Sandholtz Chapter 4

Sandholtz Chapter 4: Managing a Technology-Rich Classroom

Chapter 4 dealt with how teachers adapted to having technology in their classrooms on a daily basis.  It describes how the teachers dealt with changes brought about by the technology.  One of the first things it addresses are the concerns teachers had and how they related to the first 3 levels of technology integration.  In the entry stage of the integration, teachers had many concerns, mainly stemming from the unfamiliarity with the technology and not knowing how the students would react to it.  They had concerns about student misbehavior, in particularly cheating, as well as the environment of the classroom and concerns with technical problems and how class would function with added distractions.  In the adoption phase, concerns and apprehension from the teachers turned into problem solving strategies and teachers anticipating problems before they began.  In this stage the teachers could stay one or two steps ahead of the students on almost all of the problems outlined in the entry phase.  In the third stage, adaptation, teachers began to use technology to manage the classroom.  They began to use technology to develop new materials, keep records, keep grades and most importantly realized that technology could save them time.  The chapter then concludes by addressing classroom management and how it changed for the teachers involved.  At first the teachers viewed the technology in the classroom as a concern, however, after the first few stages of integration the teachers began to use the technology to aid in classroom management and instruction.

This chapter is a great picture of how powerful a successful technology integration can be.  After reading this I can see why many teachers do not make it out of even the first stage of technology integration.  Many of the concerns I hear from teachers at my school were similar to the concerns that were outlined in the first pages of this chapter.  I believe that many teachers are scared off from using technology in the classroom by some of the concerns outlined.  For instance I went through the first two stages earlier this school year in my classroom.  I was given a classroom set of iPads and had many of the same concerns about classroom management, the physical environment, software, etc.  I had to kind of find my own way of managing an entire classroom of iPads.  At first it was kind of hectic because the kids always wanted to get on YouTube and download apps to play, however after a few weeks we established a set of rules and a point system that rewarded them for good digital citizenship.  I have to admit it took some nights thinking about different ways to harness the power of the iPads for use in the classroom and was not easy, but I got better and better at coming up with ways for the students to express themselves using the iPads.  I think this level of not know what foot to put forward is why many teachers choose not to integrate technology into their classrooms.  I don't think it is that they don't want to, it may be they just don't know how?