Here are some signs that you may be missing opportunities with your school’s technology integration efforts:
- Your LMS is primarily used as a document management system
- Lots of Kahoots but not much student creation
- Many conversations about responsible and appropriate use, not many conversations about empowered use
- Teachers are the primary users of technology
- Digital worksheets greatly outnumber student multimedia products
- Teachers are gravitating toward technologies that allow them to tightly control the student learning experience (e.g., NearPod, GoGuardian)
- Silent work alone on ‘personalized,’ adaptive learning software modules is a dominant modality for students
- A greater emphasis on filtering and blocking than on equitable access and usage
- Technology professional development sessions are sparsely (or reluctantly) attended
- The ‘yes buts’ outweigh your visions for technology-infused student learning possibilities
These are just a few. What else might you add?
See also The unholy trinities of classroom technology usage
Image credit: Left turn, Clyde, Alan Levine
I agree 100%, but would love the conversation from tech departments to be how to correct the missed opportunities. I’d also love to hear how others are handling the parents’ return to the age before tech pleas.
IMO part of the problem is having non-educators in charge of district technology. Rather than opening doors for technology use, the main criteria is to make sure we are in compliance with federal regulations so the person in charge doesn’t go to prison, the district continues to get funding and we don’t make the nightly news.
The idea that kids learn from mistakes, live up to expectations and need the skills developed by experience rather than being told what to do/not do has fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately no one is thinking about the long term impact restricting access instead of empowering students with life skills to make good choices will have on their future. We are teaching students to be non-thinkers as we pay ourselves on the back for how smart we are. Not exactly doing them any favors, are we?
I would add the continued and indiscriminate slaughter of trees through obsolete MFPs!