Teaching with technology

Technology or technologies which consist of computer, internet, mobile phone, etc plays an important and persistent role in our modern lives and business. Everybody use technologies in their daily lives, helping them on working some complicated matters to the simplest matters. Think back to the time where there were still no internet, no mobile phones, and how we are still able to live and work. Nowadays without internet or mobile phones by our side, it is somehow unimaginable for us to think on how we are to do things as we use to. Watson (2001) point out that technology is being used in stock market and the communication that works in a 24 hour basis which make the globalisation ubiquitous. It is for this reason of preparing the people (student) to use technology for their future reference that I believe the education organisation started to implement technology into their system. At present, the stakeholder who consists of the government and teacher(s) mainly is trying their best in order to emerge technologies with education. There are unfortunately several issues in implementing it, as Buzhardt and Powell (2005) stated that technology and education is somewhat rocky and feels more like an ‘arranged marriage’ than a natural convergence.

Government:

Government can be said as the one who initiate the use of technology in educations. According to Watson (2001), as the technology is seen as the tools of modern world to success the economic and the future, school thus must embrace the technology. Government has put their best in order to implement the technology in school, as Tanner and Jones (2007) research shows that there has been a significant investment in the uses of ICT in school across England and Wales.

Laptops, internet, and interactive whiteboards are now being used in almost all schools. During my teaching experience, all full time teachers seem to have their own laptop with an internet wireless which comes from the government funds.  According to the UK minister Blunkett as cited in Watson (2001), the government believes that the use of technology is important as it improves the delivery of education and has an enormous potential to rise and increase the standards and employability.

Teachers and Schools:

As technology is more and more considered pivotal in our daily lives, schools are now starting to implement the use of technology into their pedagogical curriculum. Teachers across all subjects are required to know and use at least one types of technology in their teaching activities.

Although the uses of IT is seen as somewhat useful and important, there are in the school and teacher point of view some problems that eventually make it hard for the uses of IT being fully used in school. Time, for example is one of the reasons why some teachers are hesitating to use technology in their teaching activity. According to Park and Ertmer (2007) teachers are unwilling to use technology in classroom as in order to use the technology, they need to find the time and resources which is in reality is quite time consuming. Park and Ertmer (2007) also point out that other reasons of why teacher are hesitate in using technology is also because of limited classroom space which means that each classroom may not have the enough room for all students to have one computer, and also the lack of access at teachers’ and students’ at home. These barriers according to Ertmer (1999) as cited in Park and Ertmer (2007) is considered as first barrier.  The second barrier accrdong to Park and Ertmer (2007) is a little more complicated as it comes from the teachers’ beliefs about technology in education. According to Buzhardt and Powell (2005) teachers are faced with a daunting task in using technology in classroom. This is because not only they are expected to use technology, but they are also expected to show the benefits in using it.

Both the government and teachers (schools) have put their efforts so that technology is being integrated in the teaching and learning activities. Although the benefits in using technology in real life (economic and daily life) are very clear, yet there are still barriers in using the technology to its maximum in teaching and learning activities. In order to solve this problems, both the governments and schools has come up with something like, supporting variety resource of  ICT in school, having an extra seminars for teachers in regards of using ICT in classroom. After all we are talking not only about the uses of technology itself, but the education in children in the future. It is just that technology is important in preparing these children to face the future. As Watson (2001) said “Children cannot be effective in tomorrow’s world if they are trained in yesterday’s skills.” (Watson, Pedagogy before Technology,pp252).

-Mirna Lisa Gultom-

References:

Buzhardt.J & Powell.L.H, 2005, “Stop blaming the teachers: The role of usability testing in bridging the gap between educators and technology”, Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, Vol 4, Idaho State University College of Education.

Park.S.H & Ermer.P.A, 2007, “Impact of Problem – Based Learning (PBL) on Teachers’ Beliefs Regarding Technology Use”, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, pp247-267, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), US & Canada.

Watson. D.M, 2001, “Pedagogy before Technology: Re-Thinking the Relationship between ICT and Teaching”, Education and Information Technologies 6:4, pp251-266, Kluwer Academic Publishers.