How does a teacher’s disposition impact the use of technology with learning?

I believe the teacher's disposition has huge impact on student learning at school. For some years, I've been able to watch the students come up through the grades and guage where they are at with technology by what teams they have come from. Students with sophistocation have come from homes or teams that value technology in education and likewise, those with low to novice abilities come from homes or teams that do not use, value or teach tech. skills. This unfortunately divides the haves and the have-nots. If the student does not have a family that encourages computer use at home or does not even have a computer, this can be a very significant gap. After 2 years at our school, if a student comes up having certain teachers in grades 5 & 6, they can enter 7th grade with very low skills compared to those who have tech. at home, and the addition of having two years of teachers who embrace technology to enhance student learning. The teacher's dispostition definitely gives the students an advantage or disadvantage.

After reading the online article about "How Teachers Learn Technology Best", I felt really good about some of the integration and inservices I have been a part of. Many of our teachers and classes are using technology in exciting, creative ways which seems to appear to increase learning. Fortunately, our school does not have issues with lack of hardware or software, and we also have an open, fast Internet connection. Even with all this, we still do have staff who are reluctant learners for one reason or another. Some see no use in it, think it is going to take too much time, do not want to learn things they are afraid of, don't allow e-mail, have no expectations (despite the VT Standards), or simply use the computer lab as a baby sitter, not paying any attention to what the students are doing, so the teacher can relax. This is very unfortunate, but explainable. Teachers have as many hang-ups as our students! Their different learning styles and fears seem to be even more prominent than in their students. We expect teachers to want to learn, but there are many who will not embrace it. Some learn well in groups, some one-on-one, some by just having the time and motivation to explore, etc. Our administrator sees the value and encourages use, provides inservices (not usually mandatory), but does not really hold the staff accountable to show progress in this area.

We have had some very good inservices with our own staff teaching workshops. I have found the "coaching" model to work the best, to be the most productive and the least threatening. I agree with the staffdevelop.org article that it is all about the comfort zone of the individual.

Examples of teacher disposition impacting learning -
POSITIVE: 8th grade teacher who is an avid user, intersted where his students are at technology-wise, and very open to new ideas. Without ever really making movies himself, offered a movie-making enrichment time, put cameras in the kids hands, and gave them time and some tips. Due to his enthusiasm and ability to motivate, I am seeing students get turned on to a whole new application and those who had already made movies at home on their own are getting better.
NEGATIVE: An enthusiastic student was coming to Publishing Club, eager to learn webpage design. He began by making a classroom homepage and as a start re-created his classroom schedule in a table (which was new), learned a whole lot of other skills, was so excited, showed his teacher, and she totally shut him down. "No, I do not want a webpge!" The reason she gave was that it would be too much work for her. She lacked understanding that it would not be, as well as missed the opportunity to applaud this young man, his talent and encourage more learning on his and her part.

For me, as a teacher, it is very important to know my students. If teachers do not know how most of their students spend their time, this has huge impact on learning. We need to speak their language or at least learn it, so we can understand them.

Is there a disconnect between what students and teachers think about how effective technology is used to promote learning?

The notion that most of our teacher population has not grown up in the digital world and that, on the most part, technology is a new idea and tool for teachers does confirm the annalogy that we are "immigrants" to the field. We need to learn from our students, the "natives". Embrace them as our teachers and let them show us what you know.

Embracing technology means learning new ways and changing how we teach, which can be very intimidating for those teachers who are content driven, inflexible, and have no extra time. They cannot see the jewel that shines out there because they do not know what they do not know. Sometimes technology is viewed as a separate subject taught in isolation, rather than part of the plumbing that helps the learning happen. Often teachers do not know how easily students incorporate technology in their daily lives and what students are capable of. This can lead to fluffy assignments with minimal expectations for tech. use. Use of technology may be confined to researching however the kids can figure it out and writing a report with a little fancy formatting. The teacher may think he/she did a unit with technology use when the students view it as the normal task. Teachers need to learn the use technology in their classrooms that has meaning for their students, with authentic and effective expectations that adds to student learning. This was illustrated in the "Digital Divide" through some comments of what students find to be valuable to their education. Example: Outside of school they find far more freedom to explore, use many technical resources and ways of communicating. They see the need for teachers to get on board and embrace technology in a more interactive way, become educated as to the depth of the Internet, and help students with some of the basics of searching, reading, communicating, etc.

