4-A-2+Wiki+Posting+Five+Ways+to+Think+About+Change

=Home > Assignments > 4-A-2: Wiki Posting: Five Ways to Think about Change=

List five ways to think about and address changes in technology in your classroom and school. With each way briefly describe how you plan to apply your thinking with your colleagues.
 * INSTRUCTIONS:**

Before developing your five ways to address change suggestions consider the following:
 * Considering the list of fears you brainstormed in the previous assignment, what are the common objections and fears your peers or administration may have to changes in technology?
 * How can you assess if the the objections/fears are valid? How can you educate your peers in determining if these fears and objections are valid?
 * How can you inspire peers who share similar beliefs and interests to apply changes in technology to their classroom or students' learning ?
 * How can you get peers out of the "Resistance" phase into the "Exploration" phase?

Post your "five ways to address change" in the table below. Review your peers' postings and post at least two comments in the Discussion Tab above.

1) My colleagues need to have an understanding of what the generation we are teaching is all about. They need to understand that the Net Generation and those to follow have certain qualities and needs that are very different from the students we have previously taught. In order to understand why change is needed teachers need to understand the reason for change and how it benefits the students we are teaching. The Net Generation student is social, a natural problem-solver, multi-tasking and an informal learner whose school environment needs to reflect these traits. The dialogue as to why change is needed starts with this understanding and why it is beneficial to advance technologically for the betterment of our students. 2) The next step would be to gain an understanding of what each teacher knows about technology and how they themselves feel about using it. If they have a very low comfort level of technology it is time to start introducing them to new devices and gaining their confidence in their own ability. In the presentation it stated that teachers should use the students to help them learn and I think that this would be a terrific idea to embrace in our school. This would allow more teachers to learn about technology and devices quicker than having to wait for a Professional Development Day and give them time to embrace the information slowly and on their own terms. It also can help connect the teacher and student and strengthen that bond as well! 3) I think that it is very important for teachers to know that they will be supported in this journey and not left alone to figure things out. This is where much of the resistance stage of change comes into place. There has to be specific people named to be support staff to educators just learning new technology. They need to be available for them when needed to be hands on. In the article, //Training Teachers Who Are Terrorized by Technology,// one of the teachers interviewed stated that there needs to be someone specific at each building to help instead of one person for a whole district. I totally agree with this and too many times teachers are told there is support only to find someone available only a fraction of the time due to being given too many building and personnel to cover! 4) As an educator who feels that enhancing our technology for the sake of our students’ futures, I would find a group of colleagues that supported me in this thinking. In order to start the process of change we need a solid support group. This group can help explore where the most change is needed and how to go about it. This group can also be the support system when colleagues are frustrated and resistant to the change. 5) Finally the last thing to consider is that everyone will be in a different place with change and it is important to validate and help each other through each phase. In order to make a real change in thinking about technology we need to allow everyone to go through the process at their own pace so everyone can eventually reach the commitment phase! || Jennifer L ||
 * ==**5 Ways to Address Change**== || ==**Submitted by:**== ||
 * Trying to get people involve, you might not get everyone on board, but try to get an advocacy group that will champion the project is the beginning. People are afraid of change, but I think once they get to be involved in the decision making they don’t feel left out. Therefore in the beginning you might like to hold meetings to introduce people to the idea, trust me not everyone is going to buy into it, but that is a start. To some people getting to learn new technology is very intimidating, how do you make it less intimidating to the new learner. I remember when I was working as Assistant Manager in a Hospital, and we rolled out our computer charting system, we had nurses who quit just because they found this new technology intimidating. What could we have done as a company to ease this phobia? Might have tried to understand their fears and acknowledged it, as some of them were venturing into an unknown territory. Sometimes, we forget that people don’t want to make fools of themselves, or look stupid in front of their peers. Therefore we need to recognized this fear, and make it work for us. Creating a buddy system in which the tech savvy can assist the not so tech savvy could be a start. Let them learn at their own pace, you will be surprised at how effective this can be. I had a nurse who had all these reserves about computers, now she is one of the most tech savvy person I know, she Google’s, read her email and maneuvers through the computer system with ease which is amazing. No one like change, whether is good change or bad change. People first reaction to change is resistant, but then we need to give them time. If it took us 2 years to come up with a strategic plan to use computers, I think we can give people a chance to think through things when we initiate change. Five ways that I think will help will be (1) get people involve in the initial plan, (2)use a buddy system, (3)give people a chance to think or let the idea sink in, (4) acknowledge their fears and lastly patience || Kathy M ||
 * Five ways I plan to think about and explain the need for change in my school are as follows:

