Katie's Webinar Review - Module 1

There's nothing to fear, but fear itself...

I found a fun and informative webinar that discusses Technophobia as it relates to the classroom. It is called Overcome Techphobia by SimpleK12. Grace and Kim, the moderators of this webinar are engaging as they identify seven common reasons why teachers are reluctant to implement technology in their classrooms. They offer excellent ideas and solutions to the reader, without getting too "heavy" or dry, or delving too deeply into the technical details. They make light of the educator's fear of including technology into their lesson plans by referring to it as "Techphobia", while connecting the terms "phobias" and "solutions" to the terms "Symptoms" and "Cures".  For each Symptom, they offer a simple cure. The beauty of this approach is that it allows the reader to slowly get their feet wet with respect to using new applications, beginning with simple steps and easily understood concepts, without feeling overwhelmed. They address the common concerns of teachers without being condescending. The following list briefly outlines the Seven Symptoms and cures as outlined in the Overcome Techphobia.  

Technology is...

Symptom #1: Too time consuming to implement.

Time consuming is a mindset. It's time investing. Although, the learning curve can seem long, and sometimes daunting, the payoff is worth the investment. 

Cure: Use tools to save time. For example; try an application called vocaroo.com, which is a voice recording service. It allows the teacher to record and playback. A teacher may use this for paperless grading, or to leave instructions for a substitute, or to assist in teaching hearing-impaired students. 

Symptom #2: Fear - What if something goes wrong?

Practice, play, have fun, push buttons!

Cure: Ask for help from other, more experienced peers. Know how to contact your IT people, ask students - allow them to be the experts.  Start small. Try using an application called screencast-o-matic.com. This allows the user to record a lesson or series of steps a student can follow in order to complete an assignment or task. It gives the student the ability to follow instructions at their own pace, by allowing him to watch, fast-forward, replay the lesson. This may be helpful for test review or for students having trouble grasping a particular concept.

Symptom #3: It's too hard to get started

Don't try to do everything. Take one step at a time and collaborate with other teachers. 

Cure: Try Qwiki.com, a sort of Wiki or encylopedia brought to the next level. It is a multi-media, interactive and fun timeline of articles, pictures, videos and sound. This would be so useful and fun for both audio and visual learners and it's great that it's interactive enabling them to collaborate and modify the product.

Symptom #4:  What if I break it?

Play some more, practice, have fun, push buttons, try all menus... sound familiar?

An easily learned and implemented and safe application to try is glogster, a multi-media poster with a 21st-century spin. It allows the teacher and students to design an interactive poster that allows design graphics, sound, video. A teacher may want to use this program for an interactive and engaging newsletter.

Symptom #5:  I don't have access. (It's blocked)

Cure: You're the teacher. Take responsibility in getting technology into the classroom. Don't be a bystander. Show the benefits to school administration. Twitter is an example of a controversial application in the classroom. Many districts don't allow it. But, if you find a way to use it to engage both parents and students and can show results, make a case for it.

Symptom #6:  Why change now?

We ask our students to become lifelong learners and we as teachers should model this. Step outside your comfort zone.

Cure: Envision your ideal classroom, accept that technology can help this. Swallow your pride and let your students lead the way. Many of them are technology experts. Let them teach you.

Symptom #7: It's too expensive!

Cure: find a mentor, someone who uses technology to help you find and master tools you need. Get your hands on free software applications and resources. There are many free tech tools for teachers as well as professional development blogs you can learn a lot from and take advantage of. 

This webinar offers some practical advice for beginners. Of the many applications given, I can readily think of three that I would be interested in implementing in my fictional classroom, given that I am not currently a teacher. Moreover, I wish the teachers of my own middle-schooler would consider them in their classes.

First, I would offer a screencast-omatic recording of all pertinent class exercises, on my class website for all students to access from home. So often, a student will get stuck on a concept or problem and just need a little refresher. They may remember most of what the teacher said, but need some clarity. To be able to play a Vocaroo recording from home, follow at their own pace, with no classroom distractions would be very worthwhile. I believe it would eliminate the embarrassment that some students may feel by asking questions in class, as well.

Second, my son's Science teacher gives a huge test on the subject being covered, say earthquakes. This test consists of a package that comprises six, double-sided pages of study material, including fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice problems and essay questions. The students spend countless hours memorizing the information long enough to pass the test. When asked how the teacher covers the material in class, the response is "he writes on the white board". When asked what tools the teacher uses to bring the lesson to life, the answer is "nothing".  I wonder, why doesn't this teacher use an application such as glogster and use captivating videos of real earthquakes or footage of scientists using tools to monitor them? Additionally, they could use an application to graph fault lines. 

Lastly, I chose this webinar from the class list of webinar options. The term "techphobia" jumped off the screen and and invited me in to take a look. I think this webinar brought to light what are barriers to using technology in the classroom. However, on further reflection, these concepts would apply to many areas of life. We all resist change, many of us are all fearful of making waves or doing more harm than good. Often, we look for reasons to not do something, when the solutions to take risks and move forward are right at our fingertips. I don't have a classroom in which to implement these changes, but this webinar did serve as a reminder to ask myself "What could I use?"

I accessed a recorded webinar.  However, I would consider it fluid in design.  It allowed for discussion and chats, and included guest speakers instructing users on how to use new gadgets, and it's easily expandable in terms of adding new applications and usages as they become available. Had the webinar been live, I think it may have assumed a more training feel or maybe have a chat room feel, but I certainly don't think anything was lost by being a recorded format. 

I think the use of webinars should be another tool in the teachers' arsenal of tools. It's a fantastic way to stay abreast of new happenings in the field through a relatively personal forum. and it serves as a way to connect with others who share the same interests, much in the way blogs do.

  
Is there really a condition called "Techphobia"? I think I need a second opinion. 


I found an interesting article on Edutopia.com about teachers' phobia of technology.

How to Implement Technology in the Classroom. I found it to be very consistent with the webinar I chose for this project.  I would suggest that this article outlines some of the important issues involving the technical phobia, while the webinar provides practical advice as to how to combat the fear of technology.

Learning Outcomes: 

1. Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning - The material in this webinar effectively provided information about how important technology is in the classroom and how easy it is to move forward with implementing ideas. It also outlined specific benefits to the student in terms of promoting student learning.

2. Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to enhance content instruction and to advance students technological literacy - This webinar captured this idea, more than any other Learning Outcome objectives. It did simply that; it provided a specific list of current technologies that teachers can use to facilitate learning and technological literacy on the part of the students and teachers.