I don't have time to learn to use technology in my classroom

If you are a school leader you have likely heard some of your teachers respond to demands to make use of technology in the classroom by saying "I don't have time to learn to use technology in my classroom."  They may even follow that up with "I have all these reading, writing, and math standards I am teaching and I don't have time to learn something else."

Why do our teachers not have time to learn how to effectively use technology to impact student learning?  Today's school climate and requirements are much different than they were when I started teaching in the mid 1990's.  Now, teachers are required to get their master's degree while they are working, assess their students constantly, analyze the data from the assessments, differentiate instruction for every student, challenge students to be creative problem solvers, and cover duties such as lunch (I hated lunch duty) and playground.  These are just a few of the responsibilities of teachers.  In addition, we provide teachers with computers in their classrooms, smart boards and projectors, DVD's or access to Internet streaming video, textbook companion workbooks or materials, etc....  Most teachers have a 30 minute, uninterrupted lunch which is always interrupted or spent making copies or grading papers, and a 45 minute or so planning period which is used to make copies, grade papers, plan lessons, communicate with parents and students, and sometimes take a restroom break.  Most of these teachers are not just planning for one lesson.  They are planning for multiple lessons. Teachers have to be master managers to handle all these moving pieces.  I have not even mentioned classroom management and student behavior.  If you would like to read a good description how teachers try to manage this, read Chapter 9 "How Do Teachers Make It All Work" from Differentiated Classroom by Carol Tomlinson and  ASCD.  After you read this ask yourself how you could handle this for 150 students, with three different subjects to prepare for (Ex.  Social Studies teachers may teach History, Government, and Economics).  Keep in mind, you have 4 minutes or so between classes, one 30 minute lunch, and one 45 minute planning period.

There are many teachers who can handle all the different assessments, differentiate instruction for each student, grade papers with meaningful, corrective feedback, filter through a menagerie of resources to plan and implement effective lessons, and still have a life outside of school.  These teachers are outstanding and they should be celebrated.  However, there are more teachers who cannot manage all these different responsibilities and resources.  Does this make them bad teachers?  No, it makes them average teachers and it comprises the bulk of teachers in our schools.  Could I effectively manage the responsibilities and resources while maintaining classroom control to differentiate instruction for every student I teach?  No.  I too would be in the average range for teachers.

Therefore, it is critically important that school leaders filter out the less necessary resources and responsibilities for our teachers so they can focus on the most important ones.  This is what average teachers who we think do not want to learn technology are doing for themselves.  They cannot handle one more thing, even though they recognize that it will have a positive influence on learning, because they do not have the time to devote to learning it well enough to ensure student success.  Instead, they will focus on their tried and true practices so they can make sure students learn in their classroom.  For these teachers, we must provide them only the most critically important technologies and sustained professional development in order to ensure success.  There is no need to install a smart board in classroom if the teacher will not make use of it.  Instead, since most elementary teachers use centers for instruction at some point in the day, have computer or iPad centers for the students to use and only put a few programs or apps on them that are directly tied to the curriculum.  For our average teachers, less is more.  It is more because they gain more time to plan, assess, and differentiate instruction.  That is what impacts student learning.  Leave the more advanced technologies to those advanced teachers who can take full advantage of them and take learning to another level.

Much of this is why we wrote into our technology plan two important initiatives.  The first was to set aside $100,000 of our technology budget to a grant process for teachers who are willing to go above and beyond our set of standard classroom technologies.  We called these Technology Innovation Grants.  These teachers received grants for professional development, innovative technologies such as sensors for agricultural education, ipads and apps for specific objectives, restaurant design software for our Culinary Arts program, etc...  In addition, we recognize that we have many teachers going above and beyond with innovative uses of technology.  Therefore, we are currently in the nomination process to award two of our teachers, one PK-5 and one grades 6-12, as Innovative Technology Teachers of the Year.  This award will celebrate the success of our best teachers and will continue to set the bar for the rest of our staff.

In summary, we are trying to impact student learning by ensuring that our average teachers have adequate technology in the classroom while also enabling our advanced teachers to do more.  In the end, we are realizing more bang for our technology bucks because the technologies we are installing are being used adequately and appropriately.  No longer are we installing technology that does not get used or sits on a shelf.