Common Misconception #7 Knowing Everything in Order to Integrate Technology

I Have to Know Everything About the Technology in Order to Integrate it in the Classroom.

The great thing about so many of the new technology resources available to educators is that generally each resource offers so much and so many different options that we don't have to learn everything about it before we use it.

I can think of a personal experience when I discovered Prezi.  I really did not grasp the idea of a 3D infinite canvas.  I put all my notes on the same "plane" and in a circle and then presented the presentation I created in a meeting.  It did not get a good reaction, but teachers did see an alternate to Power Point.  I went back to Prezi after it changed its editor and learned more about it.  I used it as it was intended, and the reaction to the software was much better.  I did not know everything about it, but enough that I felt comfortable enough to use it and present with it.  Now Prezi is one of my favorite new tools.

So often with many of the Web 2.0 tools I try it, find a way to use it, and while using it discover something new about it that makes the resource even better.  Originally, with the social bookmarking site Diigo, I hated the extra features of post-it notes and highlighter.  I just wanted to save links, so I went with Delicious.  After switching to Diigo recently, I realized how much more it offered me and how much more I could use it other than just a way to save links.  I needed to use it first to realize everything it could do that I could use.

If you wait till you read about it, watch videos about it, and wait for someone else to use the resource the opportunity for integration will pass you by.  THE BEST WAY to learn how to integrate technology is to just step out and start using it.  Once you use it, it will become more comfortable.  Fear of failure or mistakes because you don't know everything means that you could miss out on new and innovative ways to use technology.  We learn from our attempts and our failures.

Through my position I have had the opportunity to share several Web 2.0 resources with teachers.  The ones that jumped in and started integrating the tools had the most success.  I found it easier for them to start using it and then ask questions, then for me to try to explain everything and then they use it.  Since I explained it to them and they took notes, they were intimidated to ask for more help.  The teachers that jumped right in are also the same teachers who ended up using the same tools and other tools for future projects with their students.  The teachers who feared the technology and were unsure of everything ended up having less success with the resources and generally struggled with integrating technology in their classroom.  Technology integration REQUIRES self-reliance on your part.

Technology is constantly changing.  You cannot know everything about a technology resource.  Since most of the software is fairly new, companies are constantly updating and tweaking their product.  If you wait to learn everything about a resource it will change before you ever get started.  If you have an understanding of the resource, adapting to the constant change makes things easier.  I look back at my Prezi experience.  When they changed the editing tool and other options, I found myself liking it more and being more comfortable using it.

There is a reason that I titled this Blog, "The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness."  It is difficult to be completely happy when it comes to technology integration.  There is one thing you can count on with technology and that is that it is always changing.  This change creates a constant pursuit in finding successful ways to integrate technology.  Happiness in technology integration is a willingness to work at learning new things.  I don't have to know EVERYTHING about technology integration to be happy.  It is the pursuit of successful technology integration that creates happiness; because once that light bulb goes off in a teacher/student, or a project is enhanced using technology, there is no greater feeling for a person in my position.

Teachers, YOU WILL NEVER KNOW EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION AND RESOURCES.  The great thing is, you don't need to know 100% about the resource when you only plan on using 25% of its capabilities.  Remember, learn how to use the resource to meet your needs, then allow for exploration.

What are your thoughts and experiences when it comes to teachers feeling the need to have an understanding of EVERYTHING when it comes to technology integration?

Common Misconception #6 - Technology Integration Across all Subject Matter

There Can't Possibly be any Technology to Integrate in the Subject Matter that I Teach

Number six in the 8 Common Misconceptions about Technology Integration in Education deals with discovering technology that relates to the content areas that we all teach in education.  The idea that there is little technology available for your subject matter can't be farther from the truth.  No matter what you teach or even how you teach it, there are an abundance of resources available for your subject matter.

Gone are the days of relying on what comes with a textbook for additional resources in your classroom.  There is WAY more than that available.  I remember just getting new textbooks in 2008 and being concerned about the type of resources they were offering because I had little knowledge about anything else available.  I have come to the conclusion there is very little that textbooks can offer me that I can't get on the web for free.

