Ertmer & Leftwich Article

"Teacher Technology Change: How Knowledge, Confidence, Beliefs, and Culture Intersect

This journal article brings up some very good points about what is expected from teachers and students in regards to using technology to facilitate learning.  One of the main problems that it points out is that our students are simply not being prepared for the highly technical world that we are living in today.  This fall in large part on the education system and more so on the teachers.  The article gives statistical evidence that teachers are using technology more; however, they are not using it to help students "facilitate learning."  Most are using it for administrative tasks and student activities that require little collaboration and interaction.  From this the article points out that, "we need to help teachers understand how to use technology to facilitate meaningful learning, defined as that which enables students to construct deep and connected knowledge, which can be applied to real situations" (Ertmer, 2010).  The Purpose of the paper is taking a closer look at technology change through the eyes of the teacher.  It investigates the necessary characteristics and qualities that teachers need to enable them to make a change that introduces meaningful technology experiences.  It then explains how schools can support teachers as they try to integrate technology.  Some of the things that the authors point out to help aid in teacher change are overall knowledge of technology and how much confidence teachers have in themselves to facilitate student learning with technology (self-efficacy).  Teachers beliefs or expectations also play a big roll in technology integration.  School culture also influences technology integration, based on the importance placed on it by the school as a whole.  The article then concludes by addressing the factors that affect teacher change and how programs can facilitate a change in teaching.  It address two approaches that address the factors above, one is during teacher education programs at the university level and the other is during professional development programs at the school level.

This article got me thinking about how I started integrating technology into my classroom.  At the university level, my pre-service training included very little practice on the "how to" involved with technology integration.  We learned of different tools, however most of my methods classes were still modeled after and catered to the students of the past.  When I graduated and started teacher, my first couple of years I was mainly a lecturer with some studented centered labs and activities but I found myself wanting more and observed that not all of my students were being services.  The students were not getting out of the material what I knew they needed to.  The past couple of years I started to look for more ways to make chemistry relevant to high school students, this is when I came upon the Flipped Classroom model.  My school was very supportive of my shift to use technology and I considered myself very knowledgable when working with technology.  This meant my self-efficacy was very high and I knew I could figure out a way to work through the problems.  I also believed that my students were being better served by using more technology for meaningful interactions.  However, my school culture is starting to change to a more technology friendly environment as far as equipment and teacher training.  Mostly this has been due to teachers trying to find better ways to reach students and the district providing resources for the teachers to be successful.  I just hope the enthusiasm continues after the "newness" wears off.