Neanderthal– noun, someone who refuses to recognize the value of anything modern.
I believe that sometimes people involved in education are experiencing what I would like to call the “Neanderthal Effect”. Because a certain new technology was created after they were born, they seem to think that it is foreign or evil and needs to be protested. Or maybe they know that it will be expensive and they do not feel that the long term benefits are worth it.It seems to be that there are always people who are resistant to change, those who don’t want to step outside of the status quo because of there comfort levels. I feel that this is the biggest challenge that I face with technology. I don’t always feel that it is the teachers who are as resistant to the change but instead the policy makers in the county and state. It would be naive of me to say that all educators are open to new technologies in schools, but the majority of educators that I work with are willing to try new things. There is a desire from many educators to be excited about technology and it’s ability to create learning experiences that are meaningful and engaging. Many educators know the importance of preparing our students to become globally competitive in the future. So I think it is safe to say that many teachers are open to new technologies and working through the challenges of using new tools for learning in our classrooms. If only the people who are making the decisions to supply or not supply all of our schools with tools that will allow all students to have an equal chance to use technology to enhance their learning. Many teachers would appreciate these tools and would work towards training teachers within schools so that the new technologies would be beneficial to the future of our students and our schools. So the problem with technology in schools isn’t the openness to trying new things with technology or troubleshooting a million different connection issues, but instead it is the lack of commitment of the people who experience the “Neanderthal Effect”.
Final thought… Maybe the people that are part of the problem should try Googling to find articles that support negative effects of technology in education and also articles that support the positive effects of technology in education. They might end up finding out some really awesome things and will maybe drop the protest signs.
Shannon, I am an advocate for technology use in the classroom, when it is used correctly, and actively encourage my colleagues to integrate technology into their instruction. Trying to see the other side of the coin, I took your challenge and googled “negative effects of technology in education” and found this article: http://www.edudemic.com/2013/05/the-4-negative-side-effects-of-technology/. The funny thing was right below it was a link for an article about how technology inspires creativity in the classroom. I think the article makes some valid points, however it seems most of the issues are due to parenting and not what is happening in the classroom. One point made was students are less patient due to the instant feedback they get from the internet, and as a result become frustrated when the internet fails them. I don’t see this as a hindrance; I see this as a teachable moment for students to learn to work through problems life throws their ways, in the safety of the classroom. Thoughts?
Shannon,
When our county went one to one there was a lot of protest…mostly from people who refuse to see the change in our world. Members of local government actually frowned as we supposedly moved away from the basics. My argument was that “the basics” are changing. If our children are going to be competitive then we have to always be flexible and willing to change to create a learning environment that will support them later in life.
I’d like to add that when the new technologies come into the education field, teachers are hesitant to adopt them quickly because there is a lack of PD that allow them to learn enough about the program to make it effective in their teaching. Another challenge is the adoption of one format after the other…year after year. When I first started teaching in NC I was introduced to using Blackboard. I embraced the site… loaded it up with cool things for myself and my students to use. Not many of the other teachers did the same. I loved how I had tons of materials archived. Using Blackboard I demonstrated to visitors how to run a paperless classroom using Blackboard. The possibilities were endless if every child had a pc to work with each day.
Within two years, at a staff meeting, a training was offered on how to create your own website using Weebly. Awesome teachers at our school were our trainers. Throughout the training I kept thinking….I already have this on my Blackboard site. Then came the push for Moodle…now Edmodo! What’s a teacher to do?!?
So the fast paced movement of new technologies is also worth considering when we consider the challenges of leveraging technology into teaching.
Very well stated. You brought out some good discussion here among your cohort. Keep up the good blogging!
Amneris