First place you might want to look for resources for your subject matter is my Links Page that has links broken down by subject matter.  There are tons of great websites beyond just what is on my list.  The purpose of exploring my list of links is just to showcase some of the resources that are available for your subject matter.  I hope to be updating that list this summer, so check back before the start of the school year.

Next piece of advice is to join Twitter.  Once you have done that, search the Twitter4Teachers Wiki and start following teachers who teach the same subject as you and see the resources that they are sharing and using in their classroom.  You can then discuss through Twitter the different resources, lessons, and activities for use in your classroom.  Instead of going across the hall for questions, go global and use Twitter for those same questions.  You will get more than one opinion.

Once you have done that, create a Diigo account so you can start bookmarking resources that you find.  You can also go to the links below to find resources that have been tagged as your subject matter.  The resources are organized by the ones tagged the most.

Diigo Social Studies Tags

Diigo Science Tags

Diigo Mathematics Tags or Diigo Math Tags

Diigo English Tags

If you teach another subject, visit any of the above and type in your subject and see what resources are available.  If you teach a certain curriculum, like Government, Algebra, Biology, Poetry, type in those subjects as well.  This is a great way to start discovering resources in your subject matter.  If you teach a certain grade level, try that as well.  If you prefer, you can search Delicious, another type of Social Bookmarking website.  

Another option is to search through Wikis that are subject based.  I recently discovered some that have discuss several resources.  You can read my Wiki Wednesday Blog Post about those Wikis.

The above will help you find specific subject based resources.  Other Web 2.0 resources are available and they can be used in several different ways across ALL subject matters.  For those, I suggest that you search through the Web 2.0/21st Century Tools and Web2.0 Tools 4 U 2 Use Wikis.  Don't think that you have to find subject based resources when there are TONS of resources that can be used across the curriculum.

3-5 years ago, it would be a good argument that there were very few technology resources to integrate into your subject matter, but with the development and integration of Web 2.0, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that there is no subject matter that does not have a resource for it.  With all these available resources, the argument that your subject matter keeps you from integrating technology is no longer valid.

As teachers, it is time to use the creative minds that we have and develop NEW and APPEALING lessons for our students.  We have to bring the technology they currently use into our classrooms.  Finding what works for your subject matter is what is important.  Start using it and start sharing how you are using these tools for other teachers.  No longer does WHAT you teach keep you from REALLY being able to teach to your students.

When your students think your subject matter is boring, many of these tools make it interesting to them.  It is up to you as a teacher to make the lessons interesting.  Taking time to learn how to use these tools can turn those uninteresting lessons into ones you look forward to teaching, and students look forward to learning.  You chose to teach a certain subject because you had an interest in it.  Use these tools to help create that same interest in your students.

What are your thoughts?  Have you found a resource that really brought out your subject matter?

Common Misconception #5 - Technology Integration Takes too Much Time

In continuation of the series on the 8 Common Misconceptions about Technology Integration in Education I bring you reason #5, which is one we all have heard.  There was even a time in my teaching where I said this before I realized there was more available to my students then a Power Point Presentation/Project.

Common Misconception #5 - I Don't Have Time to Integrate Technology in my Classroom

I have said and heard this statement many times through my short tenure in teaching and involvement in technology integration.  I realized that it is not about HAVING time, it is about MAKING time.  What is important for educators to understand is that our students have time and make time for technology in their lives and it is important that as educators, we do the same so that we can relate better with our students.

What I have seen and heard in my few years of teaching helps me to know that teachers do have time.  We/They just choose to do other things with their time.  For example, sitting and chatting during planning, going for a walk during planning, surfing the Internet for things that have nothing to do with teaching, all things that I myself have once done.  All this time could be better spent learning how to use technology, something I learned myself and am working to pass along to other teachers.

