I teach at an alternative high school and the vast majority of my students are at-risk. While they enjoy computers, they are not tech savvy. I tried very hard last year to deliver a course in a hybrid format. My students panicked at the thought of such a different format and I was still not confident in my ability to make it work. I back off of my plan and delivered the content in a way that they were more comfortable with.

We have to accept that there will be growing pains as we make changes in our classrooms. One of the most important things we can get is support from our administrators and colleagues as we make the transition.
In exchange we have to be willing to open the doors to our classroom to allow other teachers, parents, and school board members to see how we are using technology successfully.

Thank you for the post.

I have to somewhat agree with Robert in that you generalized a lot from one comment — and though you might be accurate 100% —- MY HOPE IS THAT YOUR CONVERSATION WITH HIM IS NOT OVER YET.

It seems like he is doing his job, administration is happy enough that he still works there, and he is seeing product and content being given back to him that reinforces his belief students ARE listening to him…..(not necessarily learning, but listening). So, why should he change??

That is where you step in. I know your life is hectic, that adding one more thing might seem unfathomable…..but I would suggest that you add his name to your calendar and do a monthly casual phone call. Invite him to join you at a conference when you go. Ask which blogs he reads and suggest a few of your own.

I don’t think he is being reluctant, ignorant, or even stubborn…………I think he just wonders “WHY should I?”

I look forward to hearing more!!

Jennifer

CONTROL. This professor sees himself in a battle or fight over controlling student attention. I think rather than fight that fight with 19th century lecture methods, we instead should embrace blended learning methodologies. If we are in face to face environments, particularly where students have one-to-one access to technology, we should leverage the interactive opportunities we have in that environment. We should use more recorded videos when we want to have non-interactive exchanges of ideas with students, and avoid the “synchronous, non-interactive” learning environment during classtime as much as possible. I came up with the following 2 x 2 framework to explore these ideas in a workshop I did at SITE in March of 2006 titled “Powerful Blending: Using Web 2.0 to Interact, Create, and Assess:”

I actually think this professor IS a good teacher and instructor, based on what I have heard others say about the experiences their own students had in his classes. I think it is a tragedy at this point, however, that he does not appear to at all be open to blended learning possibilities.

As I said in the post, however, all hope is not lost and his perspective can change at any time. Perhaps he will explore Poll Everywhere as one example of a tool that can be readily used in a fairly accommodating way to support his instructionist teaching style. That would be a small step forward. The journey is long, however.

I will try and follow up on this. This IS an issue in many schools and colleges, not just those implementing 1:1 and iPhone/iPod Touch initiatives.

I want to highlight the great video “Connected” from Abilene Christian University and their website on both mobile learning and convergence. As a vision for 1:1 and mobile technologies at the university level, their video and website is exemplary. The bottom line, however, is not what theoretical ideas are reflected on a website, it is what the instructors/professors and students actually DO with their technology tools to learn that matters most.

I have high hopes for both Oklahoma Christian University as well as ACU. The administrators at both institutions have the vision and leadership gumption to support initiatives which clearly do not have universal support. Given the tools as well as robust just-in-time instructional support, however, a wonderful garden of digital learning can thrive. I’ll continue to peer over the wall and watch these seeds take root.

There are very few professors that understand the power of technology in the classroom. Its partially due to the inability of universities to require tenured professors or adjunct faculty to attend the type of staff development required in order to really kindle a passion for change. It has only been recently that some of these institutions have begun to hire people that assist staff in making technology connections. Yes, they have had help desks for technical questions, but now they are getting people that help make the connections.

The students themselves are part of the problem. It’s hard for a professor to take technology seriously when the whole second row is playing solitaire and not doing the really constructive, cool things that we know they could be. Many students are experiencing the first taste of the freedom of having technology available 24/7, since many of our high schools have resisted allowing students to bring their own technology into the buildings.

I do believe that university staff should be leading the way by utilizing technology in a way that shows students appropriate usage of the tools. A calculus professor should spend a bit of every class utilizing technology himself and showing students how to find resources that are relevant to the course content. When I went back to graduate school I spent a bit of every class day giving my professors ideas about improving their teaching by including technology. (Yes, they did pass me despite my critiques.) Some of them did take the information to heart and began to implement small changes. Since many of my classmates were also in education we began to challenge each other to incorporate technology into our presentations and group work.

My kids have had technology available to them since they were two. As a family we are really tired of pushing the envelope only to have a fifth grade teacher say there is no reason for your daughter to have a personal organizer in my class. My child had pulled out her handheld computer, during a spare period, to put her spelling list into a game that she used to practice every week. I used to make my oldest child create a digital presentation in addition to the required, printed report. She hated the extra work, because digital presentations were never an approved option, but she influenced a lot of adults as a ten year old. When she went to college she knew how to impress a professor with just a little technology effort.

In the end, my kids are prepared to work in a high-paced business environment. Their skills didn’t come from the current education system, but a parental effort. They can locate information as they need it. They are able to analyze that data and evaluate it’s worth. They know how to organize and present information requested. Their communication skills are way beyond most adults that I know. Technology is second nature. They don’t have to think about it. They do it with little effort and get on with the finer things in life.

When you’re learning calculus, for instance, there are times when students simply have to sit and pay attention to an expert showing them how things work before these “21st century skills” are of any value. The fact that a calculus professor is an expert in calculus, and that the students aren’t, is real and it doesn’t imply arrogance or a desire to enthrall/enslave students on the prof’s part. When you have laptops or iPhones, a lot of possibilities open up for learning (even calculus) but there are a lot of difficulties introduced as well, and the temptation to inattention when attention is called for is one of the big ones. And perhaps that’s where this prof was coming from, which means that you need not feel sorry for his students.

Give the prof the benefit of the doubt, and perhaps give a little more context of his remarks here in your post, rather than assume that the only possible attitudes he could have are a combination of arrogance and Luddite-ism.