Using New Technologies (u02a1)

Everyone has a different perspective on how to approach using new technology skills with their students. Some of my friends who are teachers are scared of technology or have very limited resources in their school so they don’t use much technology at all. I have other friends who are very much “rule followers”. If their curriculum doesn’t say to use a particular website or technology integration idea, they will not. Finally, I have several teacher friends who are in the same camp I am. We love technology, get very excited about new applications of it, and are willing to jump right in and get started!

One of those friends is Rachael Miller. Rachael’s beginning her 6^th year teaching (fourth year in 2^nd grade) in the Carlisle, PA School District. She is an incredibly avid technology user and LOVES to try out new ideas. As a result of that, Rachael has been chosen to teach staff development classes for her district each summer on a variety of topics including Skype, Weebly, and Glogster.

When I asked Rachael how she decides which tools to use with her students, she reminded me that there are so many sites that can do the same thing. We specifically talked about presentation-type sites. She said that she tries to choose newer ones or ones that she thinks the kids would be interested in. Typically, Rachael has read about these sites online, discussed them with colleagues, or recently attended a workshop about them. As with any other aspect of her teaching, Rachael reminded me that the technology must also align with her curriculum. We discussed how it doesn’t have to fit exactly into the curriculum, but the way we use it to apply curriculum must be appropriate for our students.

As with any new idea in education, there are many obstacles to overcome when implementing new technology usage. I was thinking that Rachael might respond that resources, administrative support, or time were her largest obstacles, but instead she said that parents are often the most difficult obstacle to overcome. “Kids are capable of doing a lot more than parents think they can” (Miller, 2013) she said. Often times, parents are intimidated that their child will not be able to complete the task she is asking them to do. For example, Rachael’s 2^nd graders have built their own websites. She had a great deal of initial parent resistance simply because they didn’t know how to do that so they didn’t have the confidence that their child would either. Educating parents on internet safety and “making sure the parents understand that their kids are going to be safe and student work is password protected” (Miller, 2013) is something she has to do each year.

Trying out new ideas is something Rachael does each year, as well. She has a very optimistic outlook on life in general, and that definitely carries over into her classroom! My favorite response of Rachael’s was when I asked her what kind of advice she would give someone who is trying out new technology. “There’s going to be problems with everything – just like a math or reading lesson, but you have to try it in order to succeed. It will get better each time you try it. There’ll always people to help you. The kids won’t get mad at you” (Miller, 2013). What great advice! Why not give it a try? We reminisced about all of our technology “mishaps”, but both of us are still glad we’ve tried that project that is supposed to take just 20 minutes and you spent 4 days on.

Since Rachael and I both teach 2^nd grade but in different districts, it is fun to discuss the freedoms and restrictions we have within our districts, the projects we’ve tried, and the new tools we have available. Even after I finished interviewing her, we went on about new technologies we’ve recently read about, new ways we’re planning to use technology in the fall, and ideas that we had both learned through our recent courses and workshops. The thought that I really took away from my discussion with Rachael was when she reminded me, “teachers need to be excited about what they’re teaching, too” (Miller, 2013). If I can’t be excited about what I do each day, then I’m in the wrong career.

Resources:

Miller, R. (2013, July 8). Interview by Watkins J.