My technology mission states: “I believe that technology training should focus on model curriculum, not only on the technology. In short, technology should support the goal of sound pedagogy. It is my mission to provide timely, pedagogically-based technology instruction that will allow teachers to focus on their mission: student learning and student success “ It was both gratifying and validating to read the article, “Technology and Science Teaching: A New Kind of Knowledge” (Wallace, Michigan State University, 2002) I agree wholeheartedly with her argument that “what is missing is knowledge at the intersection pedagogy and technology…” and that “rather than more technical knowledge-about emerging technologies, networking or hardware-what teachers need is knowledge of curriculum-based technologies that work with both the ways teachers teach and what students need to learn” The goal I strive to achieve in my job is to provide that missing knowledge for the teachers or at least help them find that knowledge for themselves.

Let me begin by telling you what I do and a few things that I have learned through what I do. I was originally hired at Howell Public Schools in July 2000 to “train” the teachers and staff on the use of the district’s software applications. At that stage of Howell’s technology use, basic skills’ training is what was called for. This is a large district that includes 10 buildings, some 435 teachers and approximately 1500 employees overall. I was responsible for them all, but for this reflection I will talk only about the teachers. Many of these people had never turned on a computer; much less knew how to use software applications. It was imperative that I teach them those basic skills before I could help them move forward to even begin to think about technology integration. So, I set up classes, during the day, during prep periods, before school, after school, you name the time and the place, I made myself available for technology training and help.

During the summer of 2001, I began to get people to start thinking about technology in ways other than “e-mail, Internet and Class XP (our program for attendance.) I developed and then piloted T4: Tomorrow’s Technology/Today’s Teachers, which is a four-day intensive technology integration workshop that focuses on curriculum and pedagogy as well as teaching basic technology skills. Forty teachers went through the program that first year and I had an additional thirty go through this past summer. It has now become so popular that teachers have begged for me to run it during the school year. So this October, I will offer it as a Fri. night/Sat., Fri. night/Sat. class. I cover only technologies that I know teachers will have access to in their buildings and classrooms. That way, they do not get bogged down with “but I don’t have that available.” I also offer the program based on grade level. That is, I offer one week for elementary teachers, another week for middle school teachers and yet another week for high school teachers. Technology is, as Wallace points out, “grade specific.” It does no good for a middle or high school teacher to learn about KidPix © or for elementary teachers to spend time learning Geometer’s Sketchpad © for example.

“What has Carole learned from this?” First and foremost, I have learned that this technology “thing” is a process. I tell teachers to think of the process like eating an elephant. How does one eat an elephant? You eat an elephant one bite at time, of course. Technology is no different. It takes time to develop strategies for technology integration. Not all teachers (or even districts) will be at the place where true technology integration is feasible. Teachers do NOT (in my opinion) need to know it all, but interestingly, I have found many who believe that they do. I think that belief comes from this whole notion of “I am the teacher…the authority.” It is hard for some to give in to not knowing it all. I also remind teachers of how long it took them to become teachers (experts) in their chosen subject (s). They didn’t, after all, gain that expertise overnight. It took at least four years and then some to gain the comfort level they feel now in their classrooms. For new teachers, this is an issue they are still struggling with. What on earth makes them feel that they can (or even should) become experts in technology? Not to mention that technology is a moving target! How does anyone become an expert when the end keeps moving forward? I feel like I have really good job security simply because there will always be new technologies (media) to learn and there will always be teachers needing or wanting to learn them. Wallace talks about teachers reporting themselves that they do not feel well enough prepared to use new technologies even when they have success and support. My experience confirms this.

One of the biggest obstacles teachers mention when it comes to technology integration is TIME. It does take extra prep time up front and I tell them so. It may take more time to actually deliver the technology-rich lesson and I even hear from teachers that the time of year can significantly influence their decision whether or not to include technology. I stress to them that the pay off is big and that, while the investment is front-loaded, in the long haul, they will find the time factor to be less significant.

Wallace talks about the importance of teachers having a useful portfolio of resources. I agree that this is important, but also have found that teachers still want the “How To” information and even further, many of them really feel the need for “Step-by-Step” instruction. I believe this speaks to an issue of confidence. For example, it was reported in a recent issue of eSchool News that "Forty-three percent of school leaders surveyed rate new teachers as only "average" when it comes to their competence in integrating the Internet into their instruction" and that "it is teacher expertise that is holding us back." I would that it is not teacher expertise…it is teacher' confidence (or lack thereof) about technology that is keeping teachers from integrating technology within their curriculum. Teachers somehow think they should know it all before they can use it. Again, I think this comes from their fear of possibly (and maybe even probably) not knowing as much as their students do about the media. So, I believe this is a confidence issue and not, as the eSchool News article suggests an issue of expertise.

Another key concept that cannot be forgotten is this idea of evaluation and measurement. Just how do teachers evaluate technology-rich work, when they, themselves do not feel confident their own technology skills? I talk about this in T4 also and get teachers to look at evaluation in two ways. The first is actually evaluating the student work. I help them develop rubrics which can be used to do this. I also ask them to think about evaluating their own involvement in technology. They can do this in several ways, including journaling their experiences with technology lessons, keeping sort of a self-assessment of where they are and how they are progressing. They can also take the FREE on-line classes through Michigan Virtual University that are offered to all teachers in the sate of Michigan and take the assessment tests that are a part of those classes. Evaluation is on-going and especially if you keep in mind that this is a process and not a product.

Finally, I love this quote from the article. “Effective use of technology is not about doing the same things but making them look better by using technology. It is bout taking advantage of what technology can do-the four affordances for student learning outlined above. Effective teaching with technology makes use of these affordances to do the impossible.” You can bet that I will be talking a lot to the teachers at Howell about these affordances and will be using this quote often!

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