Our mantra was, “It’s OK to play! You are not going to break anything.”
;e goal of the coaching sessions was
to allow time for re;ection and planning. Most teachers already know what
they can do to increase engagement in
their classrooms, but being able to talk
it through with a colleague can really
get things rolling. All of the participating teachers mentioned that the coaching component of the grant was essential to increasing their comfort with
and understanding of the process.
;e coaching and integration sessions also held teachers to a higher
level of accountability, which they
said was helpful. ;e technology
integration specialist helped teachers come up with ways to implement
technology that supported their lesson
plan goals. O;en the teachers wanted
the coach or integrationist in the
room when they were implementing
the new technology or strategy. Having the support of a colleague at the
ready helped to alleviate any anxiety
surrounding the task at hand.
It’s OK to Play
Most of us grew up in individualized learning environments. We were
taught to hide our papers, not talk
to others during class, and absorb
information like sponges. We were
rewarded for being quiet and regurgitating the information exactly
the way our teachers wanted it. ;ese
mental models are so ingrained in us
that it is hard to break away and try a
new approach.
We have a thing or two to learn
from our students. Kids o;en learn
new technologies by playing with
them. So, in our professional development classes, we reintroduced the
concept of play to teachers. Our mantra was, “It’s OK to play! You are not
going to break anything.” (Well, sometimes we did break and lose things,
but that was a very rare occurrence
and part of the learning curve.)
We would o;en sit next to someone
at the computer and say, “Let’s just see
what happens if you do this.” Even if
we knew what the result would be, we
wanted to make sure they knew it was
OK to not always know the answer.
You need to play with the technology
and ;nd out its parameters to really
learn how to use it. Kids do this instinctively, as they don’t have any ego
about knowing or not knowing how to
use a gadget, and they aren’t afraid to
just give it a go.
;at said, it is essential to know
exactly what you are measuring and
let your students know too. If you
have ever graded an iMovie with
40,000 transitions, images with the
iStockphoto watermark still on them,
and a soundtrack of the latest Jay-Z
hits, you know what we are talking
about. Kids get so excited about ;-
nally being able to apply technology
that they forget they are actually supposed to be learning something. ;ey
shouldn’t spend two hours picking out
a font. We need to see products that
demonstrate learning. A good rubric
that carefully outlines the content expectations will save you from having
to tell a student who spent 40 hours
on his opus that he earned a big fat D.
Take It Slow
We know that teachers don’t have time
to learn how to use all the new technologies out there, so we encouraged
them to start with one new technology
in one lesson plan. While we were there
for support, most teachers preferred to
;y solo. What we found was that once
teachers became familiar with one technology application (such as electronic
whiteboard or digital storytelling so;ware) and learned it well, they were
more apt to try another technology.
Learning too many new things at once
becomes overwhelming and confusing. Start slowly and start small, but
start.
You will be surprised at how well
your students will respond. Students
are always willing helpers if something
goes awry. One teacher in our cohort
would purposely profess ignorance of
the whiteboard setup just to allow her
students the opportunity to come up
to the front of the class and set it up
each day. ;ey loved the opportunity
to show her something they knew
how to do. So for those who are wary
of trying a technology for fear that
it might not work, a perfect plan B
may be letting the students show each
other (and you) how it works.
