New Car, Same Driver

When I first read the scenario about the classroom and teacher that were given the laptops, I started to daydream; imagining how much of a blessing that would be.  I imagined all of the different ways it could impact my class, improve performance, create buy in/responsibility, and create a sense of equality among my students.  My bubble was immediately busted when the scenario told me to assume that it had no effect on the instructional practices.  It really is a shame, because I have seen this sort of thing play out in real life.  Great new technology is made available, and its novelty quickly wears off and it is eventually phased out. 

In a classroom where the introduction of new media has little effect on instructional practices, one must ask “why?”  Several factors that I could identify right away are; 1. Teachers can be resistant to change, 2. Some teachers might have difficulty operating the computers, 3. The teachers might not have been given guidance on how to incorporate the technology into their curriculum, and 4. The resources being utilized in combination with the media might have poor instructional quality/value.  It is really easy to imagine each one of these factors playing out in a real classroom.  Everyone can imagine the teacher that is set in their ways, has a solid curriculum that took years to develop and feels that new media would just tamper with a system that isn’t broken (in their eyes).

Although, if one was to attempt to change this teachers attitude and make the incorporation of a new media an effective one, how would they do it?  How would the factors listed above be mitigated?  I have a few suggestions.  First of all, I would hold weekly staff meetings where each teacher would bring their assigned laptop.  Every week, we would cover a new resource/website/tool that would be useful if incorporated into their curriculum.  We would discuss how these could be used and hold tutorials for those who struggle with getting started.  Each staff meeting would also include time for teachers to “poke” around on their computer in the company of others.  This would be a great way to encounter common usage questions that can be quickly answered, rather than running into them alone. 

The second strategy I would use to change the impact of these computers on the instructional practices would be to evaluate the process the teachers are using.  In what way does the teacher present the material?  How is their message being delivered?  If their process doesn’t leave room for the incorporation of a new technology, then it wouldn’t make sense to use it.  In order for the technology to have a positive impact on the practices, you must first decide what in their process needs to be changed.  You cannot assume that you can improve performance by the utilization of computers alone.  As Berlo said, “…it is the process that is central and the media, though important, are secondary.”  Assuming that giving every student a computer will increase performance is like assuming that giving them a nicer pen will improve their spelling.