TEACHER TECHNOLOGY CHANGE: HOW KNOWLEDGE, CONFIDENCE, BELIEFS, AND
CULTURE INTERSECT
By: Peggy Ertmer and Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich
This
article was published very recently in 2010. The main premise of this article
is that even though there is greater access to computers, other technology and
technology training in education today, in many classrooms, technology is still
either not being integrated or if it is used it is not being used to its best
effectiveness. The authors did a literature review of technology integration
and focus was on this integration and how it is being spearheaded by teachers.
When reviewing the list of references, you will see that the majority of the
articles reviewed were from 2000 and later; there were a few referenced from
the 1990’s and one from 1972. This is important because technology has exploded
in the last 10-20 years and these references are relevant and up to date.
Through
this review, the authors point out that in many current classrooms, there is
still insufficient integration of technology. They point out that if computers
are used, they are still often used as an aid to direct instruction rather than
as a source for student-centered learning. The authors discuss at length, the
reasons they feel that this is the case as well as providing many ideas on how
to overcome this and to more fruitfully integrate technology into the
classroom.
Some
of the main reasons provided for why technology is underutilized, even today,
are: “teachers’ use of technology are rarely linked to the student learning
outcomes they are designed to facilitate”; teachers may know how to use the
technology tools but they are still unsure of how to incorporate the tools
effectively into their classroom routine; teachers are afraid of change and
even when introduced to technological uses they often revert back to direct
instruction because that is what they know and are comfortable with; and
innovative teachers are often “peer-pressured” out of using technology. The
main idea or need that the authors present for teachers to begin effectively
and efficiently using technology is that they have to undergo a pedagogy
paradigm shift—they have to realize the value of the integration so that they
will undergo the integration. Some of the ideas that the authors discuss to
make this happen are: preparing student teachers for this technology
integration and then supporting them once they enter the classroom; developing
support and interest groups for in-service teachers; providing specific use of
technology integrated lessons with constructive feedback; and getting
administrative support so that experimentation would be encouraged.
I
really enjoyed reading this article. I found it very interesting in the fact
that in 2013, we are still so slow to adopt change. In the article, the authors
discuss the idea that we as teachers often revert back to how we were taught
and for many of us, we were taught by direct instruction and if computers were
used it was basically used as a glorified typewriter. It’s been a while since I
was in the classroom but I do remember that there was not a lot of
administrative support when it came to technology use in my building. It seemed
like it was something reserved for the computer lab not any other classroom. I
think that this administrative support or in some cases as the authors
mentioned, team support, is critical to bring about this integration. Like our
students, I think teachers are afraid to experiment because they don’t want to
look foolish and they are fearful of unknown consequences. I think also that
even though schools do have computers and technology available, there still is
a vast disproportionate availability of the technology. It is difficult to use
technology in a consistent basis if all of the computers are located in a lab
and the lab has to meet the needs of an entire school—I know this is still the
case in many schools today. I really enjoyed reading about the “lesson study”
idea of small groups of teachers examining and practicing lessons together. I
had never heard of this before but I think it sounds wonderful—it is the same
idea of student centered learning only the students are the teachers working
cooperatively on how to integrate technology effectively. I think this kind of
small group work could bring about a lot of change if it were encouraged and
utilized. Again, this article was interesting and very challenging. I saw
myself in a lot of the descriptions the authors presented and I sat there
wishing I had had this class when I was getting ready to enter the classroom. I
think that I would have done a lot of things differently!
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