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Years ago, the only real computer technology being used in schools was found in the computer lab, were rows of students would sit and learn how to manage files and type with some speed. In fact, computer classes at that time were optional. Students were allowed to decide whether or not they felt like taking ‘computers’, Art, or another elective subject.

We’ve come a long way in the last fifteen or so years! First, computer classes became mandatory. Then, students began learning much more than typing skills. Today, students don’t need to go to a computer lab at all, as many schools have computers right in the classroom, and even one-to-one device programs. Many older students even come equipped with their own smartphones.

Technology offers an incredible tool for both students and educators. When used properly, the wealth of information available in the digital world can serve to advance education further than it was ever possible to before. With a few quick clicks, students have access to almost anything imaginable. Research has never been easier, and student papers and projects now reflect a varied and rich display of information.

However, many classrooms are falling into less than desirable technological habits. With all the amazing things we are able to achieve with technology, it is rather consistently being used at only a fraction of its potential by teachers and students everywhere.

The first major shortfall happens when technology integration, be it laptops or tablets, becomes mainly used as a source of research in classrooms. Instead of learning with technology, students are using technology to gather information. There is a very specific difference between these two endeavors.

Using technology for gathering information is definitely more effective than doing so by searching through countless books and magazines in a library, but this is hardly the main purpose of technology in education. One of the biggest mistakes made when integrating technology in schools is that the technology only ends up being used for researching. Essentially, it replaces books, and not much more.

When students are learning with technology, the technology is being used to support them throughout the different skills and subjects they are working on. Programs are found and implemented with students to help them practice skills and create the types of assignments that were just not possible before they were given these more advanced tools. Apps for multiple subject areas are found and used to promote student understanding, and digital portfolios allow students to share their work and reflect on their learning with ease. Struggling students and gifted learners can each have their own set of programs or apps that support their specific levels of learning, as well as help them to advance and grow at their own pace.

[bctt tweet=”Why do so many technology integration programs achieve less than desired results in schools?” username=””]

Why do so many technology integration programs achieve less than desired results in schools? Perhaps there are several reasons for these shortcomings. Overly complicated procedures can deter teachers from really embracing the new technology, as can a lack of resources in general. Some teachers remain hesitant about teaching with technology that they are not comfortable using in their own daily lives. Others fear that students will misuse the technology and lose focus on the tasks that they are supposed to accomplish. Some teachers even fear the loss of control that comes when students begin to turn to their technology for learning and answers instead of going to the teacher as an authority on all subjects.

Whatever the reason, all teachers and schools need to take a step back and evaluate their technology integration. Some serious questions need to be asked about how the technology is being used with students to support learning, and what changes can be made to use available technology as effectively as possible. These brilliant and powerful tools are just too valuable to be used as simple research tools or time-fillers for students to play on when their ‘real’ work is finished!

Jennifer Rita Nichols is a primary school teacher for a grade 5/6 class which has implemented a one-to-one iPad program and focuses on teaching students using methods based on research and results. Her goals are to support fellow educators by helping them to implement technology and new teaching methods successfully in their classrooms. You can read her blog at www.jennrita.com, or follow her on Twitter: @JennritaEdu

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9 Comments

  1. So, what do you suggest???? You did a terrific job of telling me what not to do. What should I do with my fourth graders?

    1. Hello Suzanne,

      It depends what tech you are using! Our school has adopted iPads, so here are a few examples of what the fourth graders have done with them…
      – Use book making apps to create their stories instead of using paper.
      – Use animation apps (some are free, like Toontastic) to create animations that explain what they have learned (characters will act out scenes where they encounter problems and solve them – great for bullying work as well!).
      – Film character interviews after reading a book, where Ss play the characters and host.
      – Learn math and programming concepts with apps instead of regular lessons (again, there are free ones that are great – like cargo-bot for robotic programming).
      – Student blogging – there are several safe for kids – where content can be shared and commented on by a community.
      – Digital portfolios are great tools. They allow Ss to catalog and reflect on work that is done in video and audio instead of just written and pictures that are pasted in a regular portfolio. Digital portfolios can also be viewed by parents anywhere, and provide a tool to track learning that does not ‘disappear’ at the end of a school year!