One way to address change is to make it voluntary. I don’t think forcing teachers to adapt to a certain style of teaching is the right way to go about it. Like the video said, you have to build alliances with like minded teachers and go from there. I think once the other teachers see the benefits, and hear how “cool” the other classrooms are, they will want to volunteer their time and change their ways. Make students a part of the learning and teaching process. Students could receive bonus points or even use it as part of your schools differentiated instruction program by learning a specific program and teaching it to the class and teacher. The teacher could then adapt it for use in their classroom. Allow time for exploring and implementing a new technology by only introducing one technology at a time. Teachers who are resistance may become openly disgusted with technology if they are required to implement 2or 3 different things into their lesson plans. Start small, and then move forward once that skill has been mastered. Give each teacher a time period where they can explore the technology during a mandatory faculty meeting time. This gives the teachers a “triability” period where than can work out the kinks, explore, or even plan a lesson. One of the biggest complaints in my school is not having enough time. This is also showing teachers that technology is an important piece of instruction. Learning a new technology is difficult, especially for teachers are technology challenged from the start. If you give teachers time to view how technology can be implemented into a lesson (by someone who is very adept at using technology) by allowing them a sub day to observe, they can see the “relative advantage” of using technology within the classroom. A few teachers in my school who are very outspoken would benefit tremendously from this, because they have every fear that was suggested in the video (fear of the unknown, requires more work, my ways work for me already). || Brad B. || Five ways to think about or address changes in technology in my classroom and school: 1.) Love the idea of using the computer in the classroom as one of several “centers” for the students to go to get additional information. We only have one computer in our classrooms. I may do this in our cardiovascular unit (maybe stroke risk assessment/see web md or cardio health assessment) and birth control lab!  2.) Utilize students as resources for information and activities/labs on the internet. Let them be teachers as well. 3.) Allocate time to play with technology and get comfortable with it; collaborate with colleagues. Encourage others to see technology as a supplement to enhance student learning and as another tool in education.  4.) Become aware of where we are as a department in our understanding of change. Also, become aware of the individuals and how they view change, focus on those who are most optimistic and open to change. Communicate 5.) Observability: Provide examples or watch others who are using tech in the classroom; and learn from them while becoming confident with the technology. || Karen B || **1)** **Educate and Motivate the staff**. I think the most important step to address change is to assure that everyone is aware that change is necessary and why. If staff members don’t fully understand or “buy in” to the fact that the net generation requires new models of practice, they will not invest in the initiative. We motivate by educating. I think once peers are educated, they are less resistant and motivated to explore. 2) **Develop a blackboard or blog** to be used as a professional learning community where staff can ask questions, guide one another, collaborate and give and receive feedback. If the school has a computer resource teacher, they may act as facilitator. Communicating this way would be an effective tool for assessing if the objections/fears are valid and educate peers to determine if fears and objections are valid. 3) **Provide opportunities for the professional learning community to plan in parallel and collaborative settings**. During this time, set a goal to integrate technology in meaningful ways across the curriculum. Special guests, such as integration specialists, could also be asked to visit during these scheduled meetings to help teams work different technologies in the classroom. 4) **Promote and develop opportunities for Team Teaching**. Use teammates as resources. Through Blackboard or the Blog, ask staff members to share technology strengths. Then staff members could collaborate and co-teach as needed. For instance, I just asked a staff member to help me out with //Moviemaker// to create digital biographies with my class because I knew she was comfortable with that technology. She met us in the computer lab a few days, guided us through the program and I learned along with my students. During the lesson, I noticed the students helped one another and figured out the program very quickly. I learned as they learned, we learned together, and they taught me a great deal as well! 5) **Offer Training/Staff Development** on various topics of interest (this information could be gathered on BB or via staff questionnaire) and at differentiated levels to meet the needs of all teachers and classes**.** Again, utilize the computer resource teacher (if the school has one) and solicit members of the staff who are knowledgeable and willing to train others. I also think it’s important to provide various times such as before school, after school, or in __lieu of staff meetings when possible__. The last option is my personal favorite :). || Mary P.
 * Five Ways:
 * Make it an option **
 * Let the students teach **
 * Don’t overwhelm **
 * Allow Time **
 * Watch and learn **
 * # Mandatory Parent Email Address. We collect a variety of information when parents sign their students up for our school. However, year after year we make an email address optional. I don’t understand why this is the case. Everything we do is through email. It’s much easier to send an email than contact a parent. In order to change this I must speak to my principal and the registers office. However, the problem is that there are 10 different people who register students. We must express the importance of emails as a means of communicating with parents throughout the school year. Also, it would help to mention this at back to school night as well.
 * 1) Collaboration with small groups. Too often we are placed in large groups and expected to learn technology. I would prefer to be in smaller groups and even adjust these groups based on skill level. I don’t get anything out of meetings with people who don’t know how to attach a file. Instead offer insight on how to make a class website. I would have to convince my fellow teachers as well as my principal of this idea. It would mean more time which is already in short supply. However, it could lead to better relationships with teachers. I would rely on teachers who have been at my school for 10+ years to speak on the importance of networking with other faculty members.
 * 2) Bonding time for teachers. Call me old fashion but I am a big believer of bonding time with coworkers. It makes a huge difference to get out of a working environment and spend time with people you see every day but never outside of school. I recall my first job. It was for an oil change company. We worked long hours in the hot sun or cold winter. Every year they would pay for everyone to go down to Ocean City, MD for the weekend. I am not asking for a trip to the beach. I am suggesting an in-service that is spent outside of school with the people I see every day. They did this about 10 years ago at my school. It was wonderful and people still talk about it. I would count on teachers who have done it before to help lead the way. Maybe we could setup a Google Doc about possible in-service topics or locations.
 * 3) Allow teachers to check online grades from other classes. I know what grades my students are earning. However, I can’t tell how any of them are performing in Math, English, or Science. It would be nice to know so I could go speak to that teacher to find out what approach he or she is taking. We do not have access to these grades. When we asked why we were told that we just don’t. To fix this I would need to discuss with our scheduling coordinator and get permission from the county to have access.
 * 4) Update our Computers. My school laptop is six years old. It freezes, can’t run multiple programs, and has a 10 gig hard drive. We are required to have our email open all day, enter attendance online, and do all grades online. It’s suggested that we use streaming video, audio, and PowerPoint. What’s wrong with this picture? Our computers can’t handle it. I can’t use my computer from home because it won’t connect to the network. All teachers agree this is a major problem. However, the administration has brand new Macs. They don’t see the problems we see. They don’t have the problems we have. We do have some funds coming in and I am pushing to use those on new computers. My selling point is that the computers are only getting older and the need for technology is only increasing. I hope to have a brand new computer sometime next year. || Brian S. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Before I begin my list, let me say that overall, colleagues in my department are very receptive to technology in the classroom. Being second in seniority out of a department of 12 members, I may be viewed as one of those resistant to change. Although I do not see myself in this way, being at times uncomfortable to the use of technology might lend itself to being resistant. Having said this, we recently added our first lab to our lab book which includes an internet activity and quiz. I was a part of three faculty who helped put the lab together.
 * Overall, my staff is willing to try new technologies and open to receiving new information about how to reach our learners. The following is a list for “Change” I created with them in mind:

