Option 2
As leaders in educational
technology, how can you garner support for the effective use of technology from
your staff members? What will this look like in your district, your building,
and individual classrooms? How will you plan to offset the “digital divide”?
Support for effective use of technology is essential,
especially from my peers at work. To gain their support, they must be exposed
to the resources and information, as well as data that show the positive sides
of technology integration into the classroom. In order for educators to
implement anything effectively, they must believe in the particular material or
tools they are utilizing in their classrooms to advance student growth and
development.
Teachers must understand the importance of using technology
as learning tools and how to effectively use them in lessons. Anyone can throw
a computer at a students; however, what the student does with that computer is
most important. Professional development will need to take place to ensure
teacher readiness and preparation for using technology correctly in their
lessons.
Since we are an urban school in downtown Dallas, my peers
must be aware of the concerns that relate to disadvantaged students. According
to Singer, Hilton, and Schweingruber (2005) state, “Schools with higher
concentrations of poor students are less likely to have adequate laboratory
facilities than other schools” (Picciano, 2005, p.43). Picciano also goes on to
talk about low budgets and lower supplies at urban schools. My administrators
and staff members must be cognitive of the students who don’t have technology
available outside of school. My peers must make arrangements for these specific
students to stay after school at times or come before school to complete tasks
that use technology. Getting parents involved from day one, especially parents
of students with no internet access at home or smart phones they can use on the
road. These two variables would definitely offset the “digital divide.”
My district must be aware of technology concerns in the
classroom and must ensure that school principals are effectively leading adult
teacher education on technology and following up with teachers through
observations. In my district, we are observed numerous times throughout each
month and year. On our observation forms, there is a specific section that
deals with the implementation of technology. This process ensures schools
principals and district management of the great things, as well as issues,
happening in our schools with technology implementation.
In my classroom, I teach PE so technology isn’t always
productive; however, I use Youtube.com often to relate material in my lesson to
real-life situations as a connecting tool. I have actually been trying to get
an ipad on donorschoose.org to be able to use it as a station in PE where
students would be able to collaborate in groups to find material related to
health and fitness online. Non-English speaking could be paired up with
English-speaking peers, and SpEd students could be paired up with an
able-bodied peer. Most children, especially in today’s society, are exposed to
great amounts of technology in the world; therefore, their brains are in
overdrive trying to figure out how to use the next generation tools. They are
ready, even at early ages, to dive into technology. As teachers, we just need
to keep them on a path where their use of technology connects them to
real-world experiences that advance their academic and social achievements.
Shank & Cotton (2014) states, “In model 3, the daily
computer on XD use’s effect on efficacy drops out of significance, supporting
the assertion that second level digital divide variables apply across both XO
and non-XO platforms. It also indicates that what one does on a computer has a
stronger relationship to efficacy than simply the frequency of computer use in
this sample” (p.188).
“Other findings also
dovetail with this relationship between using technology and efficacy, such as
students who began using computers at a younger age reporting greater general
and academic efficacy.
Together these finding suggest that when youth engage
with technology at higher rates they feel more empowered in multiple domains
(Amichai-Hamburger et al., 2008). Alternatively, youth with greater
self-efficacy might engage with computers more than their less efficacious
counterparts” (Shank & Cotton, 2014, p.190).
So the digital divide, as research shows, is decreasing in today’s society and schools. Whether computers or shared or owned, students
inquire knowledge and increase their self-efficacy levels. This all leads back to
teacher understanding and use of technology in their classrooms to ensure
student development and growth over time.
References:
Picciano,
A. G. (2011). Educational
leadership
and planning for technology
(5th ed.). Hunter College,
NY: Allyn & Bacon
Shank
D, Cotten S. (2014). Does technology empower urban youth? The relationship of
technology use to self-efficacy. Computers
& Education, 70:184-193. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