      Essentially, there are many ways that these tools can be used for more than research and free-time, which is unfortunately what happens sometimes in schools. There is just so much that can be done creatively with tech – especially when budgets are tight (such as robotics/physics related apps – our school doesn’t have a budget for material for all Ss, but all can have access with the apps). There are endless lists of creative lessons done with tech to build student skills and learning of core material!

      1. Thank you for your response and great ideas! I am looking forward to this summer when I have time to explore them! I really enjoy your blog.
        Suzanne

  2. The Flaws of Telling and Showing as a Teaching Strategy
    “Tell me and I forget; show and I may remember; involve me and I understand.”

    “We’ve come a long way in the last fifteen or so years!”
    My response to this statement: LOL!!

    The Salvaging of Civilization (1921) by H.G. Wells
    http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1303651h.html#chap6
    http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1303651h.html#chap7

    “But if we could so economize teaching energy—if we made our really great teachers, by the use of modern appliances, teachers not of handfuls but of millions; if we insisted upon a universal application of the best and most effective methods of teaching, just as we insist upon the best and most effective methods of street traction and town lighting—then I believe it would be possible to build the civilization of the years to come on a foundation of mental preparation incomparably sounder and higher than anything we know of to-day.” – – H.G. Wells, The Salvaging of Civilization (1921)

    “Now the frank recognition of the book and not the lecture as the substantial basis of instruction opens up a large and interesting range of possibilities. ” – H.G. Wells, The Salvaging of Civilization (1921)

    The Flaws of Telling and Showing as a Teaching Strategy
    “Tell me and I forget; show and I may remember; involve me and I understand.”

    Educational Technology:The Promise and The Myth by Roger C. Schank (2001)
    Schank Learning Consultants, Inc.,School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, June 25, 2001

    “Teachers need to be trained to be more like counselors, offering help and guidance, and more like seminar facilitators, helping people express themselves and confront others with their ideas. As they cease to be information providers they should become what many of them wanted to be in the first place: trained mentors. They must learn to help in areas that are inherently human where children and adolescents really need help. How to get along with each
    other; how to communicate better; how to deal effectively with stress; how to function in a complex society.”
    – Dr. Roger Schank, PhD
    https://slidex.tips/download/educational-technology-the-promise-and-the-myth-roger-c-schank-1

    Mentioning subject areas, Apps and programs indicates that computer technology is being misused to to do old things that are no longer relevant to society within an educational paradigm that is obsolete in the modern world.

    https://oeb.global/oeb-insights/how-technology-can-actually-change-education/
    https://www.rogerschank.com/
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-iNDS4AoUE
    http://www.engines4ed.org/
    http://www.alternativelearningplace.com/

    Industrial Simulators in Finland (Tom Scott)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0zMip62o5E

    Chopped Junior: Pressure Cooker
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ujSQ6NMbio

    About Butterflies Children’s Media Center
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ynxshOCWw

    Sickle Cell Counselor
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65RnR8-4aWQ&t=44s

    Labster
    https://www.youtube.com/user/LabsterVirtualLab

    Languagelab in Second Life
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hJZ2bre_FI

    Khan Academy Lab School
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnpFPX34Agk

    https://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategy-tell-me-show-me-involve-me
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOsVdflPY68

    Education Automation (1962) by Buckminster Fuller (a vision of using wirelessly networked, interactively 2-way accessed video to reinvent education before Sal Khan founded Khan Academy) — showing but not doing —
    https://web.archive.org/web/20020210193410/http://www.bfi.org/ea4.htm

    David Thornburg
    TEDx TLN, 2010 in Phoenix, AZ
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZbK0JTveQQ

    How Will Schools in the Cloud Change Education? (a presentation given by Mr. Sugatra Mitra)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM7v0zso7to&t=22s

    SOLE (Self Organized Learning Environment) BIG QUESTION to research with your education groups: How will cloud-based schools change education?
    https://www.theschoolinthecloud.org/

    Everything I know I learned in kindergarten
    The Importance of Pretend Play
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPqdcf1Ag3k

    The Bakery – Supporting Children to Succeed in the Dramatic Play Center
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXqyum4YeEc

    L5: The First City in Space
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31gZZZ-XG94

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