It is important that we help those teachers who don't use time wisely or use time as an excuse not to integrate technology that in the long run understand that it will actually help with time management in their classroom.  There are several uses of technology that will help reduce the amount of time that teachers put into grading assignments and creating activities.

It is a lot easier to grade a Glog after a presentation then to grade a poster board the student created.  It will take less time to read and grade a research paper if a student turned it into a web page instead.  Take those questions from a book and have students respond to them on a site like Wallwisher and then display that wall in front of the class and discuss the answers provided by students.  What is great is that as a teacher, the average setup time for all those sites is fewer than 30 minutes.

If there is one thing that all educators know it is that technology changes, and it changes at a rapid pace.  More and more technology is going to start being integrated into schools.  For teachers to keep pace with these changes they are going to have to dedicate time to learning how to integrate it into the classroom.  Next teachers meeting ask your teachers the following question: "What if our district decided to go to 1:1 classrooms next year and reduced the funds for paper and printer ink, would you make time to learn about integrating technology in your classroom?"

Not having time to integrate technology for some teachers is the excuse for other fears they might have.  Teachers need to be shown that time is not the real issue.  For many teachers, time is only covering up a real fear that they have about integrating technology.  That is why we hear time so much.

Teachers must get over that beginning fear of giving up their time to integrating technology.  They have realized that in the long run integrating technology has really helped provide them more time for other things.  Remember the time it took to create Power Points for the first time, you never had to create them again.  Or remember the time you wrote lecture notes the first time, you never had to write them again.  Technology integration works the same way.  Integrate it once and you know what to do and how to do it in the future.

What made you start spending your time learning about technology?

Common Misconception #4 - Technology Integration is Expensive

In continuation with the Blog Series 8 Common Misconceptions about Technology Integration in Education it is time to focus on the money side of things.  So I bring you:

Integrating Technology in Education is to Expensive for my School/District to Afford

It is important to understand that Integrating Technology in Education CAN be expensive.  At the same time, it CAN be inexpensive.  In fact, technology peripherals CAN be completely FREE if teachers, administrators, schools, and districts are willing to put in the time and effort to apply for grants.  These grants will cover much of the equipment that you might normally purchase.  Every private company (Dell, Apple, HP, etc) have grants for education that offer opportunities to increase technology in your school.  A simple Google search will provide list of grants for educational technology from those companies.  If not from private companies, the federal government also has Grants that can be filled out by districts looking to increase technology.  For other Grant opportunities, here is a great list and a directory of federal and state Grants.

At the same time, technology integration IS completely free.  Web 2.0 has allowed schools and teachers to integrate technology with their students using zero dollars from their own pockets.  Who would have thought that we would spend more money on supplies (pencils, paper, binders, notebooks, etc) for our students then we would spend on technology to use with our students.  In actuality, getting teachers to "buy" into integrating technology is the only true cost.

If you are out of the loop on Web 2.0 and how to integrate all these GREAT free tools into your classroom, I suggest that you look at two handbooks that I created for the sole purpose of helping teachers integrate technology.  "Web 2.0 - A New Way to Lecture" and "Tools for the 21st Century Teacher" make great starting points for using several of the free tools that are available to you.  Every resource mentioned is completely free with the option of upgrading accounts to get more features.

When I first started teaching many of the resources, activities, lesson plans, etc., that I would find online required some form of membership to the site in order to access it (I remember that happening specifically for crossword puzzles, which now I get as a free download from Eclipse Crossword).  If I wanted to show a video, or even a video clip, I could be charged a lot of money for that video.  YouTube and other sites allow access to tons of free videos.

When it was time for the social studies department at my school to order textbooks, we "bartered" with the textbook companies.  We wanted to see who was going to not only give us the best deal and best textbooks, but also give us some extra perks in return for going with their company.  We were able to get digital projectors for our entire department for free because of how we communicated with the textbook company that we went with.  Schools are spending tens of thousands of dollars on textbooks, shouldn't the companies provide something MORE than a textbook, a few CD resources and online resources?

