http://www.fluency21.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=2070
After reading the blog entitled, The 7 Golden Rules of Using Technology in Schools, based off of Adam S. Bellow, author of the Tech Commandments, and found of eduTeacher, it got me thinking about various questions that have come up in discussions about technology and its place in schools. The 7 Golden Rules is a starting point for educational systems to look at to see if they are headed in the right direction when working with and trying to implement technology into schools.
1. DON'T TRAP TECHNOLOGY IN A ROOM- "Technology should be like oxygen: ubiquitous, necessary, and invisible." Chris Lehmann, founing principal of Science Leadership Academy
2. TECHNOLOGY IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- Professional development is a priority and just can't be done as a one shot deal learning it in an hour long how-to session. Educators must be properly trained and integrate technology in meaningful ways in their teaching practice.
3. MOBILE TECHNOLOGY STRETCHES A LONG WAY- Instead of turning technology off at the start of school (cell phone) students could utilize them during class time as they have access to everything.
4. THE NEW "F WORD" IS FEAR- We shouldn't be fearful of technology but rather learn it and help our students understand how to use it correctly.
5. TECH TOOLS ARE NOT JUST A PASSING FAD- We need to embrace what technology can offer us and learn it!
6. MONEY IS NOT THE PROBLEM- We can't use money as an excuse.
7. INVITE EVERY STAKEHOLDER TO THE CONVERSATION- As administrators we can't only rely on teachers input but students, parents, and community people need to be involved as well.
These 7 Golden Rules are good points to keep in mind when thinking about technology and its importance in the educational system as technology isn't a passing fad. We need to be life long learners when it comes to it and teach our children the benefits of it.
Number 2: Completely agree. Often times, the technology is there but the training is not. For those that use the "f" word-fear, giving them a new piece of technology without professional development is going to make that fear even worse and turn to resentment.
ReplyDeleteIf YOU had to add a rule, what would it be? How can you extent this blogpost?
ReplyDelete@Tom
ReplyDeleteTech people at a building are a must! I think every school needs to have a teacher and/or person who is confident in the technology area so they can help those individuals who aren't so tech savvy and who aren't willing to go gain that knowledge on their own.
If I could add a rule it would be that technology directors need to be educators. Too often in my building there is a battle between the teachers who want to use technology and the technology director who wants total control and lacks and understanding of what we are trying to accomplish with our students. For example, we're tired of hearing about all the "bad things" our kids could be doing with social networking tools. We need him to understand all the great things that our students could accomplish if we just trusted them.
ReplyDeleteIn our district we often hire teachers for tech jobs but that hasn't helped the teachers. The "tech" person doesn't know details of different technology or how they work. Another problem is if the "tech" person did their teaching job with or without certain technologies or programs, they think all other teachers can do the same.
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