- What went well?
- What did not go well?
- Was the implementation successful?
- Why or why not?
- What were the major barriers to success?
- If it was successful, what one thing can you point to that it would not have been a success without?
My practicum teacher didn't bother with technology. In a way, his reasoning made sense: there were three projectors accessible for teachers at this school of 1000+ students. You had to book the device weeks in advance and invariably spend your lunch hour tracking it down. There was no internet connection and even if there were, most sites like YouTube were blocked.
While I could see his reluctance to adopt any form of technology as a teaching and learning tool, I was of a different mind: I felt it my duty to engage my diverse learners (many of whom kept school-banned phones in their shoes) using multiple modalities. Also, as a student teacher I (selfishly) knew that my best classroom management strategy would be to engage and even surprise my learners with media they could relate to and appreciate. I wanted to spark their curiosity by using tools that were part of their lives. The lessons I designed followed a pattern that went something like this: a multimedia hook, questions for discussion, extensions and connections and finally a project-based assignment.
I planned all my lessons for the 8 week practicum only to realize there was no way I could have enough access to the projector to share my lessons. What was I going to do??? Flexibility is key in teaching but without my videos and presentation I had nothing! In desperation, I went onto eBay and with the last of my student loan, bought myself a refurbished mini projector. Turns out, it was the best purchase of my early teaching career as not only did it help me teach successful units for my practicum, it became my best friend when I started TOCing. 5 years later, every classroom I know of has its own projector and, in many cases, access to the internet. YouTube is no longer banned.
This experience teaches me that determination and perseverance are key when implementing technology into a teaching and learning practice on any scale. "This too shall pass" comes to mind as a mantra. While my first 21st century experience at schools included No Device rules, now even my son's elementary school has a healthy BYOD policy. While in the moment, restrictive policies and lack of technology can be limiting, things are actually changing more rapidly than it may feel.
I think that change happens when, as Margaret Mead described, "a small and thoughtful group of committed citizens" perseveres knowing that what they are doing is worthwhile. The willingness to take a risk helps as well as open-mindedness and creative problem-solving. Then, let go and change what is not working.
A humbling process.