How can we still say no to tech in classrooms

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

August 14, 2011

This article is adapted from one written by Shaubo, a high school principal in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

Why aren’t all teachers embracing technology? Why are some jumping in with both feet, some paddling around in the kiddie pool, and some well back of the water?

Come on in! The water’s fine!

Is it stubbornness? Fear? Intimidation? Perhaps — but it could also be a genuine concern that the embedded use of technology does not change anything about the material being addressed.

Some teachers question why it may be more beneficial to students to use Google Docs to write an essay than to do it on a word processor at home and submit it. Why is an online slideshow on a project more relevant than a paper poster? How does making a video change what is learned?

Here are my thoughts on why the use of technology and social media is often limited, and why its use in the classroom is essential:

1. I am concerned many teachers do not see the true importance of collaboration. Simply put, collaboration is an essential 21st-century skill and cannot be limited to the classroom during a set time period. Using online tools to collaborate and create allows students to combine their best thoughts and ideas, regardless of the time of day or where they are — ultimately creating a deeper learning experience. I am reading The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, in which he discusses how corporations and academia are relying on their employees to be strong collaborators and creative, critical thinkers — not just with colleagues down the hall, but with colleagues around the world. Learning is a collaborative effort, and making peer editing and authentic discussion a part of the assignment develops this skill.
2. Most teachers are auditory or text-based learners. This has a great deal to do with why we excelled in school. Unfortunately, students today are visual or visual-kinesthetic learners, a tendency that has developed because of digital bombardment. We see images as a complement to the text we read; digital learners see text as a complement to the images they see. I have heard a few teachers use this as an argument for the need to teach today’s learners about the importance of text, and I will admit there is some merit in that idea. I ask myself, however, why we would not modify our style to one that best fits the learner and the world. If most people under the age of 25 are digital learners, why do we continue to prepare them to learn in a way that will likely have little or no use within the next generation? We have no problem altering the way we teach to reach students who need colored paper to increase comprehension. We all have strategies for students with ADD or any number of learning differences. We differentiate our instruction. It is time we developed strategies for our digital learners as well.
3. I believe many educators do not recognize that, rather than schools being at risk of failing our students, we are at risk of becoming obsolete — or at the very least, irrelevant. We force students to reference textbooks that are out of date before they are published. We do not allow them to use their personal devices in class. We make them come to us for information they could just as easily find online, and in a manner perhaps better suited to their learning style. This worked for us. We assume it will work for today’s students. For most, it does not. We must develop our curricula and teaching to a standard that connects with today’s students and is relevant in the world.
4. Although we understand the importance of creativity and critical thinking, many teachers believe that these skills either cannot be taught or simply evolve over years of study. I believe we can teach students to be creative — often by giving them authentic tasks and asking them to solve those tasks, with our support but without prescriptive guidelines. Critical thinking comes from asking students to research, weigh the evidence, and make an informed decision they can defend to the teacher and to their peers. Consider how many online and social media techniques can support this type of learning. Remove the online experience, and we severely limit the scope of learning.

Is this a problem only teachers face? Yes and no. Teachers I know believe they are doing a good job — and they are right. Students are engaged, test results are good, graduation rates are high. Why change? Because students are often failing to exhibit deep learning about the subject. Technology opens doors for them to ask questions teachers may not know the answers to, to extend their learning, and to find an area — perhaps even outside the prescribed curriculum — in which they have genuine interest. The default is to limit ourselves to what can easily be measured by standardized tests. What we as teachers need to embrace, however, is that deeper learning will in turn support continued — and perhaps increased — success on assessments, regardless of their format. Why would we not want to enable students to achieve the deepest learning possible? It is about more than preparing them for the test. It is about preparing them for their future in the best way we can. We do not know what that future will look like, but we can be fairly certain it will not look like today’s classroom.

So, as educational leaders, how do we help bring about this change? It starts with supporting and encouraging teachers to step outside their comfort zone. This must become an expectation of teaching. Teachers expect their students to do this every day. It is time we expected it of ourselves — both as teachers and as administrators.

Administrators need to model online and digital teaching and learning techniques in our interactions with teachers. Our staff meetings must include digital learning and the sharing of successes. And yes, that means we have to learn it ourselves.

We must make the effective use of technology something we look for and provide feedback on during supervision and evaluation. It is no longer sufficient that teachers use an interactive whiteboard or post homework online. We need to look for teaching that uses technology in ways that deepen learning.

We must insist on collaboration among teachers in this area — and insist that this collaboration not be limited to the school or the school division, but extend to a professional learning network that stretches to a global level.

As principals and leaders, are we ready to do that? If you want to lead a school or a school division, you need to be. As I met and discussed this issue with a number of delegates at a recent conference, it became clear why this may be more difficult than I originally hoped. This was a national conference for educational leaders, and the majority of delegates were significantly behind in the adoption of technological supports in education. To push our teachers, we must first push ourselves.

I am not asking everyone to dive into the deep end right now. I do, however, insist that you get off the deck chair and at least paddle around the kiddie pool. Just like every little kid who watches the other swimmers, I think we will find we want to be in the diving tank sooner than we expect.