“Ugh. Another new program to learn,” is a refrain we’ve heard hundreds of times in professional development sessions. Teachers are often resistant to new technology for a variety of reasons. The good news? There are a number of ways to help teachers embrace the technology their districts are shelling out big bucks for.
1. Give them time to learn it
The primary objection many teachers have to adopting new technology is the lack of time. There are never enough hours in the day for teachers to get everything done that they’d like to get done. New tech often falls into the “if I have extra time” category. The fact that utilizing this new technology might actually save them time doesn’t really matter if there’s not extra time built in to their days or weeks for learning. Devoting professional development time to teaching teachers how to use these new programs is vital.
2. Give them meaningful training
Training and professional development sessions also don’t follow their own advice. Teachers are always told not to lecture, because as we all know, “sit and get” doesn’t work. So many technology workshops; however, deliver learning in just this way. To teach tech, the lesson delivery must be participatory. Teachers need to be able to use the technology with guidance available to those for whom technology isn’t a native language. Almost half of current classroom teachers didn’t grow up on the internet and learning new technology can be a struggle that they may view as unnecessary.
3. Show relevance
To get any buy-in at all, educators must see the relevance in the technology they’re being asked to adopt. School districts often buy incredibly powerful technology for their students and teachers without ever communicating to the front lines exactly what they hope to accomplish with the investments. Make sure teachers understand why they’re utilizing these programs and how it can save them time and effort and make their jobs easier.
4. Incentivize use
Ideally, the new technology will save teachers time and effort and they’ll be champing at the bit to get their hands on it. That’s probably not going to happen, though. Leadership must give teachers incentives to try new programs and technology. School leaders can create a school leaderboard for using the tech with incentives for the winners like jeans passes or class coverage for a much needed break.
5. Embrace Failure
No one ever makes it to the World Series the first time they pick up a bat. Learning something new takes practice…and practice can be ugly. Regardless of the level of compassionate leadership, teachers fear the threat of doing poorly on their evaluations. This can make them resistant to trying new approaches that may (and probably will the first time) fail. Communicate to staff that experimenting in meaningful ways will always be rewarded…even if it doesn’t go exactly as planned.
6. Ask what THEY want
Decisions are often made at the district level about technology adoption without widespread understanding of what they teachers themselves want. Edtech can be expensive and teachers are often the ones paying for it out of their own pockets. By asking them what they want and giving them a forum to voice their opinions on technology, districts can make better financial decisions when it comes to spending money on resources.
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