Your Technology Plan Isn't about Technology

This post originally appeared on the Daily Genius on October 27, 2016

Rock, paper, scissors. The game we all know and love. The game we all grew up with. The game that is very much an analogy for educational technology plans.

Rock, paper, scissors isn’t a game. It’s a means to an end. The game isn’t the purpose, the game decides what comes next. No one plays the game to simply play the game, the game is usually played to decide an order for the bigger game; who goes first, who gets the better seat, all those important childhood decisions.

The other key point to the game is here. No one element; the rock, paper or scissors, is greater than all of them. Each is better than one other but none better than all, and most importantly they all need to be part of the game.

Technology Plan: Rock, Paper, Scissors

iPad apps - my magnificent 7...

As a former film student I couldn't help the title when I realized I ended up with a list of 7. My nod to a classic American film and its inspiration, Akira Kurosawa...

I am a computer teacher in a lab, a technology coordinator for my school, and I am often a part of many administrative teams focusing on the overall school community, student achievement, data and compliance. Basically, like most educators, I wear many hats.

I have found some iPad apps useful in the classroom, but pretty much irrelevant outside of it. I have found apps I can't live without during administrative or tech coordinator duties that have no real place in a classroom. I have also found apps useful across the spectrum of education.

This is an initial quick list of my "magnificent 7" app, apps I can't live without. I will be breaking them out individually in greater detail in future posts.


As an educator in a school my "magnificent 7" are...

Enter the iPad...

... well, the iPad entered my life back in September and the iPad 2 has just recently entered the collective conscious of the digitally connected, but when I speak of "enter the iPad" I speak in regards to putting my thoughts to paper.

At the start of the school year, September 2010, I purchased a singular iPad for some experimentation. There wasn't a lot of buzz about the device among my fellow teachers, but everyone was aware of it and the question I most often got was "are they just for games or can we use tem in school...?"

My lone iPad was to answer that question. In this current climate of budget cuts and threats of layoffs I didn't want to blow a large chunk of our already diminished budet on an untested and unproved educational technology. Was the iPad unproven? Not in the least. Were there wealth of apps designed for the education market? Not so much. The amount of people using the iPads in education and the amount of apps for education, and apps in general, has been growing at an amazing rate. What I saw available in September, and what I saw as possible, has been dwarfed by what is available and possible today.

Starting January, 2011 we bagan a pilot program of teachers and iPads. We have purchased iPads for our 3rd-5th grade teachers as well as our Coaches and ESL teacher, principal and assistant principal, 20 in total. Some are taking to them more than others, but all are excited and all are using them for instruction. We have put in place ongoing professional development for the teachers involved to give them the tools and knowledge to use the iPads effectively as well as for them to document how they are using them. Our hope is, budgets permitting, to expand this pilot program to other grades and when we do we will have a solid core of experience and knowledge within the building to push us even further.

At this point I live and die by my iPad. I'm spending more and more time outside of the computer lab, with more administrative duties, and my iPad is invaluable. I have seen a number of the teachers involved with the pilot program take to them as well, being used for conferencing, running records attendance, and so on.

So, back to the "enter the iPad" concept...
... I am now going to be updating this blog with all the apps we use, the ways we use them, the problems we've encountered, the solutions we've discovered. Basically all the knowlege we are developing as we spend time with our iPads in the classroom.

Next up, my must have "killer apps" for education...

Teachers, the biggest obstacle to integrating technology...

Yes. They are. I would agree with that.

You could have a brand new lab of 30 pristine Macs, but if there in no one qualified to use them they become giant, shiny, expensive game consoles and internet boxes.

A SmartBoard just takes up space unless utilized by the teacher.

I think the human element is the obstacle to almost anything. In general, regardless of the topic, venue, device, etc it is usually the reluctance or aversion of the person which prevents proper use, integration, etc.

Example, from my own teaching experience:
For 1 teacher I got 8 clamshell Mac Books (circa 2001) up and running (2010), with a basic browser and an old MS Office suite. They weren't fast or great, but they worked and she used them daily. Another teacher has 2 brand new iMacs in her room. She checks email, prints out homework, etc. The students don't use them.

The 9 year old, obsolete dinosaurs get more use and impact teaching, and learning, far more than the 1 year old iMacs simply because the person using them is excited about the possibilities and knows how to effectively integrate the available resources into the teaching day.

I believe the old saying is "It's not the arrow it's the Indian" and I would agree with that. Don't blame the tool, blame the user.

I've always said, the problem with education is the teachers...

Should every teacher use technology?

Yes, technology should be used in every classroom.

Which technology? That, in my opinion, is up to the teacher. A teacher can use a laptop and SmartBoard to project lessons, student work, etc. Minimal technology as far as integration goes. Passive from the student standpoint.

Another teacher might have a website (a free Wikispace site) and a blog. They post homework, the students can post writing samples and help edit other's work. That is very engaging. Is it "in the classroom"? No. It's all after-school, at home engagement. It does, however, make this teacher look like they are integrating technology 100%. Engaging, no passive, involvement of both teacher and student.

Building a free website using a tool like Wikispaces.com or Blogspot.com is a good way to easily "integrate" technology into your class. Post homework, have your students contribute and edit pages, etc. It can all be done from home so it is not an issue if your room doesn't have computers/internet. It makes you a cutting edge, tech savvy, engaging teacher, without even needing a classroom computer. How's that for innovative?

You could also get some iPads, a laptop, projector, SmartBoard, teach with nothing but technology and have everything done digitally. I know teachers who aspire to and work towards a total digital classroom.

To each their own. Using technology in the classroom is only as effective as the teacher's ability and willingness to integrate it.

Start small and work your way up. No harm in using technology. Missing out on opportunities if you don't...