Grade 5 teacher ||
 * Trying to introduce technology into the classroom can be difficult if you have faculty that are not willing to work with the technology. There are many things we can do to try to further technology in the classroom and make educators more comfortable wit the idea of using technology.

1.) One of the easiest ways to bring technology into the classroom is by providing faculty members with access to training. Teachers can help one another after schools or even during planning periods. They could do this by showing how the internet works, providing links to educational resources, and giving examples of lesson plans they use from the internet. Technology should aid in teaching rather than be another task for teachers to incorporate into their lesson plans. 2.) Another way that technology can be put into classrooms is by making teachers take their grades electronically. This simple activity will show teachers that the computer is not that difficult while also helping them calculate grades. They will see that the computer is a beneficial tool and that it can be used for education. 3.)Members of the teaching community could put together a presentation highlighting the many ways that technology can be used in the classroom. 4.) Getting administrators on board is key in getting technology into the classroom. It may be beneficial to have a technology specialist come in and talk with administrators in order for them to get a better understanding of what technology can accomplish. This may also quiet fears that many teachers and administrators have about bringing trechnology into the classroom. 5.) One final way to help teachers bring education into the classroom is to have a buddy system. By this i mean one could pair a tech savvy teacher with one or two individuals who do not know alot about education. They could help them devise lesson plans and teach them computer basics. || Will Y. || <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">1) Reach out to the technology members of my institution (Information Technology Division) to create an open forum/blog where they can share their ideas on what technology is emerging and what technology is a “flash in the pan”. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. People in the technology industry often have a closer relationship with emerging technologies and can better assess how a technology can be used or work in a given environment. In describing this idea to my colleagues, I would mention that while we may see a path to use a technology in the classroom, the technology division might see the obstacles we either don’t know about or overlook in our zeal to use the technology. It is also a good opportunity to ask questions about technologies that might not be working well in the classroom and why that might be. (like a troubleshooting forum) <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">2) Create curriculum and technology partnerships with other institutions and departments that would allow them to share their ideas and applications in the classroom. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. My idea for this is to create a “technology pen-pal” group that a department can reach out to each semester for a showcase of what they are doing at their site. These would be similar institutions and the same curriculum. The nice thing about this is that by using technology, these can be institutions from across the country and even across the globe. Discussing technology and the application of that technology (either successes or failures) with people from just down the road to California to Europe can spark ideas and potential applications with our faculty. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">3) In keeping with the idea of “managing change” that was shown in the presentation, hold discussions each semester with faculty from across campus on problems, pitfalls or successes that came with implementing technology. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. This is a “best practices” discussion that occurs with a single department or multiple faculty members from different departments as a round table discussion about successes or failures that occurred when implementing technology. This would not only share ideas, but also potentially create partnerships where different faculty could collaborate to use technology, not only increasing its effectiveness, but also fostering cross-curricular coursework that would benefit the students. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">4) Invite students to submit ideas for technology in the classroom. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. This would be a blog post or open forum where students could share ideas in person or anonymously about technologies they would like to see used in the classroom or current applications of technology that are working very well in their opinion. This way, we get firsthand feedback from our stakeholders on what is working in the classroom or what may be lacking from their instruction and hurting their level of engagement. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">5) Hold an administrative recap for technology once a semester to keep them informed of strides we are taking. