Struggling with technology?

According to a Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), a third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training.

Since the survey is a measure of the opinion of teachers, it isn't possible to disagree with the report findings, however, I have raised the issue before of the time (18 months to 2 years) it takes for a teacher to become competent at a new technology. Andrew Pinder the Chair of Becta commented recently about technophobe teachers.

What support and training do they want? My guess is that they don't really know, and my experience is that there is tons of ideas and support already available through Teachers TV and many other sources; teachers are just not pro-active in using them.

Reliability is imprtant and its about getting technical support right. Training is a sensitive issue, and perhaps we are trying to impose a model of training and CPD that just doesn't work where technology is concerned.

So, is training teachers in the use of technology value for money? Does it make a measurable difference to effective practice? I have compared below some 'school approaches' with 'home approaches'.

Typical School training approaches:

  • Inset days - limited number each year, crowded agenda and mostly groups of teachers.
  • Twilight sessions – end of day, staff tired, go home, have glass of wine, back to school, forgotten within a week. It is the experience of most network managers and Heads of ICT that when they offer ICT training, few bother to attend unless its compulsory.
  • 3rd Part Training - Cover provided for release of staff to attend a course. Considered by teachers as the gold standard; teacher is out of the classroom to concentrate on the matter in hand. Often a box-ticking exercise in CPD than changing the way teachers teach, and needs to be followed up with opportunities to practice? If you run these courses you will know that teachers are often keen to get away early!

On the other hand, when we buy home technology …

  • Resources: You have the kit because you chose it (and paid for it).
  • Motivation: You want to demonstrate your proficiency and impress your family and friends. Its fun and interesting or does something useful.
  • Time: You make sure you spend time playing with it, exploring features and testing its potential.

In learning at home the following information may be referred to:

  • Read the instructions (females only!!?)
  • Research features on the web.
  • Ask a friend / family member who already has one.
  • Sit with family and friends and work it out together.
  • Try it out and learn by mistakes until its figured out.

Contrast the way that we learn technology at home and in our practice. What should we learn from this? Social networks are important!

I’ve been picking up innovative approaches from various sources. The most impressive is that of Ewan McIntosh.

I think ...

  • Popular technology must be simple to use and intuitive.
  • Where technology is not intuitive or is complex it ends up being rapidly 'binned' and/or used only by enthusiasts.
  • Online / On demand services are more accessible than those where local server installation and configuration are required.
  • Massive improvements in connectivity are shifting applications and services from local servers to the web. As Sun Microsystems would say, "... the computer is the network".

My Conclusions

  • The motivation to learn and try new technology is a personal attribute - Many teachers don't have it!.
  • Time to play with technology is more important than formal training.
  • Formal training may be a waste of money.
  • Learning technology MUST be a hands-on experience.
  • Its often cheaper to give teachers free kit for personal use than pay for the training.
  • Give every teacher a laptop. The cost per year should be no more than £170 per year or around 0.6% of their salary.
  • The availability of knowledgable friends and on-demand resources has more value.
  • If it isn't reliable, it will fail.
  • If it isn't intuitive, it will fail.
  • Teachers want to impress (but want quick wins) but don't want to spend hours learning something new so use intuitive applications.

 

http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,,2248219,00.html

Original NFER survey

www.nfer.ac.uk/what-we-offer/teacher-voice/ExampleReport.pdf

Published Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:11 AM by AlanDay
Filed under: , ,

Comments

# re: Struggling with technology?

Some good points.

One problem with the give the teacher a laptop idea is that staff laptops are often locked down so not only can new software be installed (including latest versions of flash and java to use webtools) but often they are configured so they can either access the internet at school or at home but not both.

Saturday, February 02, 2008 1:14 PM by D Needles

# re: Struggling with technology?

You are right of course, but this is not a requirement. It is an idiotic constraint for technical staff to decide to put restrictions on teachers. Its a classic tail wagging the dog. I find the whole idea of teachers machines being locked down thoroughly offensive!

Where senior leadership place such restrictions, they are losing staff value. Locking down sends a powerful message to staff, and they won't bother to be enthusiastic.

Saturday, February 02, 2008 2:02 PM by Alan Day

# re: Struggling with technology?

There is an obvious need to find compromise between locking down a staff laptop or station, and still allowing it to be a useful tool. With limited technical support person-hours in any school we can't afford to be rebuilding staff laptops the whole time for those staff who let other family members use them in the evening. It's been quite common to find file sharing software complete with spyware and viruses on laptops left completely open. Or no room on the hard drives for new school resources becuase of 20,000 mp3's or the number of games installed.

The above article generalises as do the responces so far. Some teachers will find 1-2-1 training more helpful while others will prefer a group approach to exchange ideas. Some will tinker at home while others wouldn't know an SD card from a mouse ball.

The important thing is to have technical staff who know the school and the individual so can help them achieve what they want to in the classroom.

Monday, February 04, 2008 3:41 PM by David Deakin

# re: Struggling with technology?

I agree that the key is in the word 'compromise'; it is however essential that we seperate the educator from a pupil or student when considering controls.

Excellent tools are available to protect networks from virus, malware, adware etc. Acceptable Use Policies (AUP's) can state clearly what is acceptable and what isn't. Few schools have an effective regime in place to make it clear where the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are (for staff and pupils). Many schools that have AUP's monitor or review them unless there is an incident.

Teachers should have system policies in place that protect them but don't restrict them. It is frequently easier to lock a machine down than to provide the rock-solid infrastructure that is resilient to the nasties of a connected

Policies should encourage not exclude the ability to download applications, experiment with web 2.0, connect to home networks etc. It is perfectly possible with currently available technology to ensure that both computer and school network is protected.

Within BSF teachers will have full control of their personal computers and will be able to access from any wi-fi hotspot, home wireless networks or broadband connection.

Treat teachers like children, we invoke a childish response. Quoting unusual exceptions might give the impression that all teachers use equipment unacceptably, but this is not the case. We must avoid policing by lowest common denominator, or we end up with the ICT equivalent of a police state, and I'm not sure school network managers are the right people to be doing the policing.

The comment about helping them achieve what they want in the classroom implies that the totality of the teachers experience should be ring-fenced by the constraints of school building opening hours, timetable, and availability of technicians to do the supporting at a convenient time that fits with the school timetable. I say that it is better to let teahers go home with the kit and experiment and prepare, and not have over-bearing technical restrictions.

The reality though is that many teachers still do not have a personal device (laptop). This is unacceptable. They are low cost items and represent The costs is less than 0.7% of the average teacher salary. This should be standard issue for all teachers.

The combination of computer and Internet is a professional necessity.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:00 AM by AlanDay

# re: Struggling with technology?

That's all very "rose tinted" but I live and work in the real world where staff refuse to pay for the internet at home "because they only need it for school" or treat the equipment they're given as a throw-away resources tipping coffee into them or smashing the screen because of carelessness and then expecting an immediate replacement. These aren't unusual exceptions, these are day-to-day occurances.

Generally my point is that each and every educator needs a different and personalised approach. Some need their devices locked down so that they can experiment without fear of losing use of the device for their next teaching day, while others will invest in equipment themselves and then bring that experience to their teaching.

BSF will fail if those implimenting it can't break away from the "one-size-fits-all" mentality.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:45 AM by David Deakin

# So, ... I'm out of touch?

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting response from someone closer to

Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:41 PM by Harnessing Technology in Kent - Digital Curriculum

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