Basic Understanding & Troubleshooting
In my previous post, I discussed how too often classroom technology becomes an afterthought. Technology should be like Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU), a methodical plan for the future, and not like Carl and Ellie, throwing change in a jar and hoping the plan works, the way many districts look at a technology purchase, to keep up with other districts with no plan for proper integration. What happens without proper integration are the staff and students flounder to utilize the technology, and the technology combined with a teacher's true potential is never achieved. Let's break down the first step for the effective use of technology and provide the basic troubleshooting techniques for technology with rudimentary understanding of how the technology works. In FPU, the first step you take is to save up a $1,000 in an emergency fund. This should be no different for teachers when it comes to new technology in the classroom. The district needs to support teachers with basic understanding of the technology and troubleshooting techniques to solve problems as they arise in the classroom. This basic understanding creates a system wherein teachers don't feel like they are scrambling with the technology the same way Carl and Ellie are scrambling with their finances when they needed new tires, to fix the house, or to pay for hospital bills.
Schools have different technology at various grade levels depending on the needs of the students. Districts put SMART Boards or Panels in classrooms, elementary classrooms often times get iPads, secondary classrooms get Chromebooks, and teachers have one of everything, including a Macbook or Windows machine. That is a lot of technology to manage on top of all the other things teachers are trying to accomplish in their classrooms - differentiation, blended learning, classroom management, etc. Since there is so much technology floating around in today's classroom, teachers need to be as proficient at putting out small technology problems they are at classroom management because at this point they go hand-in-hand. Teachers don't have the luxury when technology breaks down to call for tech support and wait until someone arrives because they will lose the focus of the class and behaviors will start to spin out of control. You can only compensate for so long before you need to redesign your lesson away from the technology or students get fed up with the situation and rebel against the use of technology. The Basics
Let's look at the basics for some of the above mentioned classroom technology. First, when a teacher initially gets a SMART Board in his/her room, getting acquainted with the software is a little overwhelming. To alleviate some of that problem I like to point teachers toward SMART Exchange. SMART Exchange is a site teachers can use that already has lessons on it shared by other educators. There are all kinds of lessons and resources that can be searched by grade, subject, or standard. It's a great way to use the software while also familiarizing oneself with what the software can do. When it comes to the hardware hanging on the wall, it's important to demonstrate to teachers using a 600 series, 800 series, or Panel some basic troubleshooting techniques. Teachers need to know how to work quickly if a SMART Board pen doesn't work, the calibration is off, or if the touch feature doesn't work. If teachers can solve the 5 second problems they will start to build that emergency fund and not sweat the small stuff to feel comfortable to move toward true technology integration.
Secondly, if an educator is given an iPad, make sure they are given the basics to troubleshoot that device. Educators need to be shown how to log into iCloud, download an app, delete an app, quit an app, create a folder, and much more. Educators need to know the names of the buttons for continuity of explanation, and the difference between a soft and hard reset of the iPad. After some of the basics, educators can be shown the power of Apple Classroom, how to AirDrop items, and how to AirPlay. These basics build a foundation of knowledge like a bank account for the future. It is something on which to build a plan for a larger adventure to manage a class easier and help facilitate a better workflow for student assignments. Finally, I just wrote a newsletter outlining how to troubleshoot logging into a Chromebook. There aren't many ways to troubleshoot a Chromebook other than a reboot, but it is important to know the basics of a Chromebook and how integrating your browsing habits with Google Chrome can benefit learning. By teaching educators and students how to manage their bookmarks, access their GSuite, what their GSuite account actually gives them access to, or share a file - educators can open up a whole new world of research and learning that is unmatched in a paper and pencil environment. In conclusion...
By creating the foundation (emergency fund) to fix technology problems as they arise, educators can feel more comfortable utilizing the technology to enhance student learning and bridge the gap between the basics and how to effectively implement technology so it doesn't feel so overwhelming, like a debt snowball. In our next post we will discuss how to bridge the gap to at least help educators substitute technology for the traditional paper and pencil to get themselves and students acclimated to using technology in the classroom.
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