Blog 6: Technology Training

Technology at my school begins with the county initiative on technology. One of the strategic goals of the county is to integrate technology into all subject areas. Of course, this is an excellent goal on the surface. The problem arises when you dig deeper into the county initiative. I looked at the technology plan for the county, and it was dated 2006-2009. This is very troublesome because technology changes so much that it is very difficult to have a plan that is so outdated. I think the county has an excellent goal of getting teachers to incorporate technology in the curriculum. The problem is the plan starts and ends with the goal. Even though the county has a very specific and worthwhile goal, they have little or no plan on how to achieve the goal. With this type of planning, there is little continuity between schools in how to achieve the goal. The goal is doomed to fail because there is no specific means to achieving it.

            As for individual schools and technology, each school is left to their own as to what technology to purchase and how to provide training in reference to the technology. The county and individual schools have a lot of technology that is available for use. Having technology is a very good initial step. The problem at my school is that there is very little training in regard to the technology that is accessible. Another problem is schools have different types of technology at their respective schools. So, once again, there is little continuity between schools. As for my school, we have an abundance of technology available. The obstacle is that teachers within the school are at different levels on how to plan for and how to use the technology. For example, we have student response systems in our school that can be utilized by teachers on a check-out basis. Some teachers use these faithfully, while other teachers do not even know how to use them. The question arises as to what good is technology if it can’t even be used? I think the major problem lies in having consistency in two areas across the county.

            First, schools should all have the same type of technology available. The county needs to put a strategic plan in place as to what technology should be utilized in all schools. I think the plan should differentiate between elementary, middle, and high school, since students on these levels have different needs in terms of technology. Secondly, there needs to be mandatory training at the county level. The training needs to be held at strategic times. The best time to train teachers is at the beginning of the school year. When training is provided at the end of the school year, teachers never get the chance to use the technology in the classroom. The training is forgotten over the summer. Consistency is the key when it comes to incorporating technology on a county-wide level. Consistency in available technology and training will help the county to realize their goal in terms of technology. Finally, a plan has to be put into place to ensure teachers are using technology. The county has to inspect what they expect.

            At my school there is plenty of technology available to teachers if the wish to use it. Once again the problem lies in the training. Many teachers are not comfortable enough to incorporate technology into their lessons. The media specialist does the best that she can with assisting teachers with technology. She offers some training, but it is not mandatory. Teachers do not take advantage of the training that is offered. I think that mandatory training needs to be introduced. I also believe that there has be different levels of training available. Not all teachers are on the same level when it comes to technology, therefore, they should not be offered the same training. There needs to be differentiated training for teachers. My school system spends an inordinate amount of money on technology, but offers little or no training. I think it would be wise to hire a technology specialist for each school who could collaborate with the media specialist to offer staff development at each school. In addition, this technology specialist could show teachers how to use technology in their classrooms. Schools spend a lot of money on technology without a plan on how to integrate the technology. Why have technology if it isn’t being used to it full potential?