TIE536_Technology In Schools Report

I found the “Technology in Schools Report” to be an interesting read. As I think about my own school situation, we are dramatically behind the technology curve of the surrounding west suburban high schools. It causes me to think about exactly how much is technology integrated into the daily education of our students. We’ve got a great physical plant: a huge building project was completed two years ago that created 47 new classrooms, a multipurpose and dividable classroom or meeting space, a ‘commons’ area for students, new administrative offices, two large instrumental music rooms and a large field house. This addressed the overcrowding issues in classrooms and cafeteria, and also improved the instructional and performance environments for our instrumental music and athletic programs. Our school is immaculate in appearance, but has this all put us in a position to do a better job of preparing our students for life after grade 12?

It certainly has made my school a more pleasant ‘place’ to come each day. However, the fact is that we are still missing a big piece of the educational puzzle: the integration of technology into the curriculum. We face two primary barriers to effective technology integration. First, as stated in the article, is the “the lack of access to reliable, up-to-date technology.” Second is the lack of teacher knowledge and confidence in using technology to enhance their lessons, much less integrate it into the curriculum.

Although my school has a number of computer labs available to students, only two of them have computers that are less than three years old. These labs are specifically dedicated to technology-driven classes and are not available to other classes on a reserve basis. The computers in the other labs have been maxed out on their memory, and are limited by the slow processing speed. The addition of two new laptop carts with 16 laptops each has helped address this issue, but I fear they are being under-utilized. The teacher workstations in most classrooms are older, with slow processors and low amounts of memory. This presents an initial barrier in terms of the ability of an individual teacher to use their prep time to develop any activities that could be integrated into the curriculum. The teacher workstations need to be upgraded to provide equipment with which it is reasonable to create new educational tools and experiences.

Secondly, there is a low level of teacher confidence in integrating technology into the curriculum on a regular basis. Some teachers have begun to venture into this arena on an occasional basis, but the reality is that more professional development in this area is needed. Currently, our administration has started a ‘Tech Time’ program of presentations by the faculty, which can be attended on your prep period. The presenters are given the day off and a sub is provided so that they can present throughout the day. However, attendees must give up their own free time to take advantage of the opportunity. In my opinion, our district needs to be more supportive of this, and use teacher institute days to provide exposure to the different ways to integrate technology into their curriculum.