This article talks about the barriers that are out there when trying to integrate effective technology in the high school classroom. The three big barriers ‘were: 1) schools and school districts did not leverage the opportunity to revisit their existing vision(s), 2) schools and school districts did not use data to make changes, and 3) limited access to technology.’ (Daniels, Jacobsen, Varnhagen, & Friesen, 2013) A research study found that there was more increase in student learning from a blended learning environment instead of a traditional teaching environment. Most of the time technology is simply put into a school, it has limited effect in student learning. Data was collected in this study that provided 24 school districts with technology to better understand it’s effectiveness and use. The focus was made primarily on the technology tool itself instead of the human infrastructure. Technology was thought of as a solution. The observations made pointed out that teachers used the technology as more of a substitute than a redefinition of learning. Not all educators are attuned to demands of a knowledgeable society. The 21st century system requires innovation and creativity from all employees. Teachers do not have the background knowledge or know the skills needed to effectively prepare the 21st century employee.
I found that this article pointed out the largest problem with technology in schools, that just having the technology available will solve all our teaching problems. Teachers are not trained nearly enough to be able to effectively use the technology we have in front of us. Many of us are bogged down by our curriculum and set to reach certain state standards by the end of a school year. It becomes very difficult for me in my content area of mathematics to really be able to let my students out there to investigate on their own the larger understanding of mathematical thinking. I think it would be a great start to create an online type of scavenger hunt for a unit of study and see what knowledge students are able to bring to the table to help them solve a particular situation. Taking the time to develop a particular unit of study and willing to let it fail would be very useful in figuring out how to best utilize the technology we have at our fingertips.
Daniels, J.S., Jacobsen, M., Varnhagen, S., & Friesen, S. (2013). Barriers to Systemic, Effective, and Sustainable Technology Use in High School Classrooms. Canadian Journal Of Learning And Technology, 39(4).
