How has technology changed your job?

After 11 years in the job, the implementation of technology is in a constant state of flux, and while it has numerous educational benefits when used well, it is often either tokenistic or a distraction in the classroom. Realistically, this is not the teachers’ fault as many of my colleagues along the way have been thrown into the deep end and expected to swim, let alone manage the trends of technology addiction we see daily. In many ways, the interaction of ICT is symbolic of the larger issues present in the education system. So, let’s break down how it has changed our role and where it seems to go wrong.

Classroom management

Technology has undoubtedly created a huge problem in terms of classroom management. Realistically, society should have seen this coming, but unfortunately, we are continually trying to put the genie back in the bottle. The fact that students have access to decisions that manufacturers like Apple have freely admitted are designed to be addictive, which means it was always going to be an uphill battle. However, many schools and governments were grossly unprepared to manage this back when I started teaching and have been continually playing catch up.

Mobile phones, of course, are massive disruption as, especially in secondary school, these have become the centre of most students’ lives. As such, they are everywhere, and whether it is social media, games, or YouTube, there is something for everyone. Pared with wireless headphones, now there are numerous students in a classroom listening to something during a lesson. All of this means that if students lose interest for a second, there is a pretty easy distraction nearby, not to mention the added headache of parents and friends contacting students during class. It is an impossible battle. This is why the Victorian government took the step a few years ago to ban mobile phones, but realistically, it is always up to schools to implement this and manage potential consequences. This comes down to the quality of leadership and support as well as a clearly defined process. The reality is that a lot of schools struggle to implement an effective ban partly due to the fact they are fighting a culture already well entrenched in the classroom.

Even with a good process and supportive admin, policing devices can lead to some very ugly interactions in the classroom. While in a lot of schools, most students will comply with school rules, and there are always those with extreme addiction. In these instances, students will often be defiant, and situations can escalate quickly. Especially if these situations are not handled well, it can become disruptive and undermine a teacher’s position in the classroom. It is just one more challenge that teachers need to deal with daily.

1 to 1 device programs

There is, however, acceptable technology allowed in the classroom, with every school running some form of 1 to 1 program. Having worked in schools with various BYOD programs as well as iPad or laptop programs, all of which have some issues. Firstly, the limitations of iPads can be frustrating, and the cost of apps adds up for parents. This also becomes a frustration if these costly additions aren’t used regularly in class, which puts pressure on teachers to use these resources. In one of itself, this isn’t an issue if teachers were regularly surveyed about the usefulness and relevance of applications, which seems to happen rarely.

Secondly, we have a pure BYOD program or managed set up where the school restricts options. Philosophically, this is my preferred option, but it is also very problematic, especially in schools, with students from low social economic backgrounds, as realistically, not everyone will come to close with a device and therefore it makes it hard for teachers to really plan engaging ICT based lessons. It means that teachers quite often avoid planning anything engaging using ICT rather than an inability to rely on students. The result is using computers as a means of replacement for pen and paper for those students with devices that don’t facilitate meaningful learning. The only real alternative is for the teacher to plan multiple lessons, which, combined with best practice and differentiation, makes for an increased workload.

Finally, we have a school-based laptop program. This, by far, seems to have the best classroom outcome as everyone has a device with the same capability. However, my personal issue here is that schools are not providing a choice to parents who are being asked to spend significant money. Furthermore, these programs often privilege MacBook, which are more expensive for the specs but also aren’t really preparing kids for many workplaces that continue to run Windows. This is partly due to the ridiculous assumptions that as digital natives they know how to use computers, but as people with classroom experience will tell you, they have a lot to learn as they are natives only on a phone. This highlights that there is no perfect solution, and each method has its issues.

Limited professional development

Teaching using a variety of ICT tools is no doubt well embedded into current teaching courses. At least, it made up a portion of my studies back in 2012, so it is a safe assumption. However, this does little in the way of helping those teachers already in the profession, and considering the retention rate, the ability of inexperienced staff to pass on their knowledge is limited. Unfortunately, now that we have passed the initial introduction of ICT into classrooms, whatever PD there has disappeared in a lot of schools for new areas of focus.

The only way to really make up for this is to embed ICT into the PDs we run and make them more interactive. Not only does this make our sessions more interactive and engaging, but it also acts as a way of modelling the integration of different tools in the classroom. In this way, presenters can inspire better integration of ICT through demonstrating how it could work for teachers in class and potentially the way it might link with specific activities or content. The goal is to inspire innovation and development in teaching practice rather than simply advocating or lecturing. Even with this model, it is still up to individual teachers to follow up on these tools and work them into their classroom practice.

Administration and LMS systems

Besides the teaching element, modern technology has brought with it new management systems, communication, and administration processes. Currently, while some solutions like Compass seem to have a sizable percentage of market share, there are no single solutions. Even with a system like Compass that can handle most tasks, it is far from perfect with some elements working well and others unnecessarily clunky. Added to this is that schools often don’t   implement all aspects of the system and prefer to use multiple systems.

In my current school we are only implementing Compass this last year while students are still relying on Stile for class resources while staff have files stored on SharePoint. Adding to this layer is the addition of Microsoft teams as a method of communication. The fact that this was implemented after SharePoint as a means of facilitating remote learning also means that the File Explorer doesn’t connect with the pre-existing setup. All of this means that teachers need to be across multiple platforms and be ready to adapt to changes in the way these are being utilised. Even with schools that don’t have this added level of confusion, there is still valuable time being spent supporting staff to learn LMS systems rather than focusing on classroom practice. In some ways, these systems offer too many options and information for staff, which creates a degree of inertia. Realistically, the approach needs to be more stripped back and simplified to be effective. Unfortunately, this requires a massive shift from school leaders as well as providers. It is a change that I don’t think is going to be forthcoming.

Overall

Unfortunately, despite the potential for educational benefits, these are often limited by ESS and individual capability. The reality is that technology has complicated teachers’ lives.