EDUC 638 - Week 2 - Forum 2

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.