You can lead a teacher to their computer.....

....but you can't make them use it. That is stretching the use of paraphrasing to the point of being painful, I know, but it gets to the heart of very insightful comment one of you left me after my last post. I waxed on poetically about the need for technology, the benefits, looking to the future, and seeing to the needs of the new generation of students. It was quite a display of chest thumping, I admit, and I was feeling quite good about it until one of you asked the simple question: If you bring in all of these tech wonders and the teachers - particularly the veteran teachers who have spent the majority of their careers using "traditional" teaching tools - don't want to use them, are intimidated by them, hate them, and/or simply refuse to use them, what then? How do you get quality teachers who have always done a good job to use new tools if they see no need?
Oh great. That's all I need when I'm on my soapbox ranting - a really good question!
Way to rain on my parade!
In truth, it was a question I had thought of before and the "tech guy" faced personally in my school. I can't say I have won all of the battles or even totally won any single battle but the success I have had winning teachers over to the benefits of technology came when I approached the situation in both an over all general "win their hearts and minds" sort of way and in specific ways particular to exactly what I wanted them to buy into at that moment.
From a general perspective:

• communicate....alot....and well in advance of anything you even think of doing. Teachers all to often are the last to know anything, even the things that are going to directly affect them. Show them the respect of keeping them in the loop.
• solicit their opinions and seriously listen to their responses. You have to remember, their view of your intent and potential changes and yours will often be drastically different. In your mind, you are improving their classrooms, making their lives easier, providing students with exciting new tools, and generally making the world better for all of mankind. In their mind, you are just another know it all, pushing the "next big thing" in a really, really long line of "next new things" (few of which worked long term, by the way) and they are filled with anxiety and doubt. They are all too used to having to suck up those feeling and soldier on because people they have dealt with have been great at talking but not all that interested in listening. So make sure you actively solicit their opinion, really listen to it, and then reply honestly. By listening, you may be able to calm concerns that could cause future problems, which will in turn help lessen reluctance. You may also get some feedback that makes implementation smoother (note to tech guys: teachers are right sometimes too). Honest replies have several benefits. First, it helps foster open, meaningful communication. Second, it helps foster trust. Teachers may not like what you tell them but at least they'll know they can trust you.
• Do not drop any unexpected bombs on them - surprise parties are nice. Popping an unsolicited "thank you" on someones desk is delightful. Sneaking someone a gift out of the blue is a joy. Telling a teacher you are putting a brand new technology tool tomorrow with no prior warning is a great way to get a dead bird in your mailbox (and you'd deserve it). This gets back to communication and respect. Make sure you tell teacher what is happening as soon as you can in all situations.

Winning teachers over in specific situations varies depending on the situation and the technology you are introducing but I have found several things to be universal. Let's take the example of wikis. I used one in my classroom last year, had a good reaction, and told my principal about it. She in turn asked me to brief the teachers on it and try to encourage them to try it (note: this occurred at the very end of last year and while the reaction of teachers was very good, I do not know at this point if my efforts were successful). Here are some of the things I suggest:

• give them a thorough introduction to the topic and go slow. I provide them with links to websites and even videos that give basic explanations on the topic that they can look at and use at their own pace.
• give them examples of your own success. I did a collaborative writing project on my wiki. Previous pen and paper writing assignments were hit and miss, with some participating and doing well, others grudgingly doing the minimum, and a few barely participating or not finishing at all. With the wiki, every student was excited because of the technology, they all jumped right in, and because I could accurately track what each and every student did, I could verify their efforts right down to the time they did their work and word for word what they did. Best of all, I could show the teachers that my students went to the wiki and added or edited content 136 times in three days. The teachers were stunned and most started asking specific questions about how they could start a wiki.
• give them specific examples of what other teachers are doing and how they did it. There is also a site that provides links to a ton of wikis created and maintained by teachers.
• I tell them I am ready, willing and able to help them with anything and everything in their use of the technology, and I commit myself to really following through on that.
• I make my own students ambassador/teachers for the new technology. For example, I was the first to get an Activboard in my school and quickly pushed for more. I taught them how to use it and stressed to them that they were the resident student experts. They taught other students. When they went to other classrooms they taught the teachers. The enthusiasm for the new technology followed them around where ever they went and the teachers started to feel it too.
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I make a pet project out of one of the teachers. Usually there is at least one who shows a real desire to do things or participate, so I concentrate particularly on that person. Why? Because their success, if it occurs, will be contagious. There is nothing that will get other teachers moving on something than to have a teacher they work with, sometimes for years and sometimes just as skeptical as them, tell them about their success. The fact their students spread out through the school and tell everyone about it too doesn't hurt.

These are the things I have done. It is by no means an authoritative list nor is it necessarily a complete one but they are things that have worked for me. the last thing I would say is never, ever enter situations like this thinking you have a chance to convince everyone. Whether they are entrenched in their own way, scared of new things, or simply stubborn, there will always be a few that you can never bring over, and that's o.k. Treat them with empathy and respect too.

And here we go....

"Everything is difficult until is is easy" - Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1944

I have been a teacher for just 4 years and just in that time, I have seen changes that are a exciting and a bit mind boggling. I am a lover of technology, a 'true believer' in what technology can do, and am convinced beyond any doubt that if we are going to serve our students well, we must not simply be open to the coming changes - we must embrace them. At the same time I am old enough - 47 crusty years - that some of the things that are happening seem to be almost science fiction in nature. It takes a moment for me to wrap my mind around some concepts, ideas or tools. So I can only imagine what if going through the minds of the far more experienced teachers I work with and talk to. Frankly, I know what goes through their minds because as my school districts 'tech guy' they let me know, sometimes rather loudly, exactly what they think.

These people are the backbone of our educational system. They have been teaching 10 years or longer and have spent the vast majority of that time using "traditional" teaching tools and methods - chalk, blackboards, overheads, quiet students in straight rows, and the like - and they are responsible for some of the best educated children our schools have ever produced. So when you remove their chalk and blackboard, pop up an Activboard or Smartboard, turn on the projector and tell them they can now be more effective, their concern appears to be well founded. Their old way worked, after all, and how in the heck do you use all of this new stuff anyway?! The fact they have seen hundreds, perhaps thousands of "the next new thing" in education come and go only reinforces their doubt. The difference, of course, is that it isn't simply the tools that are changing. The world, how it works, and how our students actually think and process information is changing as well. Our ability to just wait until the "next new thing" fades away no longer exists.

Looking at the articles at http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/19_1/index.htm (there is a simple, short sign up required to view this but it's worth it) helps drive this home. So what are we to do? First, I think we as a profession must accept that what is happening isn't simply another fade that is going away. To not recognize that a fundamental change is occurring in our students, the world, and how they will need to operate within it, is to refuse to accept reality and that will only hurt our students. Second, we must educate ourselves so we can communicate in this new world, teach using all of these new tools, know enough to know a good tool from a bad one, and know when it's appropriate to go back to old tried and true methods not based on technology (technology will NEVER replace a classrooms most important component - the teacher). Finally, we must heed the words of the great and oh so wise Eleanor Roosevelt and recognize that everything was a mystery until you learned how to do it. Walking or writing your name could have just as well as been piloting a spaceship until you learned how to do it. Then it became second nature, easy, and an important part of how you work and interact with the world. The new technologies we are being bombarded with seem mind boggling and confusing. Some don't see the purpose much less the method of using them. Using them is hard so some people balk at the idea of bringing them into the class room. However if we recognize how the world and our students are fundamentally changing, the need to embrace these tools is clear, and when we do, and give ourselves a chance to learn how to use them effectively, many things will be much easier.