Interview Reflection

When I look upon the many interviews I have conducted with my fellow teachers, I am struck by how much time and effort they put towards integrating technology in their classrooms. There is no rule that states they must use certain types of technology to teach specific concepts. However, they plug along, researching, testing and applying to varying degrees of success.

However, it is troubling to see that many of these same teachers are left to their own devices. There is just not enough support for these teachers. In fact, I am not sure how other teachers who are not familiar with technology can even use it in their classroms with so little support. The occasional professional development session does not provide enough background knowledge for teachers to adequately develop a curriculum that utilizes technology. Moreover, outdated equipment and the lack of relevant software hinders any attempt involve the entire classroom of students. Imagine students waiting for their turn at the 3 computers in the classroom. I can't see how that would work. In addition, the computer labs at schools are constantly booked.

This trend is indeed disturbing since it essentially puts a roadblock in the progression of integrating technology in schools. The lack of funding by the government does not allow school districts to heavily fund technology. That is very distressing since the world is moving at a blistering pace in terms of technology. Schools have not kept up with this progression, rather it falling dangerously behind. The question is how relevant can technology be in schools when it is generally 5 years behind?