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Week 10: Technology Planning: Making Good Change Happen
We have reached Week 10 in our course. I have enjoyed getting to know you and reading your emails. I felt as if I have learned a lot along with you, because I have learned from you! I hope you will be able to use some of what you have learned in this course. I think you will all be creative and caring teachers.
Our final lesson is on planning for technology in education. Simply because we are up-to-date in our network equipment doesn't mean we are making the best use of it. Often teachers feel overwhelmed when change comes too rapidly, especially when it takes all their time to simply stay even with the "process" of teaching. In surveys of schools that have invested a great deal of money on computer networks, few teachers have managed to integrate technology into their lessons. Reasons for this range from lack of time, to fear of losing control of the classroom. In one report, two-third of teachers only dabble in technology, especially in using the Internet for classroom use because students can so easily wander into unrelated areas, and because exploration means that the teacher cannot tell where it will end. "Change doesn't happen in a school simply because you install new equipment."
Educators have a history of trying to pay attention to change and prepare their students for it. But without educators' support of any new method or application, change may be slow in coming. Teachers will only accept innovation as long as it promises outcomes and benefits that "match the daily realities, concerns, and desires of the staff." They have seen change come and go, and they want to know how this venture will improve student performance. In his From Now On article, "Making Good Change Happen," author Jamie McKenzie presents four ideas: 1) making good change reuqires a focus on a purpose likely to win broad acceptance, 2) Making good change demands the cultivation and engagement of the key stakeholders within the community, especially the classroom teachers, 3) Making good change involves a strategic and balanced deployment of resources, and 4) Making good change necessitates time away from the "daily process" of teaching. The "daily process" is meant to mean the press of details in teaching every day that make it difficult to go in the direction of change. It is suggested that school districts must provide 30-60 hours yearly for teachers to meet, to learn and to invent classroom units.
Focus Questions
1. What is your vision of learning?
2. How will you use technology to support your vision of learning?
3. Do you think that schools are on their way to integrating technology into curriculum?
4. Do you think the schools and the community support technology in the schools?Links for Technology Planning
Making Good Change Happen http://www.fno.org/jun00/goodchange.html
Assignments:
Final Meeting
We will be meeting once more at the high school Thursday, November 29, at 5:30 pm. You can work on any assignments or turn anything in that you need to.
Reading Assignment
Read at least two of the articles listed above, including "Making Good Change Happen." Several of these articles are taken from From Now On, http://www.fno.org/ an educational technology journal on the web. You may find information that will help you answer the focus questions.
Focus Questions
Answer two of the focus questions for Week 10 at the Blackboard.tvcc.cc site, or email your answers to me.
Final Paper (Due the week following November 29th)
Research and/or develop a project that examines or uses a particular technology in an educational situation. You might evaluate a technology or application that is of particular personal interest to you or that you would like to use in the future. You might be interested in organizing some sort of technology inservice training, and discuss what types of workshops you would include for other teachers. You could also look into the needs of your educational organization and consider what resources and planning, including the input and training of those who will use the technology, would be needed to upgrade or implement the technology plan.
The project can be in the form of a paper, 750-1000 words, or a website. Include any references, including web links and outside experts, that you use.
Educational Media and Technology
EOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
