My school has always worked really hard to meet each teacher’s requests for technology.  My coworkers and I are blessed with a very supportive and inventive PTA that focuses on raising money for the sorts of things that state and local funding has not provided for in the last few years.  Within a year of being employed at my school I had a Smart board for my classroom and 5 iTouches.   After my second year I had an iPad for my classroom. The school I work in has been operating on somewhat an “ask and you shall receive” protocol (of course, you have to provide valid reasons for requiring more technology in the classroom).  I’ve been on the front end of the distribution of technology in my school because I have asked to get more technology in my classroom.

Now my school is working on a 3:1 student to device ratio.  The upcoming school year will be the first school year that every classroom teacher has a Smart board in her/his classroom.  As we make getting technology into the hands of our students a school-wide priority I foresee some challenges.  In my last post I wrote about some of my concerns about technology in the classroom.  In response to my last post Kristin Bedell commented, “…   I think that balance is a little easier when we help children become aware of how they use technology. Much of our usage is consumptive rather than creative… helping students focus on creative technology is different: it returns electronic technology to the realm of ‘tool’ instead of ‘all-encompassing entertainment/information source.’”  I think she is exactly right.  Fun games on an iTouch do not empower learning.  Finding ways to integrate technology so that it promotes student creation transforms such a device from “all-encompassing entertainment/information source” to an effective learning tool.  I see this as our greatest challenge as my school moves forward with the dissemination of more electronic devices for student use.

Many teachers in my school are apprehensive about using expensive devices (especially with young children).  Some teachers have been able to achieve results that they want in the classroom with the teaching strategies that they have been using for years and don’t feel comfortable changing.  Luckily, the administration at my school is already out ahead of these challenges.  They are finding ways to show these teachers what effectively integrating technology in the classroom looks like.  Teachers that already feel comfortable using these tools in their classrooms are being asked to share at staff meetings and during Early Release PD time.  Some classrooms have been designated as “labs” where other teachers can pop in to see these tech-savvy teachers in action.  I am excited for the new school year to begin so that I can try to use some of the new technology resources I learned about at NCCAT in my classroom and share these with my coworkers.