10 Ways to Change the Minds of Tech-Reluctant Staff

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Permalink Reply by mcummings on December 12, 2011 at 9:38am

We have done a lot of these this past year, including adding Atomic learning and "requiring" them have additional hours of Tech training. We even have a contest to win an iPad 2.  None of this has really motivated them to do anything different.  We still have a handful of super users and several Dinosaurs.  

Number ten is hard to achieve when students tear up the equipment and no one reports it.  

Sorry for the negativity I am just a frustrated tech director.  

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Permalink Reply by Dergr on December 12, 2011 at 7:15pm

I agree this is a helpful article on a touchy topic.  Collaborative teams often suffer from reluctance of some educators to embrace a new system.  I agree with Scott that focusing on one system in depth may have more payoff then inundating teachers with a variety of new systems.  

In the end, I feel that there are two major factors at play.  One of them is time: If a new technology is clarly making most teachers more effective and efficient, then there is a good potential for success.  The other factor that seems very important is how systems work together logistically.  If a teacher who is intimidated by technology is forced with several new logins, technical issues and unrealistic expectations, their distaste for technology and new systems will grow.  

Compared to the overwhelming pace of change it may seem like progress is limited, but I believe that supporting teachers with technologies that make their life better will make a difference over time.

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Permalink Reply by Ruchita Parat on January 16, 2012 at 3:07am

That's a great article... thanks for sharing with us!

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Permalink Reply by Karyn Greenwaldt on January 31, 2012 at 6:11pm

This article is very helpful for someone who is taking steps to educate their staff about various technology tools. Many trainings are long and cover so many topics that it is hard to remember what was learned. Breaking things down to one topic at a time is a fabulous idea for those who are not familiar, and actually providing them with ways to utilize this new knowledge. Thank you. 

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Permalink Reply by Mollie Dwyer on January 31, 2012 at 6:25pm

I also think this is a great list of ideas to try to improve an ongoing issue in many schools.  However, I think the only way to have veteran teachers use technology on a regular basis is to have administration hold all teachers accountable.  Teachers need to be evaluated on their uses of technology to break the mentality of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it".  Many teachers don't see the need to incorporate technology because their students are passing standardized tests without it.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Nixon on February 1, 2012 at 9:51am

A few years ago, I participated in a discussion regarding technology in the classroom and the person in charge said something that really hit me.

"Whether you do or do not want to integrate technology into the classroom is your choice, but you should know your students want to use technology.  They use it at home and they want to in school.  Whether or not you choose to ignore that fact is up to you."

That is a great article.  Thanks to professional development and advances in technology, more and more teachers are able to integrate technology into their classrooms. 

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Permalink Reply by Kate Miller on February 1, 2012 at 5:58pm

I participated in a program called 23 Things in regards to Web 2.0 tools and there were 23 selected activities that we had to keep a blog and post about.  This was a great introduction to Web 2.0 tools and allowed me to collaborate with my fellow employees about our triumphs and troubles while exploring new technology. 

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