Assignment 5
Assignment 5
Maryam Fischer
EDIT 680 Coastal Carolina University
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HOW PREPARED ARE OUR TEACHERS?
Abstract
During my investigation of technology use within the St James attendance area schools within
Horry County Schools, I realized there was a strong trend of teachers feeling ill-prepared on how
to use the devices we were provided with, and expected to use, to assist in delivering our content
in the classroom. I asked several students, teachers, a curriculum specialist, and the IT personnel
who is hired through the district to strictly deal with issues related to the Dell Venues every
student and teacher was provided at St James High School. Through my discussions with them, I
detected a technology deficit in that no one at any level, was provided with enough training on
how to use the actual device, nor were they shown common troubleshooting issues that could
learned that the St James cluster is not alone in this deficit. This paper investigates the common
issues teachers are facing when asked to implement technology into their instruction, and some
students investigate a problem and apply the content being presented to them. Mishra and
Kuehler (2006) discusses how this shift is based largely on implementing technology, which
allows students to see things and create things in ways they have never been able to before.
Most teachers are very willing to incorporate some technology into their current lessons and
ways of teaching, but through my own investigation I found that many of these teachers are
extremely uncomfortable with how to actually use the device they are provided. Teachers are
given many professional development sessions on platforms to use to deliver content, but are
told to “play around” with the actual device to learn how to navigate and solve their own basic
trouble shooting. This paper examines how this deficit in proper instruction of using the actual
technology device spans far further than the school system I currently work in.
Literature Review
With the shift in educational instruction presented in Mishra and Kuehler’s article (2006),
one can agree that teachers need to willing to learn basic applications in technology within their
lessons, to not only improve on their skills as a facilitator, but to also assist in preparing our
students success in life in the 21st century. Although there are many beneficial applications of
technology into lessons, the teachers need to understand and be comfortable with the device
itself. There seems to be a tendency to deliver technology to schools/teachers but not enough
time providing direct instruction on how to use the devices (Mishra and Kuehler, 2006).
Haymore, Sandholtz and Reilly (2004) noted that professional development tends to be directed
at software application rather than on the device itself. This leads to frustrations for teachers
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HOW PREPARED ARE OUR TEACHERS?
because they are now spending more of their own time on technical issues rather than
application.
Pope, Hare and Howard’s (2002) research shows that by providing professional
development to teachers on how to use and integrate the technology into their teaching methods,
their confidence levels increased which was a direct relation to proper execution of the
technology to improve student mastery of content. If billions of dollars are going to be spent on
providing various devices to teachers, then more needs to be done to support our teachers so that
the “bad” teachers do not wind up having students distracted by the technology on a regular basis
(Richtel, 2011). Most teachers that complete a formal teaching program through a
college/university have an inadequate background in how they can implement technology into
their lessons (Pope, Hare, Howard, 2002). Clearly, teachers have needs that require attention
with the demands that are being placed on them in concern with technology.
Another issue in regards to the deficit in teachers and their basic knowledge on using
technology devices, is that new technologies are arriving or changing faster than teachers can
keep up with (Prensky, 2007). Even teachers that are willing, and passionate about the use of
technologies in their classrooms are finding it extremely difficult to master a device only to find
that it is now outdated. Also, new technologies for education need to stay competitive and
relevant which in turn can cause developers to release technologies before they are fully tested
which can result in several glitches, bugs, and other complications Borko, Whitcomb, Liston,
2009). This causes frustration among teachers which in turn, leads to them not wanting to
implement the technology and losing the belief in themselves to create a tech-integrated lesson
(Spencer, 2012).
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HOW PREPARED ARE OUR TEACHERS?
One problem that students and teachers alike have found, is they lack the basic training
and understanding to solve simple trouble shooting issues such as recovering a lost file, devices
that do not turn on/off properly, display issues, etc. Jacqui Murray (n.d.) has published a list of
the top 20 reasons that account for around 80% off all device “failures” that can be rectified
simply without taking away valuable instructional time by having a student visit the IT person.
These are the types of professional development that need to be taught when teachers are
presented with a new technology. 50% of K-12 teachers reported that they feel they are not
being trained properly on the technology they are expected to use (Willen, 2014). Many teachers
are simply instructed to use their own time to play around with the devices, but the best advice
they are provided with on “training” is to simply ask your students because they will always
know more about technology than the teachers (Prensky, 2007). Across the board nationally,
there seems to be this disconnect in education and the devices provided due to a lack of training
(Schaffhauser, 2017).
Methodology
The research conducted was a brief survey given to 27 students, 16 teachers, 1 curriculum
specialist and 1 IT specialist all within St James High School. The following questions were
Analysis
According to the results, most people feel that there is a major deficit in the amount of
training provided to use the Dell Venues provided by the school district. Comments worth note
Conclusion
After conducting my own research on the technology used among the St James
attendance area schools and reviewing the literature available, I feel confident making the claim
that this is a nationwide deficit. It seems school districts across the United States are being
pressured to roll out technology to keep up with others, and little thought goes into providing
adequate training for teachers and students alike in the proper use and navigation of the device
itself. I feel that the districts need to provide professional development in not only software that
can be used in the classroom, but sessions should be presented on the device itself as well as
practice going through common problems that occur so loss of valuable instructional time is kept
to a minimum.
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HOW PREPARED ARE OUR TEACHERS?
References
Borko, H., Whitcomb, J., & Liston, D. (2009). Wicked Problems and Other Thoughts on Issues
of Technology and Teacher Learning. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), 3-7. Doi:
Sage Publications
Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teacher College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. doi:
Columbia University
Murray, J. (n.d.). Solve Those Tricky Classroom Tech Problems. Retrieved November 12. 2017,
from http://www.teachhub.com/how-solve-tricky-classroom-tech-problems
Pope, M., Hare, D., & Howard, E. (2002) Technology Integration: Closing the Gap Between
What Preservice Teachers are Taught To Do and What They Can Do. Journal of
Technology and Teacher Education, 10(2), 191-203. Retrieved November 12. 2017.
Prensky, M. (207). Emerging Technologies for Learning (Vol. 2). Coventry, UK: Becta.
in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html
Expectations for Teachers. Teacher College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. doi: Columbia
University
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HOW PREPARED ARE OUR TEACHERS?
Schaffhauser, D. (2017, September 18). Biggest Barriers to Digital Learning: Lack of Time,
https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/09/18/biggest-barriers-to-digital-learning.aspx
Spencer, J. (2012, July 14). 11 Reasons Teachers Aren’t Using Technology. Retrieved
using/
Willen, L. (2014, March 13). Where is the technology for teachers? Retrieved
technology-training-use/