#12- How would you approach resistance by teachers to use technology in the classroom?

     First and foremost, I think administrators have to face reality that 100% buy-in does not take place immediately when presenting new technology to a faculty, especially when most faculties are comprised of a mixture of digital immigrants and digital natives. I think a lot of teacher resistance comes from how the technology and expectations for use are delivered, amount of professional development offered before the technology arrives, and the support given to teachers after the technology has started being used in the classroom.

   
     While researching this topic and possible strategies for combating resistance, I came across an excellent article in THE Journal entitled "Resistance is Futile", and I couldn't agree more.

Source: http://thejournal.com/Articles/2009/03/01/Resistance-is-Futile.aspx?Page=1

Key Ideas:

• "According to Education Market Research, spending on technology products for education is expected to increase 8 percent, to an estimated $8.1 billion for the 2010-2011 school year, from an estimated $7.5 billion for the 2008-2009 school year."
• Significance?-Technology isn't going away, so teacher resistance,therefore, is pointless. It is here to stay...and advance for that matter.
• With many teachers, the way a technology is introduced into the academic environment can mean the difference between adoption and abandonment. If teachers believe they are being forced into using it, they will resist, especially if you don't show them what value it will bring to their classroom.
• "It all starts with how you communicate with teachers," says Barbara Dunn, vice president of the Remediation and Training Institute in Alexandria, VA. "You can position technology as, 'This is what it does,' etc., and that's fine, but when you say, 'You must use it,' that's where the resistance comes. And when you impose a deadline, it becomes another compliance thing rather than a way to enhance learning."
• I second that! At my school two years ago, we received SMARTBoards, student response systems, slates, and Elmos all within 6 months of each other. Although we were excited, a gradual introduction in to the technology would have proven to be more effective.
• "It takes time to learn new tools and software, and with everything else teachers are asked to do, technology integration is often last on the list," she says. "Some teachers still feel teaching is a craft. The old method is the way they've done it for 20 years. Why change now?"
• Teaching is a craft, but the craft is changing to incorporate technology. Administrators need to be sure to tell teachers that technology is not replacing quality teacher, but rather, enhancing the delivery and assessment of it.
• Lake Washington now offers a stipend to teachers who take classes on using Promethean's interactive whiteboard, the Activboard, a tool they've had in their classrooms for two years but weren't using beyond its simple projection capabilities.
• Sign me up for more money!!
• Sound familiar in any classrooms at your school?!

Strategies to address resistance:

• One way not to scare teachers off is to allow them to learn a technology gradually.- THE Journal
• Strategic and ongoing, post-introduction professional development
• When all else fails, districts can offer their teachers incentives for learning and adopting the technology. - THE Journal
• The key, New York City's Azoulay-Lewin advises, is to let the excitement of the small cohort of early adopters spread.- THE Journal
• Introduce the new technology to a group of enthusiastic, trained teachers that have had the appropriate professional devleopment necessary to make the implementation successful. They later can become peer coaches/teacher leaders across grade levels and "crack" open the tough, resistant teachers to the new technology.
• Fire anyone who doesn't want to use the technology......Ok, this one is a lie. I just wanted to see if you were reading this entire post.

Final Thought:
     Teachers are like pistachios...Some are open to use new types of technology in their instruction, while others take a little more time and effort to crack open. And some, well, some never crack open no matter what strategy you use. :)