Asking the Right Questions about Technology and Education

Asking the right questions about technology in education.

I once had a new teacher ask me how often they should utilize technology in their classroom.  The answer to that question is that it depends how you use it.

Here is the longer answer :-)

First - I’d like you to watch this video put out by Apple in 2013 that is totally true - I checked out the school and successfully used a lot of their ideas in an outreach setting for high school students.  Essa Academy was a failing school with a high number of lower socio-economic students, high ELL numbers, etc., and yet they pulled a rabbit out of the hat so to speak…. How did they do it, can you tell?

Here is the video:

Answer: Even though the video focused on technology, it wasn’t the technology!  It was, however, a synergy between sound instructional practices and what technology can enable - this synergy made their incredible success possible.

So after watching this you might be pumped and want technology in your classroom!  Plenty of boards certainly wanted technology in their schools and still do.  In fact, over the past two decades in North America school board authorities have spent billions of dollars on the promise of technology hoping to increase student achievement - in fact the City of New York just purchased 300,000 iPads for student use.

The results have been mixed.  Some school divisions have seen incredible results for their students (like the video).  They have had lower drop out rates and discipline issues, while having higher student achievement.  Others have seen little to no improvement, and in fact, some have seen a decrease in student performance...  So what gives?  Can you blame the technology?  No not really - it’s a neutral device… it is like blaming pencils for poor math marks.  The technology might be more complex, but the underlying principles are the same.

The answer is simple, and you probably already know it.  Let me answer the question by asking you two quick questions.  If I have a poorly performing doctor and give that person a laptop do they all of a sudden become a good doctor? Or… If a failing company adopts technology without changing their underlying problems will they suddenly become a successful company?  The answer to both questions is of course not!  But people do it all the time - because the technology is more complex and interacts with society in a more complex way, we expect the technology to fix the problems and it can’t do that…

The wrong questions/attitudes about technology are:

1. Does educational technology increase student achievement or how do we know the time/money we are spending on technology increases student achievement?
2. The magic bullet of technology will make us successful.

This question and attitude focuses on the wrong underlying assumptions of how technology should work in an educational system and in your classroom.

So the right question to ask about technology in education is not whether it will increase student performance or not, but rather how will it allow our you and your students to more efficiently apply what are known to be successful educational strategies in the first place, which will in turn help increase student achievement and promote staff wellness.  In other words, we put education first, and technology second.

So, ultimately, the right question is:  How will technology improve your already successful program of education?

Some ways technology can improve a successful lesson are:

1. Efficiency in just about every manual task a teacher does, from assessment, to creation of new student lessons, etc., can all be achieved faster and on a larger scale using technology.
2. Allows for teachers to overcome the “myth of average” and individualize instruction for their students.  Technology removes barriers to learning for many students and allows the teacher to be in more places at once.

It’s not rocket science.  Successful educational programs with a solid framework work in synergy with properly used educational technology - the results will be greater than the sum of the individual components.

So, can a laptop make a successful doctor more efficient and allow for new ways to better treat patients.  You bet it can!

Can technology allow a successful business to “reimagine” how they deliver their products, or services.  You bet it can!

And finally....

Can technology allow a successful school division/school/teacher to better serve students, meeting their individual needs and thus increasing their ability to perform better on their learning?  You bet it can!

Question: So how often should you use technology in your classroom?  

Answer: As often as you need to complete your educational goals more efficiently than you could without it.

Thank you - so keep on planning for educational success and then plan on how to get even more efficient using technology.

Our students are the winners!