I responded to Amanda and Kimberly
I teach in a fairly new high school. The building is old but the school re-opened in 2006 under a new name and new concept. I have been there since the beginning, and have watched the school grow from 118 students and 8 teachers to 600 students and 30 teachers. With that growth, we have been continuously adding to our technology. However, the interactive white boards still have not totally caught on in our building. The first year, we had two portable boards, but no one was proficient in using them. Our technology leader somewhat trained himself on the basic functions, but when trying to turn it around to the staff, nothing seemed to be working correctly.
In the third year, the science labs were renovated, and all were outfitted with interactive white boards. Those teachers do use them on a regular basis. Last year, boards were installed in two more classrooms. These are rooms in which teachers are to bring their classes into to use the technology. The principal asked someone from the district to come in and train the staff. The woman had a two hour block of time, and spent most of it downloading software onto everyone's laptop. Presently, outside of the science department, the boards are not being used for much more than movie screens.
I don't think the resistance is due to lack of interest, but to lack of training. We would have more success if all of the conditions of Keller's model were met:
ATTENTION - Each time, the trainer had the attention of the staff at the beginning, but as things were not properly functioning, and people had nothing to do while waiting for software to download, people began to lose interest.
RELEVANCE - All teachers want to know how the technology can be used in their classroom. Often when these types of things are presented the focus is n reading and math. In order to get school-wide buy in, the art, music,and phys. ed. teachers also want to know how they can enhance their curriculum.
CONFIDENCE - Teachers want to be sure that they are not going to be fumbling around with the technology when they get in front of the class. They need enough training to feel proficient using it, not just a one time lecture.
SATISFACTION - Teachers need to be able to try the activities with a class, then go back and evaluate with their peers or a coach. Something must work right in order for them to be motivated enough to want to go back and try it again.
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Kiana,
ReplyDeleteThis post breaks my heart. I can see your first problem, we tried for about two years to make it work with portable smart boards. It won't work you have to do too much aligning and then one kid pushes to hard on the board and it moves and the whole thing is off again. Your science teachers use it because it is there all the time staring them in the face.
You need a change agent in your building, you need one charismatic individual to do some of the leg work and find some lessons for the teachers to use. They are out there for everyone we have interwrite pads (a lot like a smart board but a LOT cheaper) in our chorus room, art room, history rooms, math rooms, even our auto shop has one. Their is not an area of the school that can not find a way to use this.
The auto shop and construction guys at our school are great with it. The construction guy has an icon that is a hand and he gives his pad to a kid and tells him to show the class how to fix the wiring problem on the screen. The kid moves the hand around and everytime he "touches" something that will shock him the whole class yells out buzz. Its hilarious and great learning. The art teacher shows art and ask the kids to circle the elements that give it perspective or that make it a renaissance painting etc. I know I am rambling but there is GREAT stuff already done out there you just need someone to bring it to the party!
I am a computer/technology teacher and I have to say that the interactive whiteboard is a challenge for people who have never worked with it before. It is such a useful tool, yet so complicated even for people who enjoy using technology and want to learn something new. However, once I got the hang of it, I loved it. My mother has one in her classroom, she teaches special education, and it is so helpful for them. It took her some time to get use to it because you would consider her a seasoned teacher but once she learned how to use it (the kids use it better than her) learning was much more fun!
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