4-A-2+Wiki+Posting+Five+Ways+to+Think+About+Change

=Home > Assignments > 4-A-2: Wiki Posting: Five Ways to Think about Change=

List five ways to think about and address changes in technology in your classroom and school. With each way briefly describe how you plan to apply your thinking with your colleagues.
 * INSTRUCTIONS:**

Before developing your five ways to address change suggestions consider the following:
 * Considering the list of fears you brainstormed in the previous assignment, what are the common objections and fears your peers or administration may have to changes in technology?
 * How can you assess if the the objections/fears are valid? How can you educate your peers in determining if these fears and objections are valid?
 * How can you inspire peers who share similar beliefs and interests to apply changes in technology to their classroom or students' learning ?
 * How can you get peers out of the "Resistance" phase into the "Exploration" phase?

Post your "five ways to address change" in the table below. Review your peers' postings and post at least two comments in the Discussion Tab above.

I would suggest it to our department chair and he woul have to see if the other dept. chairs were interested. We could set up a wiki space where we could share ideas. || Teresa || show examples of the creative projects and explain the online tools used to create them. || Teresa || or department meeting. This would allow other teachers to see the technology being used. This might encourage them to try it too. || Teresa || in the past, but maybe after they see a few of us having success, they will be ready to try it too. || Teresa ||
 * ==**5 Ways to Address Change**== || ==**Submitted by:**== ||
 * **Have in-service days to teach the technology** -- this will introduce the participants to the technology and see if it is something they are interested in using. || Kristen M ||
 * **Observe others using the technology in the classroom** -- this will allow a nervous teacher to see how students react to the new technology || Kristen M ||
 * **Develop Personal Learning Groups (PLG**) -- these groups can meet and brainstorm ways that the new technology can be used in each class (not just in general). These teams can then observe each other and give feeback on how to the improve the usage of the technology. || Kristen M ||
 * **Allow small groups of students to try the technology first** -- seeing how students react to the technology may give the reluctant teacher a positive experience to the new technology. The students can also help come up with some great ways to use the technology. || Kristen M ||
 * **Make a cheat sheet for the teachers** -- include common questions that could apply, also include a "what to do it... happens". This will help the teacher feel like thy have a tech person right next to them. Be sure to include a number or email for a tech perosn that can answer questions about that particular program. || Kristen M ||
 * **Create a monthly technology newsletter**—A monthly newsletter (electronically distributed and containing many screenshots) could give tips on new technologies by the people who actually use it. Normally the Technology Department instead of teachers creates these types of newsletters. Teachers will be more receptive to the information if it comes from a colleague who is actually using the technology. || Jen B. ||
 * **Optional summer workshops**—Sometimes the Technology Department tries to teach new software or hardware during after school sessions or team meetings. In order for reluctant teachers to feel more comfortable, they need //time// to work with the new equipment. A summer workshop when you are not stressed out from regular school worries might allow them that extra level of comfort to figure things out. || Jen B. ||
 * **Create a Technology Steering Committee**—Our state requires that every school have a Technology Committee composed of administrators and teachers who create the vision of how technology will be used in the building. Parents and students should be allowed to participate as well. That way you can get different perspectives and more ideas for integration. || Jen B. ||
 * **Professional Growth Plans**—In my district, it is contractually required that every teacher set a goal for professional growth during the school year. I think we should be encouraged to look at learning new technologies as the inspiration for our goals. This way we will be growing as educators as well as helping our students grow as learners. || Jen B. ||
 * **Technology Field Trips**—Allow teachers to travel to other schools or even other districts to watch technology in action. Meeting new people and getting fresh ideas while watching someone actually using the technology in their classroom will encourage discussion and spark some new ideas that can be brought back and shared with colleagues. || Jen B. ||
 * **Training** - peer to peer training. We can help each other, or classes sponsored by our media specialist in our building or summer training at the district level. || Teresa ||
 * **Peer collaboration** - I would love to see the 3 meddle schools in our district share ideas on how their students engaged in projects using technology.
 * **Back to school night -** I could keep parents informed about the technology that I plan to use during the annual back to school night meeting. I could
 * **Staff or Department mtg.** - I can document a successful lesson using technology and make a power point presentation whcih I could share at a staff
 * **Start collaborating with those interested in adding technology to their curriculum**- Not every one sees the need to change what they have done
 * **Encourage the use of students to help you learn a given technology**. I could share that my students showed me how to do away with projectors and overheads by setting up my Elmo/computer for me. I no longer need to print off many things I use and transfer that to an overhead and then coallate the plastic sheets in a notebook. Organization goes straight from my head to the computer and then is displayed via the Elmo. || Lynne B. ||
 * **Commiserate with Boomer purists (for awhile) to gain their trust**. For example, yes, I agree that student attitudes have changed. They have shorter attention spans, are cockier, need immediate gratification and are less respectful of authority. Then steer the discussion to why students are this way and that they are not likely to change. Technology is too ingrained into their learning styles. It would be more difficult to change them than it is to change a Boomer. After all, who doesn't like immediate gratification? || Lynne B. ||
 * <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">**Show a colleague how technology not only intrigues the student but it makes the teacher's life easier, not harder**. Once I have my wiki site up and running, I can show a teacher(s) how I no longer need to hand out the assignment and there is no chance for the student to lose it. I don't need to collect certain papers, check them by hand, keep track of the papers and hand them back. Everything is done on the site. Great for us paper crippled right brainers! || <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">Lynne B. ||
 * <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">**Encourage administration to have teachers share how they use technology in the classroom**. Our system does this to an extent. However, the administration dictates what technology we are to learn and teachers are encouraged to share how they use only this technology. I feel an entire year is wasted forcing one technology on a teacher when there are so many types out there that may "reach" a reluctant teacher instead of turning them off or keeping them in the "ignoring" stage. || <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">Lynne B. ||
 * <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">**Encourage administration to provide formal education in the form of meetings or seminars about Gamers**. I do not believe that many teachers in their 50s and 60s truly understand how gamers view education and why. They think the change in student behavior is mostly because of poor parenting styles. || <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: 19px;">Lynne B. ||
 * **Share ideas –** When you create or find something with technology that your students really enjoy then share it with your colleagues || Kiley Z ||
 * **Be willing to help –** All teachers need to be willing to help one another. Teachers that are good with computers and/or other technologies should be willing to help those who are not as familiar. || Kiley Z ||
 * **Encourage –** I can encourage them to try new things. When doing this I can explain the benefits, and I can show them how quickly they can learn new technologies. || Kiley Z ||
 * **Set an example-** Show your colleagues what great things are happening by the technology that you’re using in your classroom. They will see that your students are excited and that their scores are increasing. || Kiley Z ||
 * **Offer your time-** Offer time during planning or after school to get a group of teachers together and help guide them through new technology that they may be hesitant to try. This time could also be used as a sharing session in which teachers can share new technologies that they are using in order for others to feel more comfortable to try them. || Kiley Z ||
 * **Have summer tech academy**- This gives teachers time to digest the new tools, practice them, and integrate then in the curriculum before school starts. || SusanneK ||
 * **Have after school technology trainings based on teacher needs**- Have teachers answer a survey to see what they would like to be trained on. || SusanneK ||
 * **Have mini trainings during the school day**- Teachers can choose to attend during their planning period if the topic interests them. || SusanneK ||
 * **Co-Teach with tech person**- This provides the much needed confidence that many of us need when incorporating a new tech tool. || SusanneK ||
 * **Department Resource Page**- We have a Google Site to share resources and materials with each other for every math class taught in the district. We created the site this week during our summer curriculum writing week. || SusanneK ||