide the infrastructure to make them possible, and the staff development to make them easy. We also need to have a similar set for administrators (per your earlier posts).
Thanks for making us think.
Just caught up with reading this--thanks for your response. i think these requirements make good sense without "crimping" teaching styles, and I did like your point about balancing being a professional with being a good team player!
Doug,
I'm very much in favor of some baseline requirements for the classroom. Your list is a great start, but what I find lacking is that it is pretty much limited to what I generally define as the "administrative" category of instructional technology tacks.
I divide instructional technology into a 3 categories, best represented as a three-cell Venn Diagram:
Administrative tools (e.g., gradebooks, email, teacher websites). These are generally tools that make the background procedures easier for teachers and administration. They typically do not directly impact instruction.
Teacher/Instructional Tools (e.g., interactive white boards, video streaming, skill-and-drill games) These items are tied directly to the delivery of instructional content, generally with no benefit to the student in terms of technology skills gained. They often represent an improvement in instructional delivery, but may or may not ever involve a student in the use of technology.
Student Skills (e.g., Word processing, keyboarding, information literacy, communication, search strategies) This are skills that may or may not have direct ties to subject-area content, but are designed with the objective of teaching students to acquire technology skills.
In our schools administrative skills are essentially non-negotiable; everyone gets trained, adoption is expected. Teacher tools are generally well-trained, but adoption is encouraged and follow-up rare. Student skills are essentially never trained or are electively trained, and only a very rare handful of schools have a coordinated plan for implementation.
So, in response to your question, no, it probably does not put a huge crimp in anyone's teaching style. Other than the "Use tools provided by the district that are a standard part of each classroom - projection system, voice amplification system, IWB, etc." requirement, the list doesn't really touch teaching at all. This is why sub-grouping the three areas is helpful, without it much effort may be given to one area under the umbrella of "tech skills" while other areas are neglected. All three are key.
The next natural step here would be to be developing a set of grade-level minimum student tech skills that teachers and administrators can agree to see through from K-12. Based on that, professional development can be coordinated to center around assuring that every teacher is skilled to teach the grade level requirements for his/her grade level. As these skills become comfortable and routine, the roadmap is revised and new skills are added.
This list assumes that all teachers and parents have access to the technologies mentioned, which is simply not true. Oftentimes, options are limited by financial issues. My inner-city school does not have a web-based student information system because we cannot afford one. We have to manually transfer our grades from Excel spreadsheets to our antiquated system. We also cannot afford voice amplification systems, projectors, or IWBs. Further, the vast majority of my students and their parents cannot afford a computer and internet access. They do not have email addresses that we can contact them through. We have a difficult enough time trying to maintain records of phone numbers, what with our students' service getting shut off for nonpayment so often.
Hi Mark,
Great comment. Yes, this is definitely a quid pro quo effort. Districts must provide the tech and training if they want to require these skills.
Doug
Hi Jim,
Isn't it amazing that after having e-mail in many schools for well over 10 years, there are still teachers that have to be forced to use it???
All the best,
Doug
Robbie,
Good additions and the first one will grow in importance.
Doug
Hi Kimberly,
Yes, your analogy is better. The questions remains: do we allow doctors to opt out of electronic record keeping systems? I'd think they should lead to lower costs, better accuracy etc.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Henry,
Yup - until it become part of either the evaluation or of the cultural norm of a faculty, it won't happen. I suspect this may have less to do with tenure and more to do with the lack of will and competence in evaluation exhibited by school administrators. I suspect there are plenty of places to point fingers.
All the best,
Doug
Hi Kara,
And I expect we will continue to have this discussion far into the future! And were I king, I'd certainly expand the list into instructional, not just administrative, technology use.
All the best,
Doug
Sounds like we are in agreement, Bob.
I like your example of a teacher using the IWB for a routine, non-interactive use. This is why they get a bad rap by so many tech pundits. And yes, we have plenty of this kind of use in our district as well. But we also have teachers doing really cool things with them!
Doug
Hi Frank,
While your requirement sound reasonable to me, I am sure a lot of teachers might consider this impinging on their "professional" perogative (translated - I don't know how to this better.)
Doug
Hi Cathy Jo,
The utilization of digital resources seems to be a theme here. I need to add it to my list!
Thanks,
Doug
Hi Tim,
Yup, such a list would require commitment from administration for training and equipment not just from teachers. And understandings by admins.
All the best,
Doug
Thanks, Libby. I always read your comments carefully - they make a lot of sense and I learn from them.
Doug
Hi Chad,
I like your categories and I admit the "reuqirements" I list fall very much into the administratives category.
But it's a start!
Doug
Hi Megan,
Point well taken.
Thank you,
Doug
Doug,
Some great posts by all. Had a teacher here today doing a workshop who asked if I can run PowerPoint for her because she doesn't know how to use it. Imagine a lawyer saying "I don't know anything about the law in this area," or an airline pilot saying, "I don't even know how these new planes work." But how to enforce them to know when "trainings" are lectures by someone off-district teaching some type of buzzword from 20 years ago? I double as school webmaster, which I rarely do because teachers never send me anything for "their" pages. It's the old Frontpage system so they have to feed info to me, but let's say I'm never overwhelmed. As the comments about the high usage of VHS and Google for research, we find the easiest way to do something and carry it through to retirement.