The COST of technology is all determined by the VALUE that you, your school, and your school district puts on integrating technology in your classroom/school.  What do I mean?  If you don't value integrating technology in the classroom, then you are not only "costing" students opportunities, but it will cost more in the long run because of a lack of focus on integrating technology.  If there is more value in technology integration, than schools will spend time filling out Grants, working with textbook companies and private companies, and encouraging the use of free Web 2.0 resources, therefore reducing the "cost" of technology integration.

Integrating technology in education is NOT expensive.  However, NOT integrating technology in education can prove to be COSTLY to your students and teachers.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Personal Experiences?

Common Misconception #3 - Experienced Teachers and Technology

In continuing with my blog series on Common Misconceptions about Integrating Technology in Education, I bring you the third installment:

Experienced Teachers Have Little/No Desire to Learn How to Integrate Technology in the Classroom

We all have one (if not more than one) in our schools.  The teacher that refuses, or has little/no desire to learn how to use technology in the classroom.  They have the largest number of excuses of any teacher.  The problem is, most of these teachers are generally given little effort by most integration specialist because there are more eager teachers in the building who want to learn how to utilize technology (I myself can be guilty of that at times).  So who really is at fault?

One thing I have realized since joining the Blogging and Twitter Universe is that over 75% of the people who are blogging and using Twitter in education are older than I am by 10 years or more.  They are the teachers that are using technology, been provided guidance, and took INITIATIVE to learn new things.  They are teachers who have dedicated themselves to learning new processes and ideas in order to meet with the change in the times.  They lose the fear of the unknown or being "that" teacher in their building.

One thing that I have learned about integrating technology with experienced teachers is you have to find ONE thing that they really see valuable.  In my school it was as simple as using a FLIP camera, or using a Document Camera to show student work.  For others is was a Web 2.0 software that caught their attention and now they use at least once a week.  I had a teacher use PicLits with her students and absolutely loved the collaboration between her students and complete strangers who were reading the students poems.

Experienced teachers, or teachers who fear technology CANNOT be thrown a bunch of new technology and then be expected to use them.  They get overwhelmed.  Many experienced teachers already have their lessons planned out from day one to final exams.  Take those lessons and show them ONE tool that they can use with their students to enhance the learning with their students.  Collaborate with that teacher while they are working on that lesson.  Always provide time for follow up and discussion with the teacher.

Experienced teachers want to use technology just as much as other teachers.  It is up to Integration Specialist, Tech-Savvy Teachers, and Administrators to provide opportunities for experienced teachers to learn about and how to use new technology.  And like most things, it requires enforcement from the principal that teachers and students use technology in their lessons on a daily/weekly basis.

Technology in itself is not what is keeping experienced teachers from integrating technology in the classroom.  It is the process of change, the idea of the unknown, the lack of knowledge, the fear of making mistakes in front of students; that keeps most experienced teachers from utilizing the technology available to them.

I have never seen an experienced teacher who was not excited about receiving technology equipment, or who did not get excited about realizing a way to use a tool in the classroom.  But that excitement is completely overtaken by fear once the tech-savvy person leaves the room and they are left to fend for themselves.

On the other hand, I have always thought that once you get that experienced teacher, the one no one expects would like technology, to share how it has changed their classroom, other teachers will buy in as well.  It is hard for experienced, less-tech savvy teachers to hear about technology from someone who lives it, knows it, and loves it.  When fearful teachers hear it from a peer who is not viewed in the building as a tech integrator, those fearful teachers become more open to the idea of integrating technology in the classroom.

Remember to limit the technology to those that are fearful.  Allow for them to gradually become more comfortable.  Because the thing about educational technology is that once you start to learn how to use one or two tools, everything else becomes much easier to figure out.

Do you have fearful teachers in your building?  What are you doing to bring out that hidden desire for technology in them?  What experience and knowledge can you bring to combat this common misconception?

Are you an experienced teacher who got over a fear of technology integration?  What was your reason?  PLEASE Comment!