Granted, there are many teachers who ARE life-long learners and embrace technology in ways that enhance learning. Many also realize what research has shown, the younger population who have been born into the digital world ARE the natives and have much to teach the adults. The natives come with a different perspective, use and comfort. It can be threatening for some teachers to "learn" from their students, but what a powerful opportunity we have to reverse the roles. It can be a win-win experience.

Highlighted experiences this week:

• A success without a wasted period... In the lab, I unexpectedly supervised an enrichment group working on "movie making". Their teacher was absent, and the sub had no clue. I asked "Who already knows how to do this? I need a teacher." Several eager students raised their hands and felt honored they could have this role, use the LCD, and reinforce what they already know by teaching their peers and show ME a new perspective! I was an accessory able to supply the tools, give them access to folders and files, and ask probing questions.
• Publishing Club - Young technology enthusiasts come once a week to work in whatever direction on the computer they are interested. I introduced one of my 5th grade students (who thinks he knows it all) to FrontPage and web design. He is making a classroom webpage and having lots of positive communication with his teachers as he fetches files and creates the web. I could see he was making some mistakes but he did not want help. The learning happened when we put it online and nothing worked. A good teachable moment for me and the student. Now he will let me share what I know, because the product is very important to him.
• Wasted time and resources - Teachers bringing students to the lab to DO research without knowing the tools of good research themselves. Students do need help with the reading, keyword, skimming, and printing skills. The teachers are not teaching this, as they assume the students know. Not so on the most part. I saw many many printed pages and lots of wasted time finding very little of importance for their topics.
• Ethics & Responsible Use - Negative communications through "My Space", school e-mail, and cyper-bullying. Because young people often do not have coping skills, may lack good judgement, and not have respect for polite communication, letting them loose with this powerful tool can be very dangerous. EXAMPLES: 1.) 8th grade boy playing with mail and writing one mail that appeared to be a very innapropriate, and was a pretend, fantasy conversation back and forth between himself and a girl. He was very tricky in his emulating of replies with the date/time, etc. and then the conversation was finally sent to several girls. They thought someone had their password. My role as detective, uncovered the reality of what happened and yes, it was a teachable moment for all. He knew better, but the invisibility of online can allow for negative communication that would not happen face-to-face. 2.) A parent of a a 13 year old boy who commit suicide came and presented his story to our students in an assembly. As a parent he talked of his online home rules, his son's desire for help with some negative things happening at school and online, and how the IM/chat-rooms/sharing passwords/and ability to pretend/hide all added to his son's desparation. A very powerful message for our students! 3.) Checked out "My Space" via zip-code search and found many of my students and past students putting very inappropriate pictures and bios out there and doing lots of pretending...14 year olds were claiming to be 27, etc. I showed this to our principal....she was totally shocked - a dissconnect of what young people use the computer for!

After reading PEW
Internet & Daily LIfe report - Some thoughts...

The Findings confirmed my observance of different purpose for different people: I have seen the vivid difference on where, when and how male vs. female users access the Internet & use technology. Generally, who comes to the lab after school for gaming? Boys! Who comes after school for e-mail and productivity tools? Girls! Cetainly the divide is much wider from adult to children use. The article was too old to know of text messaging through the cell phones, i-pod entertainment, etc.

Adults need to be educated and enlightened about all the technology that has taken over our world so quickly. They need to have a clue what the upcoming generation is all about so that we may communicate with them, speak their language, understand where they are going.... Adults are often are blind to their children's use, what is being pumped into their headsets, and how to help them. Right now, peers are the big tech teachers rather than parents as teachers and teachers as teachers. This can be dangerous if it comes with no guidance and poor judgement.

