Technology Planning in the Classroom & Library


Technology seems to be ‘the thing’ chased by all school districts over the past few years. As more schools embrace the idea of ‘one-to-one’, teachers are constantly looking for the next app or tech tool to add to their lesson plans.  As mentioned in “A Technology Plan That Works”, “digital learners are hungry to use technology in school”, but school districts everywhere make crucial mistakes when implementing new ideas (Overbay, Mollette, and Vasu, 2011). 

As with many ideas in education, leaders want everyone to ‘fit inside a box’; they want everyone to be same. As any educator knows, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Every school across America has its own challenges and attributes that make it special; therefore, each school has unique needs when it comes to technology. “Administrators should keep five lessons in mind as they implement new technology initiatives” (Overbay et al., 2011).
  • It’s not just about the technology- teachers’ input is essential
  • The plan must fit the school’s unique needs
  • Provide quality professional development in a timely manner
  • Allow time for teachers to collaborate
  • Encourage staff ‘buy-in’ so that turnovers do not ruin an initiative

With all of this said, teachers must be excited and enthusiastic about the new technology and not overwhelmed about having to learn, yet again, something new. Although my current school district went one-to-one in middle and high schools several years ago, this did not trickle down to the elementary level until last year. As a 4th grade teacher, I was used to having only three Chromebooks in my classroom. Spread those around 26 students and, as you can imagine, not much quality time was spent using these tools. Needless to say, we were ecstatic when all of our 3rd-5th graders got their very own Chromebook. Quickly, though, as a reading teacher, I was asking myself what in the world I was supposed to do with those things. Apps, lessons, games, etc?!?! I had no professional development to support this technology initiative. As the year progressed, I was determined to make the Chromebook useful for meaningful learning.

On Tiffany Whitehead’s blog, “Mighty Little Librarian”, she discusses an app called Goosechase. Using this app, which is available through the App Store or Google Play, teachers can organize and implement scavenger hunts for fun back to school activities, review games, or lesson support. Not only can teachers create their own scavenger hunts, they can also search the Game Library for inspiration. The students must complete specific tasks and submit answers using text, photo, or video responses. Today's students LOVE playing games of any type, and when you take away boring worksheets or textbook readings and replace it with something fun, you have total participant buy-in! Not only will the students enjoy learning, teachers will reach the “unteachable” through differentiated learning.



In order for apps like Goosechase to be successful, schools must provide professional development and support for their teachers. Rather than providing a crash course or a brief introduction to an app, teachers must have a fundamental understanding of how it can be beneficial in the classroom.  When teachers understand how to use technology and see the many benefits it can have, it naturally becomes part of their daily routine and is essentially ‘turnover-proof’. If technology is not making a difference in the classroom, you are simply doing the same thing using different means. Teachers must be part of the planning and implementing process, provided professional development, and time to collaborate with their peers in order for technology to be successful in the classroom. Apps like Goosechase can be an amazing tool and change the course of a student’s path in school.

References:

Overby, A., Mollette, M., & Vasu, E.S. (2011). A technology plan that works. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 56-59. Retrieved from https://blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-12214114-dt-content-rid-83191913_2/courses/SLIS761-J30-SPRING-2019/SLIS761-J30-SPRING-2017_ImportedContent_20170503032859/Overbay_Technology_plan_that_works.pdf

Whitehead, T. (2018). Back to school with Goosechase. [online] Mightylittlelibrarian.com. Available at: http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/?p=1556

Comments

  1. Erin LongFebruary 8, 2019 at 7:11 PM

    I enjoyed reading your blog this week. I find it interesting that your district chose to go one-to-one in the middle and high schools first. In the district where I work, this seems to be happening the opposite way. Most teachers in the elementary schools have laptop carts in their room that students use on a daily basis. Our middle and high school have several computer labs, but the only computer in most classrooms is the teacher computer. This is doing our students an injustice. I also agree with the article "A Technology Plan that Works." If we want technology plans to be effective within our districts, we must step up to the plate. Administration, the technology team, and librarian need to make sure teachers are equipped with the knowledge to use the technology given to enhance lessons. If teachers are not assisted in this way then the technology plan will not benefit students or the district.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kristi BrittFebruary 9, 2019 at 1:26 PM

    Jayme,

    Goosechase is a great find! I checked it out and think I will try to make a genre-themed game for the library. Now that your school is 1:1 with Chromebooks do you have a library set, or do students bring them to the library with them? We are also 1:1 and I find that it is a lot for students to juggle their Chromebooks and multiple library books at one time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jayme LivelyFebruary 9, 2019 at 6:40 PM

      Kristi,

      I have a set of Chromebooks for the library, so I use those when needed. My students spend 50 minutes of technology in the computer lab right before coming to me in the library for 40 minutes. Many times, we focus on reading lessons or STEM bins more than technology unfortunately.

      Delete
  3. Steve & JeannieFebruary 10, 2019 at 8:40 AM

    I found Overbay's article the most helpful. My school does not have the funds for one to one so we share my 64 laptops and 50 desktops (computer lab) for 730 students. It is challenging but I found this week's articles particularly helpful in the arguments needed for more funding.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DeniseGadsonFebruary 10, 2019 at 3:24 PM

    Jayme,
    Your post reminds me of when we first received Chromebooks in my school. I was in my classroom, and someone (I think it was a service learner student), showed up with a cart, 20-something Chromebooks, and chargers. The cart was not wired, either. We (teachers), like you, were left to figure out how to use these devices to support our instruction. While we received support later on, I think it would have been better if we had been provided with PD sessions on how to use the Chromebook in our instructional practices.

    I enjoyed learning about the Goosechase app. I once contemplated organizing a scavenger hunt for the media center, but I did not know where or how to begin.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Krystal Elliott SLIS761February 10, 2019 at 6:31 PM

    Good Evening Jayme,
    I have to agree with you that teachers that aren’t able to understand the new technology are not going to be interested in learning or teaching it to their students. This is why it is very important for librarians to step in to fully train teachers how the new gadgets work. Although, the ultimate goal is to incorporate more technology in the classrooms, sometimes it can be more of a distraction to our students instead of a learning tool. I believe that students are more excited about having ipads vs actually learning from them. As librarians, our job is to teach students new things on these devices. For example, on last week, I was in a teacher class looking at one of the ipads and I quickly observed the teacher telling her students that they could grab their ipad once they were done with their test. I noticed the students were on games that would not be considered “educational.” The librarian in me made a mental note to get with that teacher to go over educational app/websites that students could visit when they have extra class instead of playing a game. Thanks for sharing Goosechase with us, I will definitely do more research and possibly have a PD with my teachers so we can all become more familiar with the app. Thanks for this wonderful blog this week and for sharing your thoughts on integrating technology into the classroom.

    ReplyDelete

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