Beware the Pendulum Swing

Years ago, when I first joined the staff of our K-8 school, we were a technological desert. A wasteland of dusty desktop computers with flickering CRT monitors, erratic hums from hard drives, and a steady stream of "blue screens of death". Classrooms didn't have devices, they were vanquished to the relishes of the basement with its low ceilings, pupil sedating fluorescent lighting, and wet carpet odours.

When I got the position of teaching fifth grade, a new principal also came on board. She trusted me to start making some changes to the distribution of technological resources in our school and to start building the case for investment. I started to plant seeds in the minds of my colleagues that technology, and in particular mobile technology is here to stay, so why not meet our students where they are at using the tools they are already familiar with?

Running parallel to this slowly emerging shift was a series of changes from afar with a perceived mandate to change how we teach mathematics. Professional development sessions were offered, school improvement plans adjusted, resources sent (with no consultation) to the school from above, curriculum consultants breathing down our backs, and a flurry of news articles proclaiming mathematics instruction in Ontario to be a disaster.

Add to this mix a tense work environment caused by faulty legislation designed to avoid contract negotiations with teaching unions, a work-to-rule campaign, and a one day strike. Teachers were frayed, exhausted, not looking for more change.

It prompted a discussion, a reckoning: "we have to save ourselves by doing what works, not what others demand of us." The diverse teaching staff, with a range of experience from thirty to two years embraced that credo. It became a daily conversation around the staff room lunch table.

The staff was less interested in behaving like sheep and more interested in doing what they know already works for their students. With the support of an unconventional principal, the system seemed to be working. But then, we had to face some other facts, some students, a minority, a group that shared the common thread of having a learning disability were doing disastrously.

Standardized test, school climate surveys, yelling matches on the school yard, temper tantrums in classrooms, refusals to do work, and tears, lots of tears. The signs were all around us, we weren't reaching every student.

In came educational technology, version 2.0. Chromebooks, iPads, projectors, and Smartboards all carefully selected tools, the result of careful consultation with teachers, purchased and setup only as teachers expressed interest. It started in one classroom, mine.

If I could prove the value of these tools, demonstrate the learning, and reach the hardest to reach students then I would have a shot, maybe technology could be a part of the solution, maybe more staff would jump on board.

There were ten Chromebooks, a pretty significant investment in a new idea. There were challenges, not from the students, but from the technological infrastructure in place. Too little wifi and a complicated login process designed for adults not children. With time, feedback, and lots of listening, the information technology department slowly adjusted processes and infrastructure, paving the way for other classes in our school and beyond.

Quickly, but with lots of work, students were connecting, learning, and creating in new ways. Written pieces of work had formative feedback more quickly and more meaningfully. Students started sharing their learning in video format, producing news programs and hurriedly did more research so they could have more lines. Students embraced TED Talks, wanting to learn more about topics that piqued their interest and soon wanted to run their own to share their passions with our community.

Most importantly, the culture evolved. Students saw everyone learning, working, creating. Everyone was an equal here. Everyone used the same tools.

Slowly, every year since then, teachers have come "online". They have embraced technological tools to address some of the needs in their classrooms. It's slow going, but that's the way it has to be, we want to get it right, and when it doesn't work, study it, figure it out, learn.

We see it all around us, the technological pendulum swing. Posters with dozens of apps listed that claim to solve this problem and that problem. Use this app! This app will fix it! Just like Dr. Wilson's Memory Elixir - cures every ailment: headache, diabetes, muscle tension, women's problems. Just two drops a day! In a profession with so many demands and so little time, the allure is strong.

When we visit other schools we see tubs of devices collecting dust. The reminders are all around us, beware the pendulum swing.

***

This piece acts as a final reflection in the IICT Part 2 AQ course from ETFO. The underlying theme in my mind is that educational technology provides so much promise, but the reality is that solutions are difficult and ready made simple fixes just don't exist. Hard work, perseverance, and keeping the needs of students front and centre will get us there.

Inspiration:

• "The Tick-Tock Effect of Educational Technology's Pendulum 2.0" [https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2014/12/tick-tock-effect-educational-technologys-pendulum-20]
• "The Education Pendulum" [https://cirt.gcu.edu/blogs/education-anywhere-distance-and-k12-education/theeducationpendulumparti]