I asked students in my homeroom -
Who has Internet access in their bedroom? (four 7th graders out of 11)

Who feels they know a lot more than their parents about computers and what is out there on the Internet? (all 4 of those students above and 2 more=over half!)

One of my student's comments on e-mail denied access - A male student who is known to push the limits with surfing the Internet and who has lost his priveleges for access to the Web as well as his school mail last year, and again this year has shown indiscretion by teasing in print via e-mail again lost it. I asked him whether he was ready to have it back (his month off was over) and he said "Ya know, I really don't need it and I seem to be getting a lot more work done!" Amazing judgement on his part. He often acts addicted to the Internet/mail, etc. I told him it was a really good choice. Three hours later he came to me and asked for it back. The temptation was too much.

Paper & Ink waste: While teaching environmental concerns teachers and students do not have the knowledge or the complete picture when printing from the Internet & computer. Contradiction. So how do you only print a piece of a document? Most teachers don't know and reams of useless material is printed.

Rambling thoughts.

WHO is teaching our students to understand this huge resource, the Internet? As people learn to use books, by first understanding letter recognition, sentence structure, Table of Contents, etc. so that books CAN be a valuable resource, the use of digital media must also be approached with the same time and care. I do not see that happening in our schools with the Internet. There seems to be no succession. For many reasons: adult/teacher undersanding - who knows what they don't know? and assuming students will figure it out; parent involvement-lack of knowledge, rules, expansiveness of the Web, and understanding themselves; user/student exploration-lack of critical thinking, reading skills, judgement and analysis of authenticity.

My conversation with a high powered, innovative teacher who does embrace technology use with her 7th graders.
"Bradlee, who is teaching Interent skills in our school?"

"Well, the librarian does a little and so do I, and Angie our health teacher does the I-Safe program with students, but really nobody is doing the big picture and connecting it all."

"We have a huge reading problem in our school. Kids can't read! They don't even know key words and what to type for an efficient search, and critical thinking is really lacking. They can't skim and summerize."

"So, we really need to start with reading skills."

New kinds of reading skills. This is a huge problem. Teachers assume, just as they did when the old Apple IIE's hit the schools that students could just figure it out. Yes, they figure out lots and yes, many of them can do without a teacher ever knowing how, but without the reading/writing paradigm switch in our schools to Internet global online communication and use, the students will find their way with no leader. It is too big a world to just toss them into without careful planning and education.

The constant cry from teachers is "there is no time". Content must be taught and squeezing in another thing is beyond...We are asked to do more testing, more content, more meetings, more classes and more and more of the parenting in schools. The basics of right and wrong, putting computers with Internet access in the child's bedroom without supervision or education, etc. can make this technology incredibly overwhelming, not useful and dangerous. I see many of my students just scratching the surface of what the Internet has to offer and finding the dark places faster than the useful places. It becomes the entertainment center and their link to their world, for some postively and others negatively. The BASICS must be taught.

Example: I wanted to show my 6th graders how to "easily" make an outline in Word using the auto features. In the same lesson I wanted to show them the indent tools for "proper" bibliography format.
I was blown away...after much questioning, no one knew what an outline was, nevermind the Roman numeral, capital letter, number indent progression and only one knew that bibliography was not a book about a person!!!! After asking who in our school teaches this, 5th and 6th grade teachers said they all went over it???

I came with a set of assumptions that they should know this. Certainly graphic illustrators may take the place of an outline, but understanding outline format is similar to having your computer folders organized or web addressing. I think it is still useful, therefore, it took me 4 classes to do what I had intended in one! What are the BASIC skills these days? A lack of orderly plan, not knowing what they know as learners or teachers, not being flexible as a teacher or learner all play into this "willy nilly" delivery. The train has to stop and really be looked at in a bigger way than curriculum expectations currently address. Our students ARE in the online world and the immigrants must get on board with the natives.