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">a. This is much like the round table discussions from number 3, but addresses administrative buy-in of technology applications in the classroom by bringing the information directly to them. By showcasing what is being done in the classroom or what is missing from the classroom (from the student forum), administrators will get a better view of what is needed from them to help the faculty better reach their students and show them what they can do to serve the institution and students effectively. It is additionally a good chance for faculty to lobby the administration for their support of implementing a technology, not only in the classroom, but across the institution. || Rimas P || **//Communicate the benefits of technology implementation://** Using examples from the change agents (i.e. cheerleaders and other accepting groups) highlight the successful practices where technology helped enhance student learning as well as create efficiencies in instruction. These successes could be highlighted in an email, on a website, in a college newsletter, or even a technology open house. By providing real-life examples of how technology was implemented and how it was beneficial may help the receivers, responders, and valuing adopters- especially if time is saved. **//Provide Training in a variety of modalities://** When learning a new technology, training is essential. Without training, technology can be frustrating to learn and people often give up because it is too hard. Because time is often a factor, training needs to be available to accommodate the busy schedule of all faculty. Training can be offered in a traditional learning environment and also online. One thing that our college started implementing was an open lab where people could bring their work to the open lab with someone on staff to answer any questions that they may encounter when completing the tasks. It also creates a 'safe' environment for individuals to learn as they are encouraged to try new things without having to fear that they will 'break' something. **//Connect Technology to the Classroom as well as in Their Personal Life://** When an individual is asked to use a new technology in his or her job, they may not be as willing to use it because they do not see the personal value in using the new technology. For example, if a faculty member is given an iPad to use in the classroom, they probably will not use it as frequently or as 'deeply' if the iPad is limited to the confines of the classroom when compared to faculty who are able to use the iPad at home and in other ways besides classroom instruction. They are more likely to play with new applications and explore the benefits of the new technology than if the use of the technology was restricted. **//Provide time to learn the technology://** Time can be a limiting factor as to whether a faculty member learns a new technology. We are already busy with so many other tasks related to teaching. The college / school can provide time for faculty to learn new technologies during an in-service day or department meetings. When my school changed their email archiving processes, the fall in-service was used to train all faculty. Also, faculty can take sabbaticals so that they can focus on learning new technologies so that they can improve student learning. **//Technology club & mentorship://** One of the best ways that I tend to learn technology is to seeing it used and talking with someone on how they use the technology. A technology club comprised of both faculty, staff, and students could be assembled to help each group understand what technologies are being used and how they are being used. At each monthly meeting, a new technology could be highlighted and there could be some time allocated to mentorship. || Kristine C. || ** Five Ways to Think about Change ** ** Kristine L. Ohlson **
 * Although I am not in the classroom as a teacher, I do spend quite a bit of time at my daughter's school as a volunteer. She is in a private school yet the advancements in technology is pitiful. The first thing that I would want to change (1) Hire 2 technology teachers, one for the lower school and one for the middle and high school. We already have computer labs but the classroom teacher is expected to take them to the lab and teach everything that they need to know. The teachers are not knowledgable with computers and therefore the students are totally missing out. That leads into the second change (2) which would be for all of the teachers to be offered a computer class at the school during one of their teacher workdays led by a knowledgable computer teacher. The third thing that I would change (3) is having a class web page that is monitored everyday by the teacher to pass out information to the students as well as the parents. This would alleviate all of the additional paperwork that is sent home regularly. We do have a weekly generic e-mail that goes out to the whole grade describing what was learned that week but there is no way for the parents to respond. There are 3 old computers in each classroom that are only used for AR testing. My fourth change (4) would be to add software to these computers so that the students would be able to play educational video games or supplements to course lessons. Since I do volunteer at the school, I just found out about a website called volunteerspot.com. This website allows parents to volunteer for an specific activity and other parents can see which dates and times are left for them to sign up as well. It is so much easier than "reply to all" or sending out tons of e-mails for each activity. For my last change (5), I would like to implement this website into all fundraising activities and class activities that require parent volunteers. || Tara H ||
 * Thinking about technology and changes in technology, I thought of five methods I could use at my institution (community college) to implement or inspire technology in the classroom:
 * Thinking about technology and changes in technology, I thought of five methods I could use at my institution (community college) to implement or inspire technology in the classroom:
 * I believe that the majority of faculty and staff at my institution are willing to try new things and incorporate the use of technology within their instruction. Some of the ways that you can address change include:
 * ** Learning Activity 4-A-2 **

