Standing in front of a classroom full of teenagers with a universal remote control in hand and panic in your heart because you cannot switch the TV over to the DVD input is a phobia-inducing experience for any teacher. Not knowing how to troubleshoot a wireless Internet connection on a laptop or how to use video-editing software in the lab that your lesson plan calls for can destroy your confidence. Teachers need to be trained how to switch video inputs on the TVs, restart a laptop Wi-Fi adapter and use the video-editing software. Administrators should incorporate this kind of technology training into professional development days to boost teacher confidence.
The camera with the dead batteries, the projector that is missing a cable or the computer lab with three dead computers and one that is "twitchy" -- these are also impediments to teachers using technology. No teacher wants to gamble on there being enough working computers when she takes 15 students to the lab for a 45-minute period. The potential for chaos is simply too high. If schools repair or replace questionable technology, teacher comfort and confidence with the technology will improve.
Buying a digital projector to replace a flip-chart does not make sense if teachers simply use it to display text. Using a projector to show a breaking-news video to the class or as part of an interactive whiteboard system are functions that chart paper cannot duplicate. Using technology in schools should not just be about doing old activities in new ways, though -- it should be about creating and doing entirely new activities. This fundamental shift in pedagogical thinking is necessary if teachers are to embrace the technology in their schools. Once teachers understand what is possible, it is easier to adopt new technology.
Even the best-intentioned teacher can be thwarted by convoluted technology reservation systems or computer lab login issues. The worst reservation systems occur when each piece of equipment has its own sign-out sheet. Locating these sheets wastes time. If all the equipment and sign-out sheets are in a central location, more teachers will use them. When you take your class to a computer lab, it is an unwritten rule that one or more students in your class must forget their login details. New students may not have access credentials yet. If teachers have default credentials that will allow students temporary access, forgotten usernames and passwords are no longer a deal-breaking issue. By removing these access hurdles, technology is much more likely to find its way into the hands of willing teachers.