The Technology That Teachers Want

Image used by license with presentermedia.com

Which technologies do teachers want in their classrooms? Do they want Chromebooks, or iPads, or Windows tablets, or Android tablets? Do they want interactive whiteboards, or document cameras, or sound projection systems? In the end, those are not the decisions that will make or break an educational technology implementation. It is all about the professional development. A new nationwide survey of over 1,000 K-12 teachers shows that teachers are more interested in making sure that they get sufficient PD than they are in which devices get purchased.

According to that survey, 90% of teachers say that technology is an important piece of an instructional program. However, only 60% of teachers say that they feel adequately prepared to use technology in the classroom. More than one third of teachers, 37%, say that they would love to use technology in the classroom but simply do not know how.

Fortunately, there is plenty of research available on effective professional development. When dealing with PD for teachers on the topic of technology, here are five things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you are offering training on the basics as an option. Overall, 38% of teachers reports feeling the need for training on the fundamentals of technology use. That percentage rises as the age of the teacher rises.

2. Host PD opportunities during existing work days. Over 75% of teachers say they would like to have dedicated professional learning days on the topic of technology.

3. Many teachers like having an online alternative available. Consider offering self-paced online PD options.

4. Build an online community for sharing resources. The Web is full of lessons and other teacher resources, but 80% of teachers report wanting to have a place to share lessons with the other teachers they know.

5. Things have to work. Teachers need to know how to access technical support when they need it. Approximately 70% of teachers report not having tech support (or perhaps not knowing about it) to help them when they have trouble accessing something online.

Remember that the most effective professional development is ongoing. Whatever type of PD program you put in place at your school or district, make sure that it is repeated and enhanced each year with options for various levels of need.

Dennis Large
educator & learner
@dennislarge

Temecula Advantage Virtual School

In February I visited the Temecula Advantage Virtual School in the Temecula Valley Unified School District. The site, the students, and the staff were all impressive. It was a great opportunity to spend some face-to-face time talking to the people who make this virtual school work.

Image licensed from PresenterMedia

The principal, Dr. Todd Reed, gave me a tour of the facility. The first thing I noticed when I walked into this “virtual” school was that there were students everywhere. The site consists of two main rooms. One room has desks for Dr. Reed (who also creates and teaches some of the online classes) and the the two full time teachers. And the other is an open space where students can work in multiple configurations. In both rooms students were working in groups, in pairs, and individually. Dr. Reed explained that while the school has an enrollment of approximately 170 (and growing) full time online students, many of those students visit the physical site on a regular basis. Some come in for an hour to meet with an instructor for help on an assignment or to review their progress. Others come in for most of the day so that they can meet with instructors, work with partners or with groups, or just to get some schoolwork done without the distractions of their homes.

Mr. Balaris, the math teacher, was not available the day I visited. But Ms. Evans, the English Language Arts teacher, graciously took some time to talk to me. In between fielding questions from virtual and face-to-face students, she broke some of the myths about high school online teachers. Many people picture online teachers as being at home in their pajamas and working off-and-on throughout the day. I asked Ms. Evans to describe a typical day: She arrives before the doors open and is there all day. She meets with the students who come in to the physical site that day looking for assistance, and she meets with the students she called in because she needed to discuss some work with them. She logs onto the learning management system to check the progress of all of her students, and she makes contact via phone or email with any student who appears to be stuck on something (or has just been avoiding something). She grades assignments, gives feedback, and provides general support. Then in the evenings and on weekends she spends time creating new content for the courses she teaches.

I was also able to interview several of the students - and they had a lot to say about online learning. My first question was about why they chose to move from their comprehensive high school to the online school. There were almost as many different answers to that question as there were students in the room. One student is a competitive athlete whose training and competition schedule is not a good match for a traditional high school. One of the students is an actress who needs to miss chunks of time when there is a job that the agent lines up. Others felt that the social atmosphere of the traditional school was not a good fit for them. And some felt that the pace of the instruction (either too fast or too slow) at the traditional school was a barrier that the online school is able to remove.

I asked the students if they missed socializing with their friends. The majority of them reported that they still see their same friends outside of school. They feel like they get plenty of opportunities to socialize. Of course, some of the students said that they see their old friends and classmates less often, but they feel that is an advantage of the online school because being a bit less social helps keep them on track.

The Temecula Advantage Virtual School is definitely not a “one size fits all” situation. Some of the students choose to come to the school site almost every day because they know that they stay more accountable that way. Others come once or twice a week to see the teachers and to work with project partners or groups. And some only come when they need some specific support or when they need to take an assessment. It was clear that Dr. Reed, who also serves as the district’s Instructional Technology Administrator, Ms. Evans, and Mr. Balaris have created a flexible atmosphere both online and on site that meets the individual needs of each of these students.

Dennis Large
educator & learner
follow me @dennislarge