** 1. **** Some of the changes are here to stay for a while so we need to embrace these changes. ** When I was a child my mother didn’t want to get an answering machine because she didn’t want to have to take the time to return phone calls. She waited as long as she could but eventually she was missing phone calls that other people were getting and she felt she had to get an answering machine so that she could stay in contact with her friends. Her friends’ style of communication changed. She either could learn to change her communication style or risk having her friends get frustrated that they can’t communicate the way they would like and just not call her as often. We really have to learn the new styles of communication or we won’t be able to speak the same language as our students and children and therefore miss out on many valuable conversations.

2. **Changes take time and the change might not go smoothly at first –try, try again** I think this one boils down to don’t give up. Don’t say you can’t learn the technology. Of course you can learn it! The younger generation is not all of a sudden a lot more intelligent that their parents. Just like learning a new language the beginning can be really hard but stick with it there will be a day when it seems easy. We as teachers love to learn so let’s up in and learn this new language.

** 3. **** Find some buddies to help you navigate this Net Generation technology language. ** Identify one or two other teachers that are ahead of you in their use of technology in their classroom and one or two teachers that are behind you with technology. Then plan some lessons with them. If someone who is behind you with technology so much that they don’t want to plan a technology lesson themselves tell them you will plan it and they can observe your class and see what they think. I think it is very motivating if other teachers and working alongside of me on implementing technology because even if the lesson fails I have their support to say good try—let’s think about how this can work better next time.

** 4. **** Plan on attending workshops that give ideas on how to implement technology. ** This is an issue that we are all facing so there are many ideas given out at workshops that you could go back to you classroom and use their idea the next day. Online classes are a great option too because of the flexibility they give to the teacher. The internet is another way to connect with other teachers for ideas.

** 5. **** Embracing the change will not only enrich your teaching and your students’ learning experience but will enrich your personal life. ** Once a person learns the language of technology they get to speak it in and outside the classroom. When you are an English speaker and you learn Spanish all of a sudden you have a huge group of people that you can communicate with that you could not easily communicate with before. The same goes for technology. Once you learn to “speak” or how to use different technologies you have many more people with who you a relate. || Kristi Ohlso n || 1. ** Training/Retraining **- Teachers must be trained on the new technology to feel comfortable using it with their students. If they do not feel comfortable using it, they will not introduce it into their classroom. Trainings on some technologies need to be more than once and done. Not everyone is ready at the same time to accept the new technologies, so they might not have received enough training the first time, an additional training might introduce new information about the technology to them. Training can also be done by groups of readiness or willingness to use the technology. 2. ** Exploration time- **When asking teachers to incorporate new technologies into their classroom, they need time to learn about the technology and how to use it. They need to explore how to solve problems. 3. ** Question/Answers **- Allow a way for teachers to ask questions about the technology as they arise and to receive answers from someone knowledgeable on the technology. Let teachers know why they are using these new technologies. Share the advantages of using the technologies. 4. ** Peer **/** Student helpers- ** Let teachers and/or students who are knowledgeable about the technology share and exchange their ideas. They can also share the value of using the new technologies. Also allow teachers to observe other teachers or students using the technology the correct way. 5. ** Inform stakeholders **- Let the parents, administrators, students, board members, and or advocacy groups know what technologies you are using in your classroom and how they are benefitting the education process. The more others are involved and inform, the more willing they will be to support the technology. || Kristie A. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Five ways to think about or address changes in technology in my classroom and school: