I also surveyed the 7th grade teachers (6). Several of the teachers rate their overall skill level in the use of laptop for instruction as Intermediate to Advanced (integrating technology into class work) and several feel that the professional development they've been offered relevant to the 1:1 laptop program is adequate to good (I have all the information I need and have some time to develop it.)
The students, the "digital natives", have no idea what they could be doing with technology in the classroom and apparently neither do the teachers. Would I know if I wasn't pursuing this degree? I think the majority of them feel they are doing a good job "integrating the technology." The administration must think so too. What about the tech coordinator? Teachers can't get the tech support they need so I guess a shout-out about ways to use the latest and the greatest in the classroom would be too much to ask.
I was reading one of the articles in the new Technology Counts report published by Education Week-"A Digital Decade"-Outside Interests and the description of the activities some students are doing made me think of the results I had been tallying. We're not the only school yet to "embrace" these technologies as this report still sees many falling behind the "technology curve."
This quote hit the nail on the head in terms of what's wrong with professinal development in this arena:
“Many teachers are not comfortable with technology and need meaningful time devoted to teaching them how to use tools,” Hunt wrote in an e-mail. “An hour of ‘here’s a neat tool you should try when you get a minute’ show-and-tell isn’t meaningful, nor is it effective.”
We do have a lot of issues with laptops and their "durability." I wonder how much of that stems from the fact that they're being lugged around and occasionally pulled out for an M-power presentation? Maybe if we got the teachers involved in some worthwhile professional development, the students would start to see more value,and take more care, in lugging them around?
3 comments:
I really appreciate your professional development concerns and I agree that many schools are sub-par in that area. I can't tell you how many times we get emails with "try this" or "check out this site." It could be the greatest link ever but at least half of the teachers have too much to do, too little time, and/or too little interest to look.
We are presented with so many "latests and greatests" that there is very little in the form of evaluation, research, and discussion. I think that is a challenge when it comes to technology in education. Teachers often feel the need to dive headfirst into new software because there's this inbred fear that the software will become obsolete by tomorrow!
As for M-Power, I had to check it out for myself because I was clueless. Have your students compared M-power with PowerPoint? I'm curious.
I've included a link to an article related to professional development and technology. It's lengthy, but there are some interesting arguments.
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te1000.htm
Ann, this year, I have been given the great task of helping develop our school's technology plan as we did not have one--at all. My team and I passed out surveys as well, and the the responses were ghastly. Many teachers are only using computers to complete daily required attendance. Some check their email (not all, even though we've been told time and time again that we should communicate this way in an effort to conserve paper.) Most don't even know how to use PowerPoint. They've all requested some sort of professional development related to technology, and yet, I am beginning to feel differently about it now than I would have just a few months ago. A few months ago, I would have welcomed any professional development in technology for our teachers. Now, I am beginning to think that if teachers aren't given ample time to learn with the technology, then it won't be of much use to them. It will be as you've said and quoted, "show and tell". If I remember show and tell correctly from first grade, it was cute and fun, but in the long run, I forgot about it the next day.
Ann, is this the M-power that you are talking about? http://www.mpower.net/mpower.asp?n=23&p=0&s=13&i=MP
I googled it and about 200 different "mpower" something-or-others came up. But in the process, I realized how probably a majority of teachers feel in terms of integrating technology in their class. Like a cow in a city. Utterly lost.
Poor punning aside, I have been to many "Bring and Brag" sessions (my term for most professional development I have attended) so I literally laughed out loud along with my wife when I read the title of this entry. Teachers always show AWESOME projects using COOL software that is EASY-TO-USE. Except they never show how to use it. Or discuss other ways in which the technology, strategy, assessment, (insert GREAT new concept here) can be implemented.
Then, there is a pitiful excuse for a follow-up in which the teacher merely has to go on-line, write up a B.S. three-sentence quip about how they plan to use the info from the training in their class, and then the teacher gets the inservice points. Yay! I can